August 20, 2005 Mississippi River Ensley Bottoms Shelby Co. TN A few more birds were found on the mud flats at the low and getting lower Mississippi River. The river has bounced up and down a couple of feet over the last week with the gauge at Memphis no longer recording anything below the negative figure -3.65. The two birds that first caught my eye, were whirling around in one pool and after a while one started to preen and satisfied my ID of Wilson's Phalarope with a look at the upper wing. A single, molting Black Tern hung out with the Least Terns. At Ensley the immature Ruddy Turnstone is still tossing clods around and long HOT periods of scanning the flats produced another single, this time an adult BAIRD'S SANDPIPER. The rest of the numbers appeared the same with a slight increase in Pectoral Sandpipers. An immature Cooper's Hawk made strafing like runs over the pits and kept the Wind Birds in the wind. Now to head north and see if it is as hot in the counties north of here. Good Birding!!! Jeff R. Wilson OL'COOT / TLBA Bartlett, TN