TN-birders, Dollyann & I made a quick run out to Eagle Bend fish hatchery in Anderson Co. this afternoon. The BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER we had a couple of days ago is still there. It’s feeding in the grass between some of the first ponds on the left as you go in. We VERY slowly inched our car forward for a better look, then eventually stopped as the buffy walked towards us and passed not more than 15 feet from our car!. As they say on the bird tours...crippling looks. The bird was moving a lot feeding and my camera was at maximum telephoto extension, so the photo isn’t great but a cutie none-the-less. Fall migration is in full swing at the hatchery as well. Much more bird activity in the trees along the Clinch River, especially a large Hackberry that was being a snack bar for the likes of a beautiful male Blue Grosbeak, a female Indigo Bunting, a yellowish warbler that I couldn’t ID and then it got away, several Bluebirds, Gray Catbird, Blue Jays, etc. All of these species have been absent or missing for the past several weeks. The swallows have all pretty much left but Dollyann saw one that got away from us before ID. An American Kestrel made an appearance too. We usually only see them in the winter here. We also heard a lone grackle, but the blackbirds have vacated to who-knows-where. Red-winged Blackbirds bred at the hatchery but we haven’t seen them for a couple of weeks now. Great Birding, Ron Hoff & Dollyann Myers Clinton, TN
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