Louisianna Birds

While passing through Louisianna on the way to NAD church planters exchange in TX I saw:
102. Cattle Egret
103. Great Egret
104. Fish Crow

all of these were at Lake claiburne state park

Cohutta Springs

100. Green Heron -- Below the Gymnasium near the base of the newly installed Zip line
101. American Bittern -- In pond by RV Park

Blue Grosbeak

99. Blue Grosbeak at my feeder.

# 36 and # 54 and # 25 problems

Confessions and solutions

I went carefully over my birds for the year thus far and discovered first that I have 2 # 36's. I was all excited because my next bird would have been # 100. However imagine my disappointment when I discovered # 54 and 25 are both Hairy Woodpeckers. So I guess I'm still at #98 and my next bird will be #99 for the year.

Time to go do some serious birdwatching. I'm just not sure when the time will present itself.

Just a few days until my TX trip.

Indigo Bunting

98. Indigo Bunting -- at the house feeder

Weekend Birds

Saw a few birds this weekend at Southern and then while at the Pathfinder Camporee. Here's the damage:

155. Brown Thrasher--Southern
156. Meadowlark--Cuhutta GA
157. Barn Swallow--Cohutta Springs
158. American Tree Sparrow--Cohutta Springs
159. Osprey--Cohutta Springs

Chickamauga and Stadifer Gap stop bys

I went the long way to the mentor Brunch in hopes of seeing some new birds for the year. . . My hopes were rewarded.

93. Blue-winged teal -- Crawfish pond
94. Eastern King Bird -- in front of Food Lion in Chickamauga
95. Common Yellowthroat -- Standifer Gap Marsh
96. American Tree Sparrow -- SGM
97. Savannah Sparrow -- SGM

Chattanooga Nature Center/Reflection Riding

Ruth and the boys cut out after Sabbath School to Sunrise at Collegedale church. I met them this afternoon at Chattanooga Nature Center -- Reflection Riding. Couldn't help but take my scope and binoculars along. . .

88. Wood Thrush
89. Broad Winged Hawk
90. Ruby Throated Hummingbird
91. Blue Gray Gnatcatcher
92. White-Throated Sparrow

Bird-Watching with famous people

Well, I had the privilege of bird-watching with someone who is semi-famous. Or at least the magazine she works for is. Darron, your older boys might be interested to know that I went birdwatching with Rachel Whitaker who is the Associate editor at Guide magazine. (I suppose here is where I need to mention that Kristen and the kids were along too! ;)

Rachel is a friend from our last church in Hagerstown. She was here for the children's ministry convention. She is a birder so we decided to take her places that double as birding sites. We stopped at Gordon-Lee Mansion and then ran over to the pond. Then we took her up Craven's House. Here's what I saw:

151. American Kestrel (driving through Ft. Oglethorpe)
152. Northern Shoveler
153. Gadwall
154. Tree Swallow

Another Cohutta Bird

While chasing down the Luisianna Water Thrush, yesterday, I caught a quick glance of a bird that I could hear nearly all day long. Since it's been a year since I saw this one I wasn't sure so today I was able to go online and listen to it's sound and confirm that indeed it was:

87. Red-Eyed Vireo

Cohutta Springs

Cohutta has never proven to be much of a place to bird watch for me but I was able to see two birds. One that I haven't seen in a couple of years . . . the

84. Luisianna Waterthrush.

85. Wood duck

86. Barn Swallow

Pileated Woodpecker

While coming home from an appointment in Collegedale a pileated woodpecker flew in front of me.
83. Pileated Woodpecker -- TN Street in Ringgold (behind the Ringgold Middle School)