July 16, 2005 Ensley Bottoms Shelby Co. TN Rain storms passed north and south of the pits while I was there but thank goodness it had gotten quite a bit last night. With each pass more birds arrived. Over 1200 Wind Birds now trod the flats which are now WET. Making the list and the photo roll today were 15 species of shorebirds with a very cooperative Willet heading the list. I watched a pair of Black-necked Stilts busily building up their nest that had been flat on the flat until these storms. They had built it up 2-3 inches with both working together and alternating shifts on the nest. Killdeer are still hatching young but most of the juvenal birds can only be detected by careful study. Looking through the Killdeer turned up one Semipalmated Plover. There was 1 Greater Yellowlegs that posed next to one of the 35 Lesser Yellowlegs and they talked a lot about leaving but stayed till I left. Eleven Solitary Sandpipers and 7 Spotted Sandpipers lurked all around the edges of the pools. I had 28 Semipalmated and 19 Western Sandpipers along with over 1,000 Least. Pectoral Sandpipers dropped in all morning in 2's and 3's until I had 27 along with one group of 6 Stilt Sandpipers that was restlessly moving about with an occasional soft " Tu" call. I came across 4 Short-billed Dowitchers on my first go around but later after a Mississippi Kite turn the whole pot load over, a large Long-billed Dowitcher fell in with the others for great side by side views. I got a few photos of the details on plumage. The bird was extremely long-billed and dwarfed the others with a hunch backed look. In flight and preening you could see coverts, tertials and interior primaries being replaced but she still retained a lot of alternate plumage. If I have time I'll post photos of a few of today's birds. I have some especially nice photos (for me) of the molting Willet showing some great patterned feathering. Two passes by the river yielded nothing but a few Least Terns. With the rain, the river has covered about half of the sandbars exposed earlier in the week. Maybe tomorrow! Good Birding!!! Jeff R. Wilson OL'COOT / TLBA Bartlett, TN