A few weeks ago, my husband told me he'd heard an Osprey but couldn't locate it flying overhead, so he couldn't confirm it. We dismissed it as unlikely (although perhaps we were wrong to do so), since we live at least a few miles from even the nearest finger of Tims Ford Lake. A few days later, I heard what I thought was an Osprey call, but, again, I couldn't see anything to confirm it. How far do Osprey wander from water? On a few occasions since that time, I have seen/heard a Northern Mockingbird doing an Osprey imitation. I am wondering: does this in any way confirm that what we heard was an Osprey? I don't think that I mistook a mocker's rendition for the real deal (not that it hasn't happened before!) because this sounded more distant and higher up, as if in flight. If there has not been an Osprey in the area, why would a mockingbird suddenly add the call to its repertoire? I am always curious when a mockingbird adds a new song to its routine. For instance, for the last couple of springs, I have heard a mockingbird do snippets of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo's song/call days before I hear the actual cuckoo. Does the mockingbird have some sort of seasonal memory, or is it repeating a "novel" sound that has recently arrived in its environment? In other words, is the mockingbird's imitation an indication that the cuckoo has already returned? Laura McCall Lynchburg, TN (Moore 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/ MAP RESOURCES Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com _____________________________________________________________