May 15, 2011 President's Island Ensley Bottoms I met Ken Oeser on President's Island early Sunday, in fact too early and TOO COOL as the birds were staying warm somewhere. Western Kingbirds and Scissor-tails were back on site later in the afternoon but we found one Western Kingbird that morning, at a new location discovered earlier in the week. Both male and female Anihinga were seen on Saturday and Sunday. At Ensley, we had numerous treats, the White Pelican was present that morning but left in the afternoon. There were again 16 species of shorebirds to sort through at the "Pits" with the Saturday's Baird's replaced by a BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER. There were good numbers of Spotted-15, and Stilt Sandpipers plus 16 Short-billed Dowitchers, a few more Semipalmated Sandpipers and Dunlin than seen the previous day, while the single small, dull plumaged male Wilson's Phalarope remained hidden most of the day. In the afternoon, Q B Gray came up to photograph the stunningly colored Dowitchers and take a brush up course on Dowitcher ID feather patterns. Lots of Blue-winged Teal paired, along with 2 pair of Shovelers which were going through courting activity (maybe this year with all the water). I relocated the Black-necked Stilt young (3); mom and dad brooded them all day in the cold winds, 16+ nests with many still pairing and mating. Photo opportunities abound with 42+ Black-bellied Whistlers found in all corners of the area; Stilt Sandpipers and Dunlin are now in full dress. TWENTY plus SORAS fed, fought and fussed all day in the extensive flooded pools, no telling how many are passing through. A similar wet year long ago produced a breeding pair and I was fortunate enough to photograph a single youngster as it crossed the road one day. Common Nighthawks were seen all afternoon, along with Swifts and Swallows gleaning the gray sky for insects and I'm sure they had their work cut out due to the COOL TEMPS. Lots of Green Herons flying around today but only 2 Mississippi Kites. Around 4 PM, small groups of Lesser Yellowlegs started calling and soon left heading north, this induced Semipalmated to follow, not a big migration but Nature's Call, at this time of the year, even overcomes the north wind. Good Birding!! Jeff R. Wilson / TLBA 6300 Memphis-Arlington Road Bartlett, TN 38135 http://www.pbase.com/ol_coot/ What is this feathered thing that lifts my heart to the heavens. =================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 -------------------------------- Assistant Moderator Chris O'Bryan Clarksville, TN __________________________________________________________ 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 _____________________________________________________________