August 19, 2006 [posting date; August 20, 2006] Yesterday I visited Rankin Bottoms (RB) in Cocke County, stopping briefly at the J.M. Walters Bridge along Highway 25-E to check the Jefferson County shoreline. At Rankin, I viewed birds from the railroad track at the entrance for about a half hour before meeting Leslie Gibbens and Michael Sledjeski for a canoe trip commencing at the tipple parking area. In addition to canoeing Rankin itself, we also checked the Hamblen County shoreline just up the mouth of the Nolichuckey River, and we stopped briefly along the eastern shore of the French Broad River at the Holttown Road area. Numbers below reflect the observations made by the three of us, along with a few tallies that I got at the Walters Bridge and along the roads leading from there into Rankin Bottoms. Totals are conservative. C = Cocke County; H = Hamblen County; J = Jefferson County Canada Goose (362 C, 36 H) Wood Duck (7 C, 3 H) Mallard (26 C, 6 H) Blue-winged Teal (1 RB) Double-crested Cormorant (34 C, 1 J) Great Blue Heron (17 C, 3 H, 2 J) Great Egret (115+ C, 11 H, 2 J) Little Blue Heron (16 immatures C, 1 immature H) Green Heron (13 C, 7 H) Black-crowned Night-Heron (22 C) Wood Stork (1 immature C; the bird appeared at RB as egrets began gathering for roosting; it was also observed by Dianne Draper, Don Holt, Tom McNeil, and T.J. McNeil, who watched it from the railroad track at the entrance) Osprey (4 C, 1 J) Broad-winged Hawk (1 C) Red-tailed Hawk (1 C) Semipalmated Plover (2 RB) Killdeer (250+ C, 51 H) Lesser Yellowlegs (2 RB, 1 H) Solitary Sandpiper (5 RB, 2 H) Spotted Sandpiper (9 RB, 5 H) Semipalmated Sandpiper (2 RB) Least Sandpiper (47 RB, 9 C) Pectoral Sandpiper (22 RB, 4 H) Short-billed Dowitcher (at least 2 RB) Forster's Tern (1 RB, still mostly in alternate plumage) Black Tern (20 or 21 RB, including 1 still in alternate plumage) Ruby-throated Hummingbird (1 RB) Belted Kingfisher (5 RB, 2 H) Great Crested Flycatcher (1 C) Eastern Kingbird (5 C) White-eyed Vireo (1 RB) Northern Rough-winged Swallow (10 C) Barn Swallow (at least 2 RB) Gray Catbird (1 RB) Thanks, Leslie and Michael, for another great Rankin day. Don Miller Greeneville, Greene Co., TN Donald Miller pandion@xxxxxxxxxxxxx EarthLink Revolves Around You.