Saturday the family headed out from Hendersonville to Hiwassee Refuge for the crane viewing. On the way we stopped at Cane Creek Park on the west side of Cookeville (off I-40 at Willow, north to West Jackson, turn left, then left on Buffalo Valley, then right on CCCamp Rd, signed). Here we saw the usual 8 or so Ruddy Ducks, and something bigger on the other side. Binoculars indicated male Canvasback, so I pulled out the telescope and it was a male Canvasback. A hike halfway around the flooded lake yielded 3 male Hooded Mergansers, 1 female Scaup (seemed to be Greater), 1 male Bufflehead near the first parking area, and about 12 Redheads. While on the other side of the lake, a flock of Canada Geese came sailing by, and I noted a white goose. Quick binocular work noted 2 Snow Geese, 1 each of white phase and blue phase. They didn't land as I had hoped, only giving a low flyby. Next was down US111 to Chickamauga Dam in Chattanooga, where we saw (on the lake side of the dam from near the visitor center) 2 male Common Goldeneyes about 200-300 feet out, the White-winged Scoter 100-200 feet out, a female Scaup (Greater I believe) 100 feet out, a Common Loon 300 feet out, and a female Red-Breasted Merganser from 250 feet out to 100 feet out before we left. Oh yes, there were plenty of Coots nearby. Just south of the dam we met David Patterson at Standifer Gap Marsh, where we saw Redheads, Ring-Necked Ducks, Northern Shovelers, Gadwall, and (after he generously played his tape a few times) a close-range Virginia Rail under cover of Cattails. Next we made it to our destination of Hiwassee Refuge where we saw thousands of Sandhill Cranes. Our daughter was even impressed by the numbers and noise of these birds! Last, but not least, we went to Dayton City Park and immediately spotted the female Common Merganser, plus 1 male and 2 female Hooded Merganser. This male, unlike those at Cane Creek Park, was in full array, with his crest raised and black-and-white barring at his chest. Sunday while caving in Jackson county, TN, we heard Sandhill Cranes 3 separate times, but never saw them to get a direction of flight. Another highlight on Sunday were 2 close-range Bobcats next to a cave, and another probable Bobcat crossing the highway in another area of Jackson county. Ken Oeser Hendersonville, TN =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation. ----------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- 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 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ========================================================