King Rail, Standifer Marsh. 9 AM, June 2, 02. Half way along the black plastic fence that separates the marsh from the cleared land for the subdivision there is a wide ditch with water and aquatic plants in it, at right angles to the fence. ( We saw a beaver or very large musk rat in the ditch. The fence is down near the ditch, and it is easy to walk to the edge of the marsh. There is where we saw and heard the King Rail, good views and much calling. We spent at least 30 minutes within 25 feet of the bird. It preferred to stay hidden in the rushes, but did not seem afraid and did not move away from us despite a lot of talk and moving aroud. The King Rail which I heard May 20 was closer to the clay/gravel road which crosses the marsh. We also saw a Least Bittern 4 times, twice flying across the road, once flying along the road, and once walking in the brush and water near the road. All 4 sightings could easily have been the same individual. David Patterson Sam and Gloria James Chattanooga =================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 =========================================================