It's summer and the bird reports have dwindled, especially from east Tennessee, so here's something, especially to help newer birders know that there are birds out there this time of year! Sunday morning (July 27) I ventured to the Forks of the River WMA in Knox County (near Ijams Nature Center, off Island Home Ave), more to look for butterflies and dragonflies than birds. Several bird species were singing, especially up to about 10:30 a.m. None would be considered unusual - but there may be some life birds for some of you - and now you know where to go for them! The commonly walked trails there are becoming overgrown with vegetation. Perhaps more people are using the paved greenway (blackway??) and leaving the trails alone. The following birds were found: Canada Geese Turkey Vulture Mourning Dove Yellow-billed Cuckoo Chimney Swift Red-bellied Woodpecker Barn Swallow Blue Jay American Crow Carolina Chickadee Tufted Titmouse Carolina Wren American Robin Brown Thrasher N Mockingbird Prairie Warbler (yep, still some singing) Common Yellowthroat Yellow-breasted Chat N Cardinal Indigo Bunting Blue Grosbeak E Towhee Song Sparrow American Goldfinch If your not interested in butterflies and dragonflies - read no more! The main reason I went out there was because of a suggestion from my naturalist brother, Allan Trently, who thought there might be some Juniper Hairstreaks (a butterfly) in the cedar trees there. Sure enough, after a bit of searching - I found at least three! These butterflies (greenish underwings) are not easy to see, as they tend to stay in the cedars, not flying around like most butterflies. Other butterflies: Cabbage White (abundant) Clouded Sulphur (2 or 3) Pearl Crescent (many) Silvery Checkerspot (few) Silver-spotted Skipper (several) Hackberry Emperor (several) Dragonflies: Common Whitetail - mostly females, in dusty areas on the trails. Widow Skimmer - 1 female clubtail sp - (Black-shouldered Spinyleg?) David Trently, Knoxville, 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. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TN-Bird Net Owner: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx (423) 764-3958 =========================================================