WillieBoy nearly had a head-on collision this morning and it took him a good while to settle down and eat. Since the weather was much milder he went back to his usual habit of coming to the feeder about 6:25, taking a couple of flying sips and going back to the trees behind the house. As he left the feeder after his second quickie visit, he and a Tufted Titmouse nearly collided. Then it took him three more visits before he finally settled down, sat and ate. I guess even little hummingbirds are unnerved by near disasters. A couple from Knoxville came to see WillieBoy yesterday morning as he was a year bird for them. He didn't disappoint them although on his first visit after they arrived he went to the back port of the feeder and all we could see was his tail pumping as he ate - I know we're told different by those who have studied them, but somehow the tongue on a Rufous Hummingbird must be connected to the tail muscles because every time he drinks, he moves his tail up and down. Virginia blocked off that back port and on his next two visits he gave them great views. Tomorrow he gets banded if he will cooperate. It should be even better weather and that's why we've waited so it will be less stressful than on a bitter cold day like last week. Tommy & Virginia Curtis Smithville, TN DeKalb County =================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 _____________________________________________________________