This frosty morning, seventeen birders, including some new members, braved the cold for the October NTOS field trip to Bells Bend. A couple of birders in the group got "lifebirds", and that's always exciting--even for those who have already seen the species! The trees around the Outdoor Center yielded dozens (or should I say HUNDREDS) of Yellow-rumped Warblers and American Robins. A Lincoln's Sparrow gave somewhat nice views for a few and even sang its warbling song briefly. Towards the end of the trip, a Sharp-shinned Hawk dashed in front of us and glided at a quite high altitude. Two other notable species were a Green Heron and a Barn Swallow which seemed to be a little late despite the weather. As a side note, I also saw a Bald Eagle as we were driving down Old Hickory Blvd. on our way home. The complete list is as follows: 44 species waterfowl sp.-8 Great Blue Heron-1 Green Heron-1 Black Vulture-11 Turkey Vulture-9 Sharp-shinned Hawk-1 Cooper's Hawk-1 Red-tailed Hawk-1 American Kestrel-1 Red-bellied Woodpecker-4 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker-3 Downy Woodpecker-2 Northern Flicker-7 Eastern Phoebe-1 Blue Jay-12 American Crow-3 Barn Swallow-1 Carolina Chickadee-x (heard) Tufted Titmouse-x (heard) White-breasted Nuthatch-1 Carolina Wren-2 House Wren-2 Marsh Wren-1 Golden-crowned Kinglet-3 Eastern Bluebird-13 Hermit Thrush-x (heard) American Robin-200 Northern Mockingbird-4 Brown Thrasher-2 European Starling-1 Cedar Waxwing-x (heard) Yellow-rumped Warbler-40 Eastern Towhee-6 Chipping Sparrow-2 Field Sparrow-17 Song Sparrow-29 Lincoln's Sparrow-1 Swamp Sparrow-23 White-throated Sparrow-14 Northern Cardinal-5 Red-winged Blackbird-2 Common Grackle-10 House Finch-2 American Goldfinch-7 Overall, a pretty decent day. Chloe Walker NTOS Field Trip Coordinator Murfreesboro, TN