FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] It MUST have been the almost impossible...a harrier

[Dthomp2669@xxxxxxx]

Greetings,
 
Most of my feeder birds are back here in the Charlotte Park section of West  
Nashville, Davidson County, a few blocks from the Cumberland River across from 
 Bell's Bend.  My only notable misses are my male white throated sparrow,  
song sparrow and field sparrows.
 
Just a little while ago, a huge brown hawk sporting a WHITE RUMP PATCH flew  
through my back yard trees frightening hundreds of starlings into heart  
spasms.  Field marks and wing flap pattern make it into a harrier, but my  
habitat 
is NOT for harriers, and this bird seemed too far above ground, although  we 
DID see one "flying high" above Lucky Hammock near the Everglades a couple of  
weeks ago.  The only thing I can figure is that it followed the starlings  
over from Bell's Bend or Cockrill Bend, both of which begin just about a  mile 
away and are full of grassy fields.  Every winter, when I was  librarian at the 
Riverbend Maximum Correctional Facility at the far  end of Cockrill Bend about 
two air miles away, I enjoyed watching a harrier  fly back and forth above 
the field between the prison and the river.   Another concern is that I wasn't 
aware that harriers might pursue  starlings.  Is it possible that our harrier 
is the same as or so closely  related to the harriers of Europe that this one 
might be interested in some  "Continental cuisine?"  Or, do you suppose this 
harrier was just having a  little fun stirring up several hundred starlings.  
It 
sure had them  breaking up into flocks and fleeing in every direction. I 
couldn't get to  my camera in time to capture the harrier as it flew off toward 
the river too  quickly.  Any other suggestions?
 
A purple finch came in with the cold weather, and is hiding in my  bushes.  
I'm trying to get a "clean" photo, but it just won't cooperate so  far.
 
A sparrow hawk, presumably the one that appeared just before I went to  
Florida on January 13, perches on the wire above my deck.  Since I  returned, I 
have not seen one mouse so far.  I used to have from one to a  dozen feeding 
with 
the birds at my "ground feeder" on the deck.  It would  be nice if that 
sparrow hawk did a fine mouse extermination job for me  while I was gone.  Of 
course, he may have dined on my sparrows as well,  since I haven't seen them 
since 
my return.
 
My bird tour of South Florida yielded 168 species of birds, plus two more  
for me after I left the group.
 
Cheers & prayers,
 
Dee Thompson
Nashville, TN 

=================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================

The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with
first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation.
You are also required to list the count 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

_____________________________________________________________
     Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
          web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp

_____________________________________________________________