(Mental note: go off-line when composing email) Jefferson County, 9/30/07, 4:30-7:30 PM Douglas Lake @ 953.1 ft.Don Miller and I put in at Walters Bridge and headed upriver and around the first bend to a rocky riffle, where we went ashore in mud the color and consistency of chocolate pudding. We traversed the grade up to a bluff overlooking the Ten Islands area. A flock of about a dozen shorebirds flashed along the far bank, then settled, dispersed and seemed to disappear among the rocks at the head of the river bar. Using a scope, we picked out a number of AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVERS in various stages of plumage - the first time in my brief career I've seen more than one at a time. Don's highest number was six at Rankin Bottoms several years ago.
Later on, we drove over to Baneberry and stopped at the turnaround off of McCorkle Rd. (Incidentally, the grassy slope that we've used for access to the lakeshore is now posted.) The only shorebirds we spotted were too far to i.d., about 2 miles north, near the bend to Swann's Bridge. At this stage, potential shorebird habitat extends over 14 miles of river and lake, from the mouth of the Nolichucky to the I-40 crossing.
Partial list (Walter's Bridge to Ten Islands): Wood duck Blue-winged teal (5) Great egret (28) Northern harrier (FOS) PEREGRINE FALCON American golden-plover (9, at least) Killdeer (25+) Greater yellowlegs Spotted sandpiper (2) Michael Sledjeski Del Rio TN _________________________________________________________________More photos; more messages; more whatever. Windows Live Hotmail - NOW with 5GB storage. http://imagine-windowslive.com/hotmail/?locale=en-us&ocid=TXT_TAGHM_migration_HM_mini_5G_0907
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