FreeLists / bristol-birds / [Bristol-Birds] Dutch Bottoms & Taylor's Bend

["Richard Knight" <rknight8@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

7 Sep 2007  -  5-8 pm
Dutch Bottoms & Taylor's Bend on upper Douglas Lake
Cocke & Jefferson Cos., TN

Michael Sledjeski & Rick Knight,   by motorized canoe.

The highlight for me was watching 2 (maybe 3) Peregrine Falcons hunting 
shorebirds
over the mudflats.  The first was seen bombing down the flats about 3 feet 
above the ground.
About an hour later 2 were seen high, chasing a flock of shorebirds.  Once they 
culled a single
from the flock, they tail-chased it for several minutes before one nailed it & 
dropped to the drier
flats to dine, with the other watching.  We pulled the canoe to shore & viewed 
them at relatively
close range.  As you might guess, the shorebirds remaining on the flats were 
hunkered down
in low spots or next to debris scattered around.  Four Pectorals refused to fly 
as we pulled the 
canoe up to watch the falcons.

Black-bellied Plover - 1
Am. Golden-Plover - 1
Semipalmated Plover - 32
Killdeer - 300+
Solitary Sandpiper - 2
Spotted Sandpiper - 3
Gr. Yellowlegs - 3
Lsr. Yellowlegs - 17
Ruddy Turnstone - 4
Semipalmated Sandpiper - 10+
Western Sandpiper - 10+
Least Sandpiper - 60+
peeps - 30+
Baird's Sandpiper - 4
Pectoral Sandpiper - 24
Buff-br. Sandpiper - 25  (exact count)  - new high count for site & one of the 
higher counts in the state.

Great Egret - 75+
Ring-biled Gull - 25+

Thanks for another good outing Michael.

Rick Knight
Johnson City, TN