While taking a walk with the family this morning (~10:30) out to the Craig Cove island (Knoxville, Knox County, home of the Sage Thrasher from last winter) I spotted a white goose in with 20 or so Canada Geese. My first thought was Snow Goose, but it was less than half the size of the Canadas, had a rounded head, and a very short stubby bill. I did not see a grin patch on the bill and took a 2nd and 3rd look (awaiting my turn while wife Deb and each of the kids had their looks) to confirm it was a Ross's Goose. We did not see any of the geese in the cove on the way back out. Not sure where they went as we didn't see or hear them fly away either. Also saw 2 Bald Eagles sitting rather cozily together near the mouth of the Little River. There were 20-30 Bonaparte's Gulls hanging out near the mouth as well. Back at home we've had a Red-breasted Nuthatch coming to the feeders fairly regularly since Thanksgiving. I keep hoping the Brown-headed Nuthatches that have been seen across the river near the UT Plant Sciences Farm will make a foray over our way, but no such luck yet. Chris Welsh Knoxville =================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. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ========================================================