There is an VERY long and excellent article on the story of Jim Stevenson who was on trial for killing a feral cat that was a threat to piping plovers nesting in Galveston and the problem of feral cats and birds in general in The New York Times Magazine. (BY Bruce Barcott). When I was studying for my MSLS at Florida State University,I used to go birding with Jim (who was 13 at the time) and his father, the late Dr. Henry Stevenson, who taught ornithology at FSU and is co-author of the book BIRD LIFE IN FLORIDA. My winter birding trip to Florida in January of 2006 was led by Jim and co-led by Bruce Anderson. Bruce is the other author of the team Stevenson & Anderson who wrote the aforementioned book. Long though the article is, it is worth the read.. I have placed this note for information for those who want to read the article and NOT to encourage a lot of discussion on the matter. __http://www.nytimes.http://wwhttp://www.nytihttp://wwhttp://wwhttp://www.nyti m_ (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/magazine/02cats-v--birds-t.html?pagewanted=) My deck is FULL of hungry birds storing up food before the bad weather REALLY hits. I have an odd junco which is very charcoal-gray instead of slate-colored., It's white underparts do not begin until way back near its legs. It's the "blackest" junco I've ever seen. It's companions are quite normal, and I think the weather sent a few more in today. Earlier, I had about 200 birds of varied species on my deck, and they just keep coming.ro Dee's Smorgabird. Dee Thompson Nashville, TN **************************************Check out AOL's list of 2007's hottest products. (http://money.aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?NCID=aoltop00030000000001) =================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/ EXCELLENT MAP RESOURCES Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com _____________________________________________________________