FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Bad Weather Birds

[OLCOOT1@xxxxxxx]

July 16, 2005
Ensley Bottoms
Shelby Co. TN
 
Rain storms passed north and south of the pits while I was there but  thank 
goodness it had gotten quite a bit last night. With each pass more birds  
arrived. Over 1200 Wind Birds now trod the flats which are now WET. Making the  
list and the photo roll today were 15 species of shorebirds with a very  
cooperative Willet heading the list. 
 
I watched a pair of Black-necked Stilts busily building up their nest that  
had been flat on the flat until these storms. They had built it up 2-3 inches  
with both working together and alternating shifts on the nest. Killdeer are  
still hatching young but most of the juvenal birds can only be detected by  
careful study. Looking through the Killdeer turned up one Semipalmated Plover. 
 
There was 1 Greater Yellowlegs that posed next to one of the 35 Lesser  
Yellowlegs and they talked a lot about leaving but stayed till I left. Eleven  
Solitary Sandpipers and 7 Spotted Sandpipers lurked all around the edges of  
the 
pools. I had 28 Semipalmated and 19 Western Sandpipers along with over 1,000  
Least. Pectoral Sandpipers dropped in all morning in 2's and 3's until I had 27 
 along with one group of 6 Stilt Sandpipers that was restlessly moving about 
with  an occasional soft " Tu" call.
 
I came across 4 Short-billed Dowitchers on my first go around but later  
after a Mississippi Kite turn the whole pot load over, a large Long-billed  
Dowitcher fell in with the others for great side by side views. I got a few  
photos 
of the details on plumage. The bird was extremely long-billed and dwarfed  the 
others with a hunch backed look. In flight and preening you could see  
coverts, tertials and interior primaries being replaced but she still retained 
a  
lot of alternate plumage. If I have time I'll post photos of a few of today's  
birds. I have some especially nice photos (for me) of the molting Willet 
showing  some great patterned feathering.
 
Two passes by the river yielded nothing but a few Least Terns. With the  
rain, the river has covered about half of the sandbars exposed earlier in the  
week. Maybe tomorrow! 
 
Good  Birding!!!

Jeff R. Wilson
OL'COOT / TLBA
Bartlett,  TN