Roger Mayhorn and Buchanan Co. Birders: The raven you saw in Buchanan County could very well be a bird near a nest along the rock shelves you mentioned. The nests are active now. The birds are breeding and laying eggs and you can pretty well count on a full clutch of eggs in the nest on St. Patrick's Day (March 17). We are right at egg laying. The ravens nests at very low elevations in nearby states. Larry McDaniel, Rick Knight and myself saw a nest 3 and 9 Apr 1994 with 3+ young) at a quarry near Johnson City at 1,500 ft. elevation. A few years ago Bruce Grimes showed me a nest on a bluff above the New River in Pulaski County, Va at an elevation of about 1760 feet. I think there are nesting records down to a 1000 feet or less in the Piedmont area of North Carolina. Dick Peake reports they nested in "trees" in the Jefferson National Forest near the Town of Coeburn in Wise Co. in 1985-1986. I would think it might be good to scan the cliffs and other such locations in Buchanan County for the next month and you might find a raven's nest. They generally require a good ledge with a distinct overhang that extends protection to the nest from the elements. Good luck.... Let's go birding..... Wallace Coffey Bristol ************************************************* 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