Rankin Bottoms, Cocke county, 9/4/11, 10-2 PM, by canoe Douglas Lake elevation: 979.5 ft. (old RR bed road open along the bottoms, mudflats emerging past the RR trestle) We, along with Kevin Burke from Gatlinburg, floated past the Leadvale RR trestle and found many Least, a crippled Stilt, and a couple of Baird's Sandpipers, then returned to the Rankin embayment, where we found most of the shorebird species reported earlier this month; the gulls have moved on to Dutch Bottoms. Visiting birders from Asheville, Knoxville, and Johnson City asked about the Ruff, but it hasn't been seen since late on 9/1. One last ruff image is at http://www.pbase.com/image/137811164/original Some highlights from 9/4: Semipalmated Plover (28) Greater yellowlegs (2) Lesser yellowlegs (20) Solitary sandpiper (4) Willet Spotted sandpiper (5) Sanderling (4) 2 photos, starting at http://www.pbase.com/sylvafoto/image/137802266 Semipalmated sandpiper (40+) Western sandpiper (2) Least sandpiper (120+) White-rumped sandpiper http://www.pbase.com/sylvafoto/image/137811054 Baird's sandpiper (6) http://www.pbase.com/sylvafoto/image/137802270 Pectoral sandpiper (60+) Stilt sandpiper (17) http://www.pbase.com/sylvafoto/image/137811056 Buff-breasted sandpiper (18) 2 photos, starting at http://www.pbase.com/sylvafoto/image/137811080 Short-billed dowitcher (2 juv.) http://www.pbase.com/image/137811093/original Michael Sledjeski & Leslie Gibbens Del Rio TN -Home of the Del Rio Song Contest http://www.delriosongcontest.com/