From the Journal of Rob Biller http://technobohemia.com/technoblog/etnbirdjournal.php Black-throated Sparrow, Pacific Loon - Lifebirds in TENNESSEE! On Saturday December 3, I made a 620 mile round trip to Elora, TN, (Lincoln County) to hopefully find the 1st recorded record of a Black-throated Sparrow in Tennessee. Within 45 minutes of arriving we were all looking at target and my life Black-throated Sparrow. This striking sparrow was foraging with Swamp, Field, Song, and Savannah Sparrows. Also present in the flat lands of middle Tennessee were good looks at Lapland Longspurs which was a nice year bird and my only second look at this sparrow-type bird. The Longspurs, about 5-6, were hanging out with large numbers of Horned Larks, and American Pipits. Other birds present were Carolina Wren, Winter Wren, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Tufted Titmouse, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and a fly over of an unknown species of duck. We also looked for other reported birds on this trip. We thought we'd found the Rough-legged Hawk reported near Winchestor, but it turned out to be a light phase immature Red-tailed Hawk. We did find the reported 2 Whooping Cranes and 2 Sandhill Cranes also near Winchestor in Franklin County, TN. This was only my second look at Whooping Cranes and the first time in Tennessee (also 2 more year birds!). I had planned on taking Sunday off to catch up on some needed chores around my apartment and making it to my family's decorating of the tree dinner, but I received a call about a Pacific Loon at Musick's Campground (South Holston Lake, Sullivan County, TN). So I put off my chores and quickly loaded up my car to make the run to Musick's. Rick Knight had the bird in his scope and centered on the bird which was in a large group of Common Loons (~80). Again, an unexpected life bird and a bird that is normally found in the Western United States. This was this first record of a Pacific Loon in East Tennessee (west of Nashville). Total numbers of Common Loons was 130. Also present off the banks of Musick's Campground were Ruddy Ducks, Pied-billed Grebes, Bonaparte's Gulls, and Ring-billed Gulls. Other birds reported but not seen by me at Musick's - Eared Grebes, Common Golden-eye, Red-breasted Mergansers, Bald Eagles, and Horned Grebes. I didn't stay long at Musick's - lon! g enough to see the Pacific Loon and made to my family's dinner with a little time to spare. Many thanks go out to Tom McNeil, JT McNeil, Morris Williams, Kevin Breault, Frank Fekel, Rick Knight, and Wallace Coffey for making this one of my best birding weekends. Rob Biller Elizabethton, TN =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation. You are also required to list the count 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 _____________________________________________________________ Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp _____________________________________________________________