July 26, 2008 Ensley Bottoms Shelby Co. TN Shorebirds continue to drop in, with a Short-billed Dowitcher at the "pits" and a molting Sanderling on the flats at TVA Lake added to the season list. Big increases of Pectoral, Semipalmated and Western Sandpipers along with a few thousand Least this week. Four Semipalmated Plovers were a nice addition but only a single Lesser Yellowlegs could be found. Only 12 species but big numbers can always hide a great bird. Last week we had an adult Bald Eagle sitting on the flats at TVA Lake while this Saturday a first year (maybe home grown) lazily circled over the "pits" keeping everyone anxiously looking up. It took over an hour to see Mom Black-bellied Whistling Duck and her brood and two hours later she appeared again with Dad, as both fed and tended the young only to disappear not to be seen again. Sadly, I think they have lost one youngster but they are extremely hard to count with all the growth in the marsh where they hide. Water is becoming a scarce commodity in this "HEAT"; I sweated buckets until traveling in the afternoon to the breezy waterfront at Mud Island for the Tern Surprise. I've added a couple of duckling photos, still distant but you can make out the young decked out in their almost clownish fluff. Try 2 photos at: _http://www.pbase.com/image/100770920_ (http://www.pbase.com/image/100770920) **************Get fantasy football with free live scoring. Sign up for FanHouse Fantasy Football today. (http://www.fanhouse.com/fantasyaffair?ncid=aolspr00050000000020) =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation. You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds you report were seen. The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should appear in the first paragraph. _____________________________________________________________ To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx _____________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, send email to: tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. ______________________________________________________________ TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s) endorse the views or opinions expressed by the members of this discussion group. Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ------------------------------ Assistant Moderator Andy Jones Cleveland, OH ------------------------------- Assistant Moderator Dave Worley Rosedale, VA __________________________________________________________ Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ARCHIVES TN-Bird Net Archives at //www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/ MAP RESOURCES Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com _____________________________________________________________