Several birders were out at Rankin WMA in Cocke Co. on Sunday evening (18 Aug 2002). Douglas Lake was at 982 ft according to the TVA website. The mudflats across from the road are getting closer and you can get with a 1/4 mile at some points. Scopes are still definitely recommended (ok, required). The highlight was definitely the juvenile Ruff (see other post) that was seen for 10-15 min (from between 1/4 to 1/2 mile away by the way, forgot that in the other post). Shorebird numbers varied throughout the evening as many were seen flying in, looking around and keepin' on truckin'. There were well over 1000 seen throughout the evening and included 16-17 species including Black-bellied Plover, Sanderling, Stilt Sandpiper and Baird's Sandpiper. I spent most of my time trying to relocate the Ruff and didn't do proper counts on many species (plus all those that flew by without stopping) but did count some of the larger, less common species. Highlights below. Rankin WMA, Cocke Co., TN 18 Aug 2002, Douglas Lake at 982 ft ----------------------------------- Great Egret, lots (100+) Cattle Egret, 1 seen by the Routledges Great Blue Heron Green Heron Black-crowned Night-Heron Turkey and Black Vultures Black-bellied Plover, 3 Killdeer, hundreds Semipalmated Sandpiper, few dozen Greater Yellowlegs, few dozen Lesser Yellowlegs, fewer than Greater Spotted Sandpiper, 3 or so Solitary Sandpiper, few dozen RUFF, 1 juvenile, probably female Sanderling, at least 5 in various stages of molt, some still with buffy faces Stilt Sandpiper, at least 3 adults in various stages of molt Short-billed Dowitcher, at least 7 juveniles (ID by tertials) Pectoral Sandpiper, most common species, several hundred Least Sandpiper, hundreds Semipalmated Sandpiper, few dozen, lowest number of the peeps Western Sandpiper, several dozen Baird's Sandpiper, at least 1 adult, maybe 2 Dunlin, Boyd Sharp had a "possible" (his word), probably was, what else has a black belly? (besides Black-bellied Plover and Black Tern that is) Black Tern, 3 in molt, two with black bellies, one in near full basic Common Tern, 2 Red-shouldered Hawk, rassin'frassin' so and so (see the other post) Cedar Waxwing, a few Eastern Kingbird, tons, probably close to 100 Barn and Tree Swallows, a few --------------------- Dean and Amber Edwards Knoxville, TN =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation. ----------------------------------------------------- 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. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TN-Bird Net Owner: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx (423) 764-3958 =========================================================