5 Sep 2019
Rankin Bottoms, Cocke Co
Roy Knispel & I scouted this site, as the lake level has finally dropped
to 985 ft providing decent viewing of the growing mudflats.
An immature Peregrine Falcon initially had the shorebirds scattered &
jumpy, but it eventually vanished allowing them to settle down a bit.
Present were:
Am. Golden-Plover - 2
Semipalmated Plover - 3
KIlldeer - 100+
Sanderling - 3
Least Sandpiper - 50+
Pectoral Sandpiper - 45+
Semipalmated Sandpiper - 10+
Lesser Yellowlegs - 2
Ring-billed Gull - 2
Great Egret - 120+
Little Blue Heron - 1 imm.
Osprey - 3
Shorebirding should get better as conditions improve with the falling water
levels.
Rick Knight
Johnson City, TN
