Winter visitors come to the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge in Meigs County at
Birchwood to see numbers of cranes, ducks, American Pelicans, Bald Eagles, and
more. Yesterday all of those were present, including a first-of-season group of
8-10 Buffleheads. The Buffleheads were seen from the Cherokee Removal Memorial
Park overlook. Additionally, I counted 8 Snow Geese (4 white and 4 blue phase)
plus one first-of- season Ross's Goose (no "smile patch"). A few dozen
shorebirds, a little smaller than Killdeer, flew in and foraged in the mud in
front of the gazebo. I couldn't identify them. A friend, mixing Southern accent
and pun, agreed that they were "shore birds."
Charles Murray
Birchwood, TN
