April 8, 2005 I observed (heard, actually) two first-of-spring birds this morning--a House Wren and a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, both at our home in Greeneville. The House Wren was pouring its characteristic bubbling cascade of notes from a perch somewhere near the edge of the yard, while the gnatcatcher was moving slowly through the trees in the backyard as it sporadically uttered its trademark querulous "peent" or "spee" note. There is an interesting observation concerning gnatcatchers on p. 242 of Charles Nicholson's Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Tennessee: the "song is primarily associated with courtship activities . . . and infrequently sung after early May." Although I haven't had as much experience with gnatcatchers as has Nicholson, I have to say that my observations tend toward his. I haven't kept records on the seasonal timing of gnatcatcher songs, but I recall hearing comparatively few of them, and I can't recall any from late in the year. The "spee" or "peent" call is definitely a more prominent part of its vocal repertoire, so much so, in fact, that when I do hear the bird sing I find myself anticipating, and even looking forward to, the call notes interspersed among the warbles, squeaks, and other sounds that compose the song. The gnatcatcher is a songbird that is better thought of as a callbird. Don Miller Greeneville, TN ************************************************* BRISTOL BIRDS NET LIST Bristol Birds Net Photo Gallery located at: http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jwcoffeyy/album?.dir=/efd5 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. -------------------------------------------------- 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 wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (423)764-****