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February 08, 2007
A chilly walk on Chattanooga's Tennessee Riverwalk
Former American Hiking Society Intern Hilary Browder
on the Tennessee Riverwalk on Thursday February 8.
Lookout Mountain is off in the distance.
After a brief cold snap, warmer temperatures seem to be heading Chattanooga's way. This morning I took a short walk/hike on the Tennessee Riverwalk with my friend and former intern Hilary.
As we walked along the Riverwalk, cold winds out of north and off of the river made for some chilly moments. Eventually the Riverwalk moved away from the Tennessee River, and the trees acted as a wind break. That seemed to raise the temperatures a solid 10 degrees.
At a small pond adjacent to the greenway, Hilary and I watched 5 Northern Shovelers (3 males, 2 females), some Canada Geese, a couple of American Coots and a pair of Hooded Mergansers. The geese were acting somewhat territorial, indicating that the mating season is nearly upon us. Several of the geese tried to chase off the Shovelers, to no avail.
As we walked further along the greenway, we passed beneath a pair of Red-tailed Hawks roosting in a tree directly above the path. The larger of the two birds - the female - flew off and perched in a tree above the pond where we had been watching the waterfowl frolicking moments before. Mama Red-tail sat perched within 10' of what appeared to be an abandoned Great Blue Heron nest. The hawks could very well be preparing to take over the nest this season, so I'll be interested to return and see if that’s indeed the case in the coming weeks.
Female Red-tailed Hawk roosting above pond
By 9:30 AM we were back at our vehicles and our walk was over. We saw perhaps 25 different species of birds in the hour that we were out on the Riverwalk. Those numbers will only increase in the coming weeks as migration and the local climate heats up.
If you're interested in exploring the Tennessee Riverwalk, you can download a map here. (PDF - 200K)
Great Places to Hike | By Jeffrey Hunter | 12:29 PM
