I added what seems like a very unusual yard bird to my yard list yesterday = afternoon in Smyrna (Rutherford County). I was in the middle of doing = yard work and while walking through my neighbors back yard (where I = borrowed chain saw, ladder, etc), I saw a large sparrow-like bird fly = through the yard coming from my yard. I got about 15 ft from it and it = was a Dickcissel. I have extensive experience with these guys in the = Mississippi Alluvial Valley where I found their nests all summer a few = years ago and was dumbstruck at seeing one. It was in adult female = plumage. I clearly saw the yellow breast, whitish throat, and eye stripe = and was shaking my head that it wasn't a House Sparrow. I didn't see the = rufus wing patch, but I saw enough to eliminate every other sparrow-like = bird. As it flew to another tree, it chipped several times, which helped = me be sure I wasn't crazy. None of my neighbors have a full feeder and = I'm out of seed, otherwise it might hang around. I went to get my bincos, = but then my neighbors came home and the dogs got all worked up, so I = didn't have a chance to look for it. Although I didn't see it strictly from my yard, I'm counting it. Close = enough. It probably flew through my yard anyway! Getting late for a Dickcissel? 21 Oct. Cheers, Scott Somershoe State Ornithologist Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency P.O. Box 40747 Nashville, TN 37204 615-781-6653 (o) 615-781-6654 (fax) =20 UPS address: 440 Hogan Rd Nashville, TN 37220 =20 FedEx address: 5107 Edmondson Pike=20 Nashville, TN 37211 =================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 _____________________________________________________________