Chris, I looked at hooded oriole but ruled it out based on range - probably a mistake. I figured I was on enough of a limb already with orchard and I doubt I could tell the two apart if they were side-by-side (what is "fairly" similar to you is "very" similar to me). The underside of this bird was very yellow - which I presume lends itself more toward orchard but I'm not sure. Unfortunately, I can't check this area again until the weekend.. Hopefully someone with more experience will luck up and see the bird. I should know not to rule something out because it's "out of range", when I don't also rule things out for being "out of season". Thanks for the reply, Kelly --- On Mon, 11/9/09, Chris Sloan <chris.sloan@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: From: Chris Sloan <chris.sloan@xxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: Re: [TN-Bird] Lincoln's & Orchard Oriole - Knox To: luvsbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Date: Monday, November 9, 2009, 7:27 PM Kelly- Did you rule out Hooded Oriole? Given the late date, it's something that has to be considered. It hasn't occurred in TN before, but it does have a pattern of vagrancy, and females are fairly similar to female Orchard. Chris Sloan Nashville, TN http://www.chrissloanphotography.com On Mon, Nov 9, 2009 at 7:04 PM, luvsbirdn <luvsbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: While birding the Turkey Creek wetland area in west Knox County yesterday morning (~8:15 - 9:30) with my wife, we noticed 2 very interesting birds: 1) Lincoln's Sparrow 2) Orchard Oriole (female) Both birds were on the weedy side (outside) of the paved path, maybe 20-40 yds west of the interpretive sign ("Fall Flora Fauna Farragut") - both at nearly eye level in the weeds & both occasionally perching in the small trees on that same side of the path. We got very good looks at both birds. Saw the Lincoln's first, then about 30 minutes later on our way back through (searching for the Lincoln's again) we saw the oriole. 1) The Lincoln's sparrow was unusually cooperative, offering good looks from all angles. "Razor crisp" fine streaks on buff-ochre breast and flanks, very small central breast spot, thin eye ring, brown crown (maybe even rusty-brown) finely streaked with black & having a thin, light-colored central crown stripe; much more delicate than song sparrow - especially the bill, and much more "finely" marked than song or swamp. 2) The orchard oriole was a complete shock as this is way beyond any normal departure date. It was too large and long-tailed for a warbler (chat was immediately ruled out as the bill was all wrong and this bird was completely yellow underneath - although I believe Stedman and others have documented winter chat records for TN). Tanagers immediately ruled out as the bill was typically oriole-like (again, all wrong for a tanager - which would be equally odd this time of year). Dull green above, white wing bars, rather bright yellow underneath - including undertail. Perhaps I'm not considering all possibilities but I'm quite certain of what I saw. Bird was quite active & appeared to be foraging in 3-4 ft tall weeds, though I couldn't tell if it was eating weed seeds/flowers or finding insects. I paid little attention to the weedy vegetation as far as species but not likely I could ID anyway. Behavior was not typically oriole-like in my experience - but the bird was what it was. The latest date for orchard oriole in east TN has been reported to me as Sept. 30. Carole Gobert reported a female orchard oriole in this same area on Sept. 27 of this year. This possibly is the same individual even though our sightings were 6 wks apart and the bird I saw would seem to be "lost" at this point. The bird appeared perfectly healthy so I doubt it is "lingering" due to an injury. Kelly Roy Knoxville TN =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation. You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds you report were seen. The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should appear in the first paragraph. _____________________________________________________________ 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 ------------------------------ Assistant Moderator Andy Jones Cleveland, OH ------------------------------- Assistant Moderator Dave Worley Rosedale, VA __________________________________________________________ Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ARCHIVES TN-Bird Net Archives at //www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/ MAP RESOURCES Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com _____________________________________________________________ =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation. You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds you report were seen. The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should appear in the first paragraph. _____________________________________________________________ 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 ------------------------------ Assistant Moderator Andy Jones Cleveland, OH ------------------------------- Assistant Moderator Dave Worley Rosedale, VA __________________________________________________________ Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ARCHIVES TN-Bird Net Archives at //www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/ MAP RESOURCES Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com _____________________________________________________________