There were two postings on 8/23 re :Rankin (Cocke county) shorebirds - Alan Trently reported "few shorebirds", Don Miller reported (conservatively) 90 individuals of 6 species. Why the apparent contradiction? The best shorebird habitat at Rankin Bottoms is not presently visible from the road, nor from any shore accessible on foot. I'm assuming Allan didn't go out on the water. If anyone would like to view shorebirds from land at Rankin Bottoms, I recommend waiting until Douglas Lake is below 982 feet; bring a spotting scope. Current and imminent lake levels can be gotten by phoning 1-800-238-2264: punch in "07" for Douglas Lake, then "1" for current, or "2" for predicted levels. The TVA website also shows lake levels. OR contact us for a canoe tour. We've become fervent explorers of the 2000-acre area, and we've learned a lot from experienced birders who have ventured out with us. We can get right up to the mudflat edges; shorebirds tolerate closer human proximity than most other wild birds. >>> For anyone interested, we're leading a Sierra Club outing on 8/28 at 9:30 AM. Michael Sledjeski & Leslie Gibbens 423-487-3161 Cocke County TN =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation. ----------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- 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 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ========================================================