We'll be guiding canoe tours at Rankin Bottoms on International Migratory Day, Saturday, May 14. The tours will start at 9:00 AM, 1:00 PM and 5:00 PM and will take 2-3 hours. We'll explore the inundated floodplain forest and float along the grassy shores of upper Douglas Lake. The area is rich with wildlife, especially waterbirds. Osprey, wood duck, great egret, black-crowned night heron, cormorant and green heron are common. Shorebirds are present throughout the spring; last year's IMBD highlight was a pair of black-necked stilts, rare for East Tennessee. Breeding species include willow flycatcher, warbling vireo, red-headed woodpecker, yellow warbler, Baltimore oriole and eastern kingbird. Prothonotary warblers seem to be everywhere. There's no more enjoyable way to go birding than in a canoe on flat water. The basics of paddling are easy to learn; without wind or currents, not much effort is necessary. The risk level is equivalent to walking down a woodland trail, maybe even lower. The tours will be free of charge on IMBD. Marcia Davis, Birdlife columnist for the Knoxville News-Sentinel, and Don Miller, president of the Greeneville chapter of TOS, will be on hand throughout the day to inform and enlighten; they'll be available to conduct bird walks along the high ground. If you'd like to join us, please call or email soon. Michael Sledjeski & Leslie Gibbens The Rankin Bottoms Project 423 487- 3161 Cocke County 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 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ========================================================