Tennessee Dark Form
May 11, 2001
A dark form flew low over the still waters of Pin Oak Lake straight toward some baby Canada geese. Was it a hawk? In the early dawn light, it was apparent that the form had an elongate, black body with a long neck. A cormorant? I wondered. But why would a cormorant be chasing baby geese? Cormorants eat fish, not geese! As it came nearer the geese, the parents gave a warning and the clumsy goslings ran to hide under the protection of their parents’ bodies. The form landed almost on top of the family and was immediately chased away by two very irate parent geese. With necks bowed low and beaks open, the hissing geese attacked the form, which quickly outran the geese. Now it was clear -- the attacking bird had very long legs and could run very fast -- it was a wild turkey. Do wild turkeys attack and eat goslings? If not, why did this wild turkey fly clear across a lake in the early dawn light? Simply to socialize with a Canada goose family? Who knows? But then, Wild Turkeys have been known to eat grasshoppers and small vertebrates, so maybe it really did see the goslings as a potential meal.
As the sun began to rise, we could observe seven goslings spread out and search for insects and other food on the grassy hillside overlooking this lake in western Tennessee. The parents followed nervously, watching for any dangers to their babies. Loud honking over the lake directed our attention to eight additional Canada Geese flying low over the water toward the goose family. A second glance revealed that there were only four geese; the other four were reflections in the glassy, smooth water. They landed close to the goose family and were also chased away by the angry parents. The goslings came close to our picnic table where we were eating our breakfast cereal. We wondered if the goslings came close to us would the parents also see us as a threat and attack? Although they viewed us warily, they did not attack while I took photos of the family.
We had enjoyed a very pleasant day at this lakeside RV Park, located in the very large Natchez Trace State Park about 100 miles SW of Nashville. A new park, it had been designed for large RV’s, complete with large, level sites sporting water, electricity and sewage hookups. It also enjoyed commanding views of the lake and its surrounding forest. We found Blue-winged and Yellow-throated warblers in the mid- and upper canopies of the pine and oak trees. I would rank it in the top five state parks that we have visited in the USA because of the excellent facilities it provides, as well as its scenic beauty and historical motif.
According to a one-page park brochure: “... before the steamboat days, boatmen and farmers would float their goods on often handmade flatboats from their frontier homes down the Cumberland, Ohio, Tennessee and Mississippi rivers to the markets at Natchez. With money from their sales jingling in their pockets the Frontiersmen started the 500-mile trip home, often on foot, further tramping out and identifying a more definite trace. (“Trace” is an old French word with means ‘a line of footprints or animal tracks.’) The travelers braved not only the natural dangers of wild beasts, weather, and Indians but also bands of cutthroat robbers and murderers who preyed on the trace traffic. This threat of highwaymen along the old Natchez Trace became so great that returning travelers began seeking alternate routes, and one of the most often used was sometimes referred to as the old Natchez Trace, which followed a route some fifty miles west of the main trace. This alternate trace is believed to be in the vicinity of what is now the Natchez Trace State Park and Forest.”
One of the problems facing the Park Managers in this park is the “Mile-A-Minute-Vine.” Of course, it (Kudzu) cannot actually grow at the rate of a mile-a-minute, but it can grow up to 12 inches per day. Because of a taproot that can penetrate the soil to a depth of 12 feet and because of its resistance to herbicides, it is very difficult to control. Consequently, it has grown over large areas of the park, smothering much of the native, lower canopy vegetation. Kudzu was originally introduced into the USA in the 1930s for erosion control, food for grazing animals and ground cover. A bad mistake!
Campgrounds in Missouri, Arkansas, and Tennessee are much the same as those in other parts of the country. However, some differences were apparent. The night sounds at Pin Oak Lake included the haunting song of a pair of Whippoorwills echoing across the lake -- something like loons on northern lakes. They seemed to be attempting to harmonize with a pack of ubiquitous coyotes under the Tennessee moonlight. Also, campground smells differ from Northern campgrounds. The aroma of chicken fried steak and fish frying over campfires often wafts across Southern Campgrounds. At Lake Charles State Park northwest of Jonesboro, AR, the campground is filled with retired folks from Jonesboro. They bring their boats for a few days of quiet fishing. But here, the guys do not use fishing as an excuse to join their fishing buddies, pick up a six-pack of beer and escape their familial responsibilities -- they tend to fish with their own wives. Novel idea!
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