FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Rainy Day Shorebirds

[OLCOOT1@xxxxxxx]

Sept. 13, 2003
Ensley Bottoms
Shelby Co. TN

Spent most of the day at the pits. It was as good as it gets with Least 
Sandpiper numbers growing and growing with the rain putting a lot of spice in 
the 
mix. I ended the day by lucking up and jumping the only Solitary Sandpiper for 
the day as I drove out that put the shorebird list at a grand 20 species.

The immature birds are really eye candy, there are young of every species and 
their plumage's are beautiful to say the least, not to mention how variable 
they are. The numbers of every species went up from earlier in the week. A 
single Black-bellied Plover was a stunning adult only slightly molted and lots 
of 
toy like Semipalmated Plovers running around. The rain evidently put a bunch 
of travelers down, Black-necked Stilts (21 adults-28 immature), Greater 
Yellowlegs -4, Lesser Yellowlegs -73, Willet -1, Sanderling -2 immature, 
Semipalmated 
Sandpipers -74 -all immatures, Western 35, NO Baird's?, Pectoral -150 plus, 
Stilt Sandpipers -33, Buff-breasted -1, Short-billed Dowitcher - 1 immature, LB 
Dowitcher -3 immature, Wilson's Snipe -1 was first for me of the season and 
two immature Wilson's Phalaropes, apparently by size a male and female.

The best study, between the rain that sifted through, was the short push of 
Semipalmated Sandpipers, that we get late in the season, some have 
exceptionally short (as short as the Least SP bills so most must be males) and 
thin bills. 
Every year, about this time, I run into my first of the season and really 
come up short. The bills are not as thick and average much shorter as compared 
to 
the birds that come through earlier. There is a cline of bill lengths that 
runs across their breeding areas in the North and these birds that come through 
late must have gotten the short end of the stick.

The Westerns were in a wide array of attire from neat as a pin fresh 
immatures, immatures in varying degrees of molt, to full basic plumaged birds 
and 
bills that ran the gamut of lengths.


Good Birding!!!

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


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