Bristol Area Birders, Today, March 6th. My wife Lynda and I located two Osprey nests a couple of miles west of Grundy on the Levisa River. This is a first for Buchanan County. Ospreys have been seen along the river for the last few years and last year Ed Talbott III saw one feeding a fledgling. We knew the nests had to be nearby. Ed and I had searched for them last year but the leaves were just too thick. The nests were found when Lynda and I went looking for Red-necked Grebes within the county. We visited several ponds and found only 3 Wood Ducks and 1 Canada Goose. Driving back along the river we decided to look for Great Blue Heron nests, which also have not been found within the county but are believed to be here. Thanks to Lynda's sharp eyes she spotted the first Osprey nest on the south side of the river, several hundred feet upon the mountain. It was located in the top forks of a large deciduous tree. Judging from the size of the nest it looks to be several years old, since Ospreys add more material each year. We quickly placed a call to Ed Talbott III, Vice President of the Buchanan County Bird Club, via cell phone to give him the good news. After lunch we drove back down the river, where Lynda sighted a second nest across the river from Hardees less than a quarter mile east of the first nest.( I knew I had a good reason for marrying her.) It also was several hundred feet up the mountain on the south side of the river. This nest was in a large deciduous tree as well, but was only about halfway up the tree in a huge fork. This nest was large but slightly smaller than the first. To top off a great birding day we observed a Common Raven flying and gliding along the vertical, terraced, rock face of the mountain, which has been removed to make room for the new town of Grundy. This is the first time I have ever seen one near the town. I think it may be the high stone mountain face that attracted it. The Raven was being harassed by two Crows that kept dive bombing it. It would be nice to think that Ravens might become a common sight riding the wind above the new town, but considering that Ravens usually nest at 3000 ft. or higher and Grundy's elevation is less than 1000 ft. it is doubtful. I just received an email from Ed Talbott telling me that he has located a third Osprey nest just west of the other two. Enjoy the birds, Roger Mayhorn Grundy, VA Buchanan County mayhorn@xxxxxxxxxxxx ************************************************* BRISTOL BIRDS NET LIST This is a regional birding list sponsored by the Bristol Bird Club to facilitate communications between birders and bird clubs of Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee. It serves the Russell County Bird Club, Herndon Chapter TOS, Chapter, Blue Ridge Birders Club, Butternut Nature Club, Buchanan County Bird Club, Bristol Bird Club, Clinch Valley Bird Club and Cumberland Nature Club. -------------------------------------------------- You are subscribed to Bristol-Birds. To post to this mailing list, simply send an email to: bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe, send an email to bristol-birds-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the one word 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. -------------------------------------------------- Wallace Coffey, Moderator jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx (423)764-3958