Bird inventory for Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

Monroe, Mark

A total of 2030 individuals representing 145 species were found on or adjacent to Cumberland Gap National Historical Park (Table 1) during the survey period. The geography presented by Cumberland Mountain creates a natural funneling mechanism that keeps numbers of migrants, raptors and songbirds alike, quite high particularly in autumn. Woodland species were the best represented both during the breeding species and during migration. Raptor diversity and numbers were high as Pinnacle Overlook offers one of the best hawk-watching locations in the region. Waterfowl, with the exception of flyovers, and grassland species were virtually absent from the park due to a lack of habitat. Historically the park did not have quite as mature a forest that allowed some second-growth species to persist in larger numbers, but the park likely was never a significant location for grassland species. Barbour (1979) listed eight species on Cumberland Gap during the breeding season that were not detected during the survey. Two of them, Bachman’s Sparrow and Red-cockaded Woodpecker are extirpated from the region and should not be expected to occur again. Prothonotary Warbler represents a single morning observation of one individual that represents either a very rare vagrant, as the species does not occur regularly in the Cumberland Plateau, or a misidentification. Golden-winged Warblers were probably an uncommon to rare breeder on the park, but prefer more scrubby and secondary growth than is present on the park currently. However, Golden-winged Warbler was detected as a migrant within the park and therefore is included in the 146 species detected. Grasshopper Sparrow was reported from Hensley Settlement where the species could occur since suitable habitat is present. Although frequent mowing throughout the breeding season prevents the likelihood of this species from establishing a population on the park, its potential as a migrant or brief visitor exists. The remaining three species (Green Heron, Northern Bobwhite, and Common Nighthawk) do not have much suitable habitat at present on the park but all can be found in close proximity and should be expected on the park from time to time. An additional ten species were not found that could be regular visitors to, or over, the park. Golden Eagle, Rough-legged Hawk, and Sandhill Crane are all rare but possible flyovers during hawk-watching. Wilson’s Warbler, Connecticut Warbler, Mourning Warbler and Yellow-bellied Flycatcher are all uncommon to rare migrants that should occur regularly on the park. Wood Duck and White-crowned Sparrow both likely occur near or on the park but were not detected. Northern Saw-whet Owl is a secretive species that potentially could be present year round in some remote rhododendron thickets in the park. The addition of these ten species, along with the four species reported by Barbour that are likely to re-occur, presents a probable species total of 159 species for the park (Table 8).

Bird inventory for Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

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