I visited 7 Islands WMA today, mainly to check out the status of the Bald Eagles that nested there last year. I have heard reports from folks who have visited 7 Islands recently without seem them. When I arrived at the viewing spot along the road there was no activity at the nest and on first pass I didn't see any eagles along the river. I did spot 6 great blue herons on nests about two hundred yards south of the eagle nest, as well as two empty great blue heron type nest another hundred or so yards farther south. While scoping the heron nest an adult bald eagle carrying a stick flew through the field of view. I was able to watch it carry the stick to the nest and add it to the pile. A few moments later the second adult bald eagle arrived at the nest. The first bird was arranging sticks while it appeared the other was watching. When they left the nest, one headed downstream and one headed upstream toward the heron nests. The herons did not seem to react to the eagle despite the fact that it landed in a neighboring tree at about the same level as their nest. Only one heron left the nest when the eagle arrived, but it just dropped to the river bank and started stalking the rivers edge. I did not see any hatchlings in the heron nest. I would think having a rookery that close would be sort of like a 7-11 for the eagles. For more info in birding 7 Islands WMA: http://www.tnbirds.org/birdfinding/SevenIslands.htm Dan Mooney Knoxville, Knox County =================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 _____________________________________________________________