[tn-bird] Ensley Lucky Numbers now "13" and "141"

June 23, 2002
Ensley Bottoms
Shelby Co. TN

Sunday, I tried to out wait the mystery pair of Western Kingbirds but the 
situation has not changed with them. Again I had 6 adults in view at one 
time. Four adults are busy keeping up with the now 7 fledglings, one adult 
just hangs around feeding itself and having brief encounters with the other 
pairs that usually end up in just a flurry in the air and a face off. The 
sixth adult disappears for hours at a time and I believe occupies a third 
nest somewhere.

The time spent was also used to locate where the adults have the young 
stashed. The young from the east nest are strewn about with two still on the 
tower but fairly near the nest, one on a fence line just to the east of the 
nest tower and another all the way out to the pines that border the road in 
front of the plant. Two of the young from the west nest were being fed on the 
west end of the fence in front of the plant and a third was using the high 
wires just in front of the transformers behind this fence.

I took more time with the Black-necked Stilts Sunday and after many counts 
and recounts came up with 141 spread mostly in two pits with nests and young 
at all stages. This protracted and expanding on the nesting period is due to 
a lot of birds going past us and then getting their nests disturbed and 
falling back to the old reliable pits. We get a double hump in numbers but 
this has been the biggest hump yet. Can you imagine how high the numbers will 
soar with all those chicks hatching; it will break all records for the area. 
The high water on the Mississippi River had a lot to do with it. 

I still had 5 Least Sandpipers and a scraggly Pectoral but no sign of the 
Short-billed Dowitcher. The steady north wind on Saturday pushed a lot of 
birds through.

I checked the clay pits in Arkansas but all the pits were full of water and 
held nothing of interest.

Good Birding!!!

Jeff R. Wilson
OL' COOT / TLBA
Bartlett Tenn.


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