May 1, 2010 West TN An early start north was turned back twice by flooded rivers and creeks. Highway 88 had water rushing over the road and the Obion and Forked Deer were jumping their banks so Reelfoot area was not accessible. I turned back and winded my way toward Memphis, back waters held Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs but almost hidden in flooded grassy fields, no mud flats. Finally, I got to Ensley Bottoms and the "Pits" and settled in on a high point and watched as 3 different rain storms strolled through on their way to flood Memphis over the next 4 hours. The best bird flew by between storms as a BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLER headed north up the ridge. In heavy periods of rain a lot of shorebirds leave the flats and group up on the gravel roads and in grassy fields so they avoid being splashed with the almost cementatious mud mix at the Pits. In the fields were good numbers of Wind Birds, Lesser Yellowlegs, Pecs and a single male Wilson's Phalarope and I'm sure Least and Semipalms were hiding down in the long grass. High numbers for the vigil were: the resident Killdeer, 4 -Semipalmated Plovers, 6 -Black-necked Stilt, 2 -Greater Yellowlegs, 45 -Lesser Yellowlegs, 38 -Solitary Sandpipers, 5 -Spotted Sandpipers, 9 -Semipalmated Sandpipers, 1 -first of season Western Sandpiper, 490+ Least Sandpiper, 112 Pectoral Sandpipers (45 in one flight), 2 -Dunlin, 2 -Stilt Sandpiper, 1 L-b Dowitcher, 49 -WILSON'S PHALAROPE in about even mix of males and females today..............15 Wind Bird Species. Even in the heavy rain, Chimney Swifts and 5 species of swallows still sliced through the drenching downpours. Good Birding !!! Jeff R. Wilson / TLBA 6300 Memphis-Arlington Road Bartlett, TN 38135 http://www.pbase.com/ol_coot/ What is this feathered thing that lifts my heart to the heavens. =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation. You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds you report were seen. The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should appear in the first paragraph. _____________________________________________________________ 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. ______________________________________________________________ TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s) endorse the views or opinions expressed by the members of this discussion group. Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ------------------------------ Assistant Moderator Andy Jones Cleveland, OH ------------------------------- Assistant Moderator Dave Worley Rosedale, VA -------------------------------- Assistant Moderator Chris O'Bryan Clarksville, TN __________________________________________________________ Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ARCHIVES TN-Bird Net Archives at //www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/ MAP RESOURCES Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com _____________________________________________________________