[Bristol-Birds] Reddish Egret not seen today

Rankin Bottoms, Cocke county, 7/24/08, by canoe
Douglas Lake elevation: 984.2
We did 2 complete circuits on the water today, one in the early afternoon with a group of young folks from Austin Springs Camp, another, more methodical survey from 4:30 - 6:30. We were fooled by great blue herons a few times, but never saw the reddish egret. Nancy Moore, all the way from the other end of the state, and Ed (I don't want to take a chance on the last name) from Knoxville scoped the area from shore for about 3 hours and also failed to spot the target bird. The last reported sighting was on Sunday, 7/20, first report was for Saturday, 7/12. Quite a few people got to see the reddish egret over the course of a week, and to experience birding at Rankin Bottoms. Shorebird viewing will continue to improve for the next few weeks, as more birds can be expected to stop over, and the mudflat edges will be closer to the access road. It seems like we find a new species for the season, or unusual numbers on every trip. Today we saw our first sanderlings of the year and a new personal high count for solitary sandpipers. 

Partial list:
Great Blue Heron (55)
Great egret (82)
Double-cr. cormorant (27)
Snowy egret
Little Blue Heron (4 immature)
Black-cr. Night-Heron (5)
Osprey (5 -  plus 5 in the air over Walters Bridge, & one on the nest)
Killdeer (400+)
Greater Yellowlegs (2)
Lesser Yellowlegs (6)
Solitary Sandpiper (9)
Spotted Sandpiper (5)
Sanderling (2 )
Semipalmated Sandpiper (4)
Least Sandpiper (42)
Pectoral Sandpiper (32)
Short-billed Dowitcher
Caspian Tern

Photos:
Snowy Egret & Ring-Billed Gull- http://www.pbase.com/sylvafoto/ image/100681519 
 Sanderling- http://www.pbase.com/sylvafoto/image/100681381
 Solitary Sandpiper - http://www.pbase.com/sylvafoto/image/100682072
 Pectoral Sandpipers -http://www.pbase.com/sylvafoto/image/100682247
Short-billed Dowitcher - http://www.pbase.com/sylvafoto/image/ 100682708 

Michael Sledjeski & Leslie Gibbens
Dl Rio TN
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