Bristol Area Birders: The Sandhill Crane was seen from Musick's Campground again today (11/11). It was flying in the bright evening sun. I heard the bird call a couple of times about 4:30 p.m. while I was at the usual parking area. I couldn't locate the bird but, within a few minutes, it arose from behind "Egret Island" (the vegetative knoll just north of Musick's Campground above the little pond). It flew north towards Washington County Park and gained a considerable height above the average terrain until it flew out of sight in the general direction of Avens Bridge. This places the crane in both Tennessee and Virginia for today's sighting. At Middlebrook Lake I had a raft of 225 Ring-necked Ducks with 59 Hooded Mergansers (also counted 394 Canada Geese). A third Double-crested Cormorant is present. Two birds have been present for some time. Also at Musick's Campground were: Greater Yellowlegs 1, Horned Grebe 5, American Coot 5, American Pipit 6 and Pied-billed Grebe 12. The first record of a Sandhill Crane near Musick's Campground was by Ed & Hellen Morgan of Abingdon who had a single bird 16 Nov 1997 in the Spring Creek Embayment of Washington County, VA. Two were seen 11 Nov. 2000, as they flew close and low past Musick's Campground from Sullivan County, Tennessee and headed north over the Spring Creek Embayment in Virginia (Anthony Whitted, John Adams, Donna Adams, Pennie Jennings, Allan Trently, Howard Langridge, Laura Duncan and Wallace Coffey). Three were seen going to roost on the small pond at the edge of the lake at Musick's Campground in a snowfall on the eveing of 26 Dec 2000 (Wallace Coffey, Mae Musick, Virgil Carr). The birds roosted there the remainder of the winter and were found to be feeding daily on King Lane in Holston Valley through 18 Feb 2001 (Wallce Coffey, Larry McDaniel, Don Holt). There are now six records for Southwest Virginia with birds previously at Rural Retreat Lake (Wythe Co.) and Lonesome Pine Airport (Wise Co.). Let's go birding..... Wallace Coffey Bristol, TN ************************************************* 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, Greeneville 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