FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Weekend Shorebirds

[OLCOOT1@xxxxxxx]

July 30, 2006
Ensley and Miss RV
Shelby Co. TN
 
Finally, I have a little time to write about the Wind Birds that Mike Todd  
and I had on Sunday. We scanned around the pits for a few hours, admiring the  
different plumages on the 12 species spread around the pits. It is the time 
for  something weird to show up and we were trying our best to find it.
 
As I started to drive off, a bird dropped into a distant group of  birds and 
it looked a little odd. It turned out to be nothing more  than a Lesser 
Yellowlegs which had turned out to be the first species of the  season to show 
up in 
immature plumage. We should be adding youngsters a few at a  time from now on 
but there has been spotty nesting success reported from the  north. Let's 
hope our Wind Birds faired well. While I studied this yellowlegs to  see why I 
was attracted to it in the first place, another bird in the far  background 
turned around so I could see its head, bingo another new species for  the 
season. 
The new bird was a breeding plumaged Baird's Sandpiper which is a  plumage 
Mike had not seen too often as when these birds come through in the  spring or 
fall they are usually heavily molted. I located another Baird's  in a more 
typical disheveled feathering. These two, I believe are the first  Baird's 
Sandpipers I've had in July.
 
We traveled on toward the river and Mud Island, stopping by President's  
Island to watch the Scissor-tails feeding their second brood of three. I  
showed 
Mike the dike where the Ruddy Turnstones and Sanderlings had showed up on  
Saturday and low and behold 3 Ruddy and 2 Sanderling popped up. There were just 
 a 
few Black Terns left but there were over 70 Least Terns and 20 plus Spotted  
Sandpipers. Least, Pectoral, Killdeer, Black-necked Stilts made up the bulk of 
 the rest of the IDable shorebirds.
 
I then took Mike to the area in Frayser where the Western/Scissor-tail  pair 
had nested and we spent some time looking for the group. We finally located  
mom-dad and their 5 crazy mixed up youngsters.  
Good Birding  !!!

Jeff R. Wilson / TLBA
6298 Memphis-Arlington Road
Bartlett, TN  38135



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