An absolutely gorgeous adult red-tailed hawk just flew in from the Southeast and began circling over my deck here in Charlotte Park, West Nashville, Davidson County, a few blocks east of the Cumberland River across from Bell's Bend. All squirrels and birds took cover, "froze" and became mute. For the few minutes the hawk circled overhead with the bright sun alternately glinting off its belly and its brilliant tail, it was not unlike "silent spring" around here. Finally, the hawk gave up and flew back toward the WSMV tower where one sometimes perches. I don't know if its one of the Belle Meade hawks or one of the Bell's Bend residents. I believe there are, at least,a couple of nests in both areas. At any rate, you should have seen one of the squirrels "hiding" under several leafless grape vines on the deck rail. It apparently worked. The squirrel didn't become hawk bait! Of course, the hawk may NOT have been hunting, but it appeared to have flown over here just for the purpose of checking my deck. Cheers, prayers & MERRY CHRISTMAS or HAPPY HOLIDAYS, whichever be YOUR choice. Dee Thompson Nashville, TN =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation. You are also required to list the count 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 _____________________________________________________________ Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp _____________________________________________________________