FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] KY Little Stint note and images

[<birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

TN Birders;

As has already been mentioned, there is an alternate adult Little Stint at 
Louisville, KY right now. It was found on the afternoon of the 16th, and has 
been seen for the last 3 days. However, it is in a private location, but 
hopefully more access will be worked out over the weekend.

I made the trip up yesterday, only to get there about an hour after a 
Peregrine had made its 2nd pass through the area and scattered everything. 
Eventually everything settled back in, EXCEPT the Little Stint. After about 
4 hours of baking in the Sun, just as Brainard Palmer-Ball, Roseanna Denton 
and myself were about to leave, I made one more scan as the light was 
fading, and found the bird right where we had been looking. It had been 
hiding well, but came back to its favored area. This was a special bird and 
well-worth the trip, as it was the last Stint on my life-list (but 1st in 
the ABA area).

Though there are very few interior records of Stints in NA, they do come 
through as Jeff Wilson has had more than one of both Red-necked and Little 
over the years as he sorts through the masses of shorebirds in Memphis. With 
more people looking and being aware of the possibility, it seems to me that 
more are bound to turn up. The area that Brainard Palmer-Ball found this 
bird isn't one of the big shorebird mecca-type areas, it's just a nice 
little bit of habitat in an urban environment. This bird could turn up 
anywhere, though obviously Memphis with the number of birds that comes 
through there seems the most likely.

I have posted some generally bad shots of this bird, somewhat distant but in 
quickly fading light. My shots do show most of the field marks that will 
allow you to pick this bird up, even if it's not right on top of you. I have 
also included a shot, with Dave Roemer's permission, which does the bird 
some justice. Dave is a fantastic digiscoper, though he was also battling 
harsh light and heat waves mid-day yesterday.

The shots are in the following gallery: 
http://www.pbase.com/mctodd/little_stint , clicking on any image will 
enlarge it, and using the next or previous tab will also let you navigate 
among photos. If anyone is interested for comparison, I also have galleries 
of the other Stints in my Shorebird gallery. Warning, none of these shots 
are remotely magazine quality. The Red-necked Stint gallery does give a good 
feel for the differences in these birds though, especially structurally, 
with Red-necked looking short-legged and especially attenuated with long 
wings. These galleries are at: http://www.pbase.com/mctodd/sandpipers

More shots of this bird can be seen at: 
http://www.biology.eku.edu/kos/little_stint.htm , with page 2 having more of 
Dave's shots.

Hope many more can enjoy this great bird!!

Mike Todd
McKenzie, TN
birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.pbase.com/mctodd


=================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================

The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with
first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation.
You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds
you report were seen.  The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should
appear in the first paragraph.
_____________________________________________________________
      To post to this mailing list, simply send email to:
                    tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
_____________________________________________________________ 
                To unsubscribe, send email to:
                 tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
            with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
______________________________________________________________
  TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society 
       Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s)
        endorse the views or opinions expressed
        by the members of this discussion group.
 
         Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
                 wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
                ------------------------------
                Assistant Moderator Andy Jones
                         Cleveland, OH
                -------------------------------
               Assistant Moderator Dave Worley
                          Rosedale, VA
__________________________________________________________
         
          Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
              web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

                          ARCHIVES
 TN-Bird Net Archives at http://www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/

                  EXCELLENT MAP RESOURCES
Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp
Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif
Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com

_____________________________________________________________