[TN-Bird] The Rankin WMA Ruff and Buffy Report, 29-30 Aug 2011
- From: "Scott Somershoe" <Scott.Somershoe@xxxxxx>
- To: <bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>,<tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2011 23:44:08 -0500
I wanted to make some additions to other posts about the birds seen at
Rankin WMA on 29-30 Aug 2011, including the Ruff.
Highlights: 16 species of shorebirds (on Monday alone!) and 4 gulls
species.
29 Aug 2011
-While birding in early afternoon, Ed LeGrand and Kevin Burke (hope I
got that right) later arrived. We formed a good birding team. Other
folks arrived late in the day, incl. Chuck Estes.
-16 species of shorebirds
-2 different Peregrine Falcons flew by and scattered all the birds. An
immature came through in early afternoon and took playful dives at the
Great Egrets before landing and sitting on the mud. Late afternoon,
while photographing the Ruff and other shorebirds, all the birds flew
(even though I hadn’t moved a muscle) and 15 sec later an adult
peregrine flew by about 15m away at eye level.
-Buff-breasted Sandpipers, total 25 birds: Chuck Estes and I had a flock
of 15 visible at once about 6:15pm (see photo in link below). About
7:15pm, I paddled the length of the mudflats from within scanning
distance of the north end to opposite the Coal Tipple parking area in
~10 min. I did not flush any shorebirds, nor did any flush for other
reasons, thus I was able to get a good count. I did not go all the way
south to the shallows where the “Poison Ivy Trail” comes out of the
woods.
Highlights (copied and pasted from eBird):
Little Blue Heron 1 (immature flyover)
White Ibis 5 (immature came to roost)
Peregrine Falcon 2 (one immature, one adult)
American Golden-Plover 1
Semipalmated Plover 12
Killdeer 450 (large numbers came in late in the day, I think 450 is a
low estimate)
Spotted Sandpiper 18
Lesser Yellowlegs 20
Sanderling 3
Semipalmated Sandpiper 110
Western Sandpiper 10
Least Sandpiper 70
Baird's Sandpiper 1
Pectoral Sandpiper 45
Stilt Sandpiper 15
*Buff-breasted Sandpiper 25
Ruff 1 (The bird was actively foraging and nearly always with a small
flock of lesser yellowlegs)
Short-billed Dowitcher 1
Wilson's Phalarope 1
Laughing Gull 1
Ring-billed Gull 140
Lesser Black-backed Gull 1
Eurasian Collared-Dove 1 flyby
30 Aug 2011
Arrived late morning and birded with Ed Schneider and Jimmy Hurt. I
spotted a Bonaparte’s Gull in the gull roost on the west side of the
railroad bridge. The bird later landed on the northern point with the
other gulls and the Ruff (making 4 species of gull today, which is
excellent for August). The only earlier Bonaparte’s record I found is
from 20 Aug 1978, Pace Point. There is a 30 Aug 1986 record, also from
Pace Point.
Buff-breasted Sandpiper galore!
I was looking through a flock of about 90 shorebirds on one of the
points north of the Poison Ivy Trail and realized it was nearly half
Buff-breasted Sandpipers. My max count was 41. We had a single
buff-breasted on the old railroad bed, for a total of at least 42
individuals. Ed and Jimmy both saw 30-35 individuals at once.
While walking the bank just north of the Poison Ivy Trail access, I saw
a small bird drop off a dead snag. I assumed Green Heron, but it was a
Least Bittern! It sat in the mud at the water’s edge and foraged for
30+ minutes while we took photos. We left the bird standing there
hunting.
Least Bittern 1
Semipalmated Plover 8
Killdeer 75
Spotted Sandpiper 8
Lesser Yellowlegs 6
Sanderling 4
Semipalmated Sandpiper 60
Western Sandpiper 2
Least Sandpiper 10
Pectoral Sandpiper 60
Stilt Sandpiper 2
*Buff-breasted Sandpiper 42
Ruff 1 (She was found loafing among the gull roost without the
company of other shorebirds. She spent a lot of the time standing
around alone.)
Bonaparte's Gull 1
Laughing Gull 1
Ring-billed Gull 100
Lesser Black-backed Gull 1
If interested, photos begin here:
http://www.pbase.com/shoeman/image/137672715
All photos (except the bittern) were taken from my kayak. I was able to
slowly ease up to the birds and photograph them from 15m or so.
I never
flushed nor herded any shorebirds over several hourpaddle around slowly, at
close range, without disturbing the shorebirds.
During a tour this morning of the Joachim Bible Refuge in Greene Co., I
photographed a pair of cooperative Barn Owls, that also never flushed.
I photographed a Traill’s Flycatcher, which was left unidentified
because it was silent.
http://www.pbase.com/shoeman/image/137673836
Great Birding!
Scott Somershoe
State Ornithologist
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
P.O. Box 40747
Nashville, TN 37204
615-781-6653 (o)
615-781-6654 (fax)
www.tnwatchablewildlife.org
www.pbase.com/shoeman
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