It was not surprising that a Loggerhead Shrike was found on the Christmas Bird Count in Shady Valley Sat. (1/5), in light of the apparent record numbers found over the area this winter. The Shady Valley bird, found in the valley proper at about 2,800 feet elevation, represents the first found there since John and Lorrie Shumate had one 16 years ago on 30 Jan 1992. Winter records of this species in the valley have long been sporadic. The Red-breasted Nuthatches were a record for the Shady Valley-Mountain City Christmas Bird Count but fell just three short of the valley record of (23) 1 Jan 2005 (Wallace Coffey, John Moyle, Rack Cross, Chris O'Bryan, Andy Jones, Rob Biller, Ron Carrico). Ron Carrico, Rob Biller and Richard Lewis' tally of 49 Swamp Sparrows broke the old valley proper record of 35 previously counted 26 Oct 2002 Quarry Bog (Rack Cross). The three Brown Creepers on the count in Shady Valley proper set a new record by one individual. The old record was (2) 17 Jan 2004 McQueen Knob Rd. (Chris O'Bryan). This year's 7 Fox Sparrow did establish a new maximum for Shady Valley itself. A close look at other counts may indicate that Northern Cardinals are having a banner year. The 53 birds found in Shady this past weekend establishes a new record. The old high count was 35 birds 1 Jan 2005 Christmas Bird Count (Coffey, John Moyle, Rack Cross, Chris O'Bryan, Andy Jones, Biller, Carrico). If anyone has more updated info or corrections, please let me know. Let's go birding...... Wallace Coffey Bristol, TN