Yesterday (Sunday, Feb. 22) I finally got to bird the Wal-Mart Distribution Center ponds in Greene County (thanks to the excellent directions of Don Miller) and try out my "new" (used) scope and tripod. There were mostly mallards but a few other waterfowl species I could I.D. On the first pond by the parking lot when I drove in there were a few Mallards and a great blue heron. There were a lot of ducks on the 2nd pond but at a great distance; Just as I got there a train went by and they all flew off (the tracks run right behind the pond). They appeared to be all Mallards, about 50 or more. Better luck at the 3rd pond. As I was scanning the 20+ Mallards, a small fleet of redheads swam in from the reedy, boggy area to the left (I counted at least 11). A bit later 8 Canvasbacks flew in. I also watched an adult male Northern harrier hunting on the far side of the reedy, boggy area that's parallel to the fence you walk by to get to the 3rd pond. On my way back to the parking lot there was another harrier hunting in the fields on the other side of the 1st & 2nd ponds. This was either a female or an immature but it was too far away for me to be sure. I did see it catch and devour its dinner. Also seen were killdeer, bluebirds, starlings, song sparrows, crows, several great blue heron, a couple of meadowlarks and 4 coots (1st pond). Carole Gobert Knoxville, Knox County, Tennessee _________________________________________________________________ Get fast, reliable access with MSN 9 Dial-up. Click here for Special Offer! http://click.atdmt.com/AVE/go/onm00200361ave/direct/01/ =================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 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ========================================================