One quick correction: Denise's last name is Weyer. Sorry Denise. ;) Also, if the skua/jaeger from Pickwick turns out to be a skua, that would be even more mind-boggling than this shearwater, but only by a hair. -- Chris Sloan chris.sloan@xxxxxxxxxxx Nashville, TN -------------- Original message -------------- Denise Meyer and Sandy Bivens from the Warner Parks Nature Center here in Nashville just forwarded me a series of photos of an injured bird that was brought to them after it was found with a broken leg in the parking lot of a church in Murfreesboro. They had tentatively identified the bird, but wanted confirmation of the ID. I was in the middle of a sip of coffee when I opened the first picture (before reading their message), and I almost soaked my computer. Their identification was spot on - this bird is the first state record of GREATER SHEARWATER, and one of, and possibly the only (I'm looking into this), inland record of this species. It is not uncommon for inland seabirds and waterfowl to crash land in parking lots and along roads; from the air, asphalt looks very much like water. I'm sure that's what caused this bird's broken leg. The bird is going to be taken to a local rehab center, although, sadly, I would imagine that its survival prospects are probably not too good. -- Chris Sloan chris.sloan@xxxxxxxxxxx Nashville, TN