1-5-08 Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge Standifer Gap Marsh Chickamauga Dam Chester Frost Pk. Hamilton Co. NTOS enjoyed a great birding day in Hamilton Co. yesterday, led by Clyde Blum and joined by several CTOS members. We totaled 63 species for the day in several birding spots. At Standifer Gap Marsh we had Northern Pintails and Green-winged Teal, and heard a close Virgina Rail calling from the thick reeds, a first for many in TN in January. The Peregrine Falcon at Chickamauga Dam was not visible, but we did have two beautiful male Common Goldeneyes and a few Common Loons above the dam. At Chester Frost Park we had several highlights including many Brown-headed Nuthatches squeaking above us in the pines, bright yellow Pine Warblers feeding on the ground right next to male Eastern Bluebirds, a juvenile Red-headed Woodpecker with a bright red slash on its lower throat, and a lone Ross's Goose with a flock of Canada Geese. Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge was wonderful as usual, with possibly a thousand+ Sandhill Cranes in sight during the time we were there, constantly flying back and forth between feeding areas, and serenading us with their unique bugling calls. One juvenile flew right over us giving its high, squeaky trill. One Whooping Crane was spotted by Bill Riner in the corn stubble at the crest of the hill opposite the crane viewing area. And a small flock of Snow Geese were at the edge of the water, with a combination of adult dark and white morphs, and both juvenile dark and white morphs. The water there was partially frozen, so most of the ducks were further away, but we enjoyed a close pair of beautiful Hooded Mergansers. Thank you, Clyde, for a wonderful day in the field. Jan Shaw Nashville, TN **************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape. http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489 =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation. You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds you report were seen. The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should appear in the first paragraph. _____________________________________________________________ To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx _____________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, send email to: tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. ______________________________________________________________ TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s) endorse the views or opinions expressed by the members of this discussion group. Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ------------------------------ Assistant Moderator Andy Jones Cleveland, OH ------------------------------- Assistant Moderator Dave Worley Rosedale, VA __________________________________________________________ Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ARCHIVES TN-Bird Net Archives at //www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/ EXCELLENT MAP RESOURCES Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com _____________________________________________________________