I saw several hundred sandhill cranes and likely a few thousand ducks, mostly mallards, in the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge and nearby areas in Meigs and Rhea counties today. The ducks were mostly seen near Hiwassee Island from the Cherokee Removal Memorial Park overlook. Two visitors from Illinois joined at least 24 others to raise the total number of visits to HWR since December 14 to at least 4280, not including visits to the Tennessee Sandhill Crane Festival. Charles Murray Birchwood, TN