Friday evening at Rankin Bottoms, we drove out the tipple road, and switched back on the old RR bed to the Gate Pond. The floodplain is mostly dry (lake level: 974'); the roads are in fine shape. A flock of 250 BLUE-WINGED TEAL rested on the Gate Pond, a pair of GREEN-WINGED TEAL dabbled in a puddle near the river. Shorebirds included a few each of BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, & SEMIPALM., LEAST, and PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, along with individual SPOTTED and WESTERN SANDPIPERS.
At sunset, we launched our canoe near the Leadvale trestle and paddled west for a quick look. In the fading light, we saw 100 GREAT EGRETS, a dozen GREAT BLUE HERONS, and 10 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS gathered for the Friday fish feast. Fifty or more KILLDEER worked the closest mud swale, and a couple groups of unidentifiable shorebirds could be seen on distant flats. We'll return on Sunday for a better look.
Michael Sledjeski & Leslie Gibbens
Cocke County
