January 9, 2005 While birding along Tellico Lake in Monroe County (east Tennessee) this afternoon at 4:45 PM, we discovered a female Common Merganser . The bird was seen from the TVA road to the Tanasi Monument. We watched the bird for thirty minutes swimming, flying, and then preening on a sand bar. Through our scope we noted the clean white chest, sharply defined line separating the chest and reddish head and the white throat. We saw the square white wing patch in flight and while it was preening. Directions: From Vonore, TN turn off US 411 at the red light beside Hardee's on to State HWY 360. Go south 7.1 miles. At this point State HWY 360 makes a 90 degree turn to the right across the lake. Go straight on County Rd. 455 4.8 miles. Turn left at the Tellico Lake Wildlife Area / Chota Refuge Unit sign and the Chota Tanasi sign on Monroe County Rd. 461. We observed the bird from .2 miles to .7 miles at the Tanasi Monument on the left. It was observed from as close as 30 ft. from shore to the middle of the lake. Jean Alexander & David Johnson Maryville, TN (Blount County) =================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 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ========================================================