August 25th, 2018
After an unfruitful kayak run around Island 13 on the Mississippi River
today, I came back to the truck around 10 a.m. just as a long winged raptor
lifted off right by the truck at the upper end of Island 13. I jumped out
of the kayak and waded onto the muddy bank in time to photograph a
beautiful light morph Swainson's Hawk as it gained altitude and departed
Tennessee over the river. I was thinking juvenile but I'm not so sure about
that anymore.
I then covered Island 13 by ATV with slightly better results, with 350
shorebirds, including a dozen Western Sandpipers, (nearly all juveniles) 3
Baird's Sandpipers, 2 Long-billed Dowitchers and a Sanderling.
Flowers Sheep Ridge Loop had slightly better mudflats with 3 continuing
ROSEATE SPOONBILLS, 5 Black-necked Stilts, a Stilt Sandpiper and 2
Short-billed Dowitchers (my first for the year), 95 Dickcissels and an
unidentified Bunting that I photographed that is most likely a really funky
colored Indigo Bunting, but I plan to review my photos. (Overall very pale
creamy with an outstanding dark eye, pink legs and bill and cinnamon
undertail coverts!)
RWS, Centerville TN
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