12-19-07 Observations

- Cloudy and seasonably cool today....

- As the attached photos seem to convey, there seems to be a tranquil peace on the mountain properties these days. One photo was taken from Little Pond Park at the Stone Creek gate and the deer photo was taken just east of Little Pond Park.

- I did see another Cooper's Hawk yesterday (Accipiter cooperii), a predator that was on the endangered list for a time back in the 90s....The photo was too vague for publication. Ornithology test today? If so, try and distinguish the Cooper's Hawk and the Sharp-Shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)! Even in the identification books, it is not easy. Both are found in this area.

- I still commonly see the Pileated Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus), Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus) and the Red-Bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) on my feeders. I also see the Common Flicker (Colaptes auratus)...one of my favorites...often, but rarely on the feeders.

- One mainstay all year round at my cabin is the White Breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis). These entertaining birds seem to always have considerable energy and a postive outlook. They are often distinguished by their habit of navigating down a tree trunk head-first.

- Several times lately I have heard Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) overhead. Once, while on a bike trip in a remote area of the mountain, I heard them far overhead. They were so high I could barely see them. These magnificent birds can often be seen en masse (especially in February and November) at the nearby Hiwassee National Refuge on the Tennessee River, about an hour east of us. This staging area for these birds (many species of waterfowl can usually be seen...as well as a few Bald Eagles) is open to the public. Take a good pair of binoculars, be sure and dress warmly, and enjoy the show. Often there are thousands of the cranes in the cornfields there. The refuge is on Highway 60, just east of Dayton, Tennessee.