I have to agree with Bill Pulliam. I'm a farmer and constantly bitten by ticks. It's not IF I get one today but how many. I jerk them off as soon as I see them . The good news in tick world is that there is a lull in numbers tapering off from a high in spring until early fall when they seems to increase again. (local and anecdotal observation only,no science here) On a bird note. I was lucky to see a nice Barred owl last evening. He was on the ground when I approached and flew to a nearby tree. Beautiful bird. A question for more experienced birders: I recently returned from a stay in Maine. In Brunswick on the Androscoggin River I saw four Great Blue Herons. They were unusually light colored around the head and neck. Very White. I thought my ID must be wrong and reviewed all my references. These birds were much like Wurdemanns but with a dark plume and not in Florida. The white extended down the neck to the body. Is this just a regional variation or what? John Sanders Petersburg, Tn, Marshall County =================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 _____________________________________________________________