While birding the Woods Reservoir area yesterday, a group of birders from the Upper Cumberland area found and identified an Ash-throated Flycatcher. The bird was first located in a brushy clear-cut area on the southern end of the Elk River Dam. Initially identified only as a Myiarchus species, the group gathered and sought better looks and photos of the bird. It was then determined that the bird was an Ash-throated Flycatcher based upon the following criteria: dusky head and back but lacking olive brown of Great Crested, whitish throat with pale yellow belly (contra Great Crested), bill too small and thin to be possible Brown-crested, pale white wing bars and edges on secondaries, rufous coloration on bottom edge of the wings, and broad rufous band on tail when seen from below. On one occasion, the bird was seen in the company of an Eastern Phoebe and was noticeably larger than the phoebe. This time of year would be appropriate for vagrant Ash-throated Flycatchers and the habitat was ideal (lakeside, with lots of scrub, tall weeds and brush piles). The bird was most cooperative in providing good looks and numerous photos were taken. For those who might seek the bird, the south end of Elk River Dam can be reached via an access road turning north off of Morris Ferry Bridge Rd. (SR 279) about 2 miles west of the turnoff at SR 127 (Woods Reservoir bridge). Those in our group yesterday included Steve Stedman, Peter Li, Winston Walden, Ed LeGrand, Judy Fuson, Carol Williams, Sue Pirolo, and Doug Downs. Douglas Downs Sparta, White County, TN _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Trusted email with Microsoft's powerful SPAM protection. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/177141664/direct/01/ http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/177141664/direct/01/ =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation. You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds you report were seen. The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should appear in the first paragraph. _____________________________________________________________ To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx _____________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, send email to: tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. ______________________________________________________________ TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s) endorse the views or opinions expressed by the members of this discussion group. Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ------------------------------ Assistant Moderator Andy Jones Cleveland, OH ------------------------------- Assistant Moderator Dave Worley Rosedale, VA __________________________________________________________ Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ARCHIVES TN-Bird Net Archives at //www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/ MAP RESOURCES Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com _____________________________________________________________