migratory birds

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Thank you to all who attended my class on migratory birds this morning at Ijams. We looked at several species that pass through Knox County on their way to breeding grounds farther north or in the Smoky and Cumberland Mountains. 

We also welcomed the return of a pair of blue-gray gnatcatchers, a species that typically nest in the Shumardii oaks outside my office window. The gnatcatchers spent their winters along the Gulf Coast and south into Mexico and central America, where, we assume, there's plenty of wintertime gnats. 

Notice those petite gnatcatcher bills. I wonder how many gnats you'd have to eat to get a good meal. 

Blue-gray gnatcatcher

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