[TN-Bird] Sightings Report, Weds 3 Sept 2014, Ensley Bottoms-The Pits-Memphis Shelby County- Red Knot Yes
- From: John Walko <walko@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Tn-Bird <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 3 Sep 2014 22:08:13 -0500
Ensley Bottoms, Maxson Wastewater Lagoons(The Pits)/Earth Complex, Shelby, US-TN
Sep 1, 2014 5:50 PM - 7:30 PM
This is not a complete report like I usually do. Busy day at work did not allow
me a lunch break to check on the birds. So after taking my wife home she gave
me a "yard pass" for this evening. After seeing Chuck Estes and Gail Kings
Posts today about the Red Knot being in town still, I took the 35 min drive
back downtown, a quick call to Gail gave me more detailed directions on exactly
where she saw the bird and I headed there.
This bird is a needle in a 500+ bird haystack. After scanning the Central NW
corner Lagoon for about 20 min, back and forth through about 500 birds I
finally found an odd one, Yes a Phalarope. A good number of Semipalmatted
Plovers were scattered about with the Least, Semipalmatted, and Pectoral
Sandpipers. Bigger birds came to view, a couple Greater Yellowlegs, several
Stilt Sandpipers, and a dozen or so Lesser Yellowlegs, Killdeer all about.
Finally at 6:26 a bird that stood out amongst the Least Sandpipers - The Red
Knot. Took 74 pictures at about 100yds distance of this guy until something
spooked the birds and all the bigger birds took off to the SE.
Dick Preston Came up the center levee and told me he had just left the Red Knot
and Phalarope and the Yellowlegs down in the front end of the Most SE lagoon
(Pit #5) told me they were pretty close in. With my luck they played with me
and kept just out of sight as I followed them down the levee. A Short-billed
Dowitcher, Solitary, Spotted and a couple of Western Sandpipers plus 4
Black-necked Stilts rounded out a 15 Shorebird species day. Hopefully tomorrow
at lunch will be better.
As a consolation we did get to see 103 Wood Storks coming out of the wet area
to the SE of the tracks/treeline about 10 min before sundown. They headed north
towards TVA circled some and headed back to roost in the same wet area it
seemed.
John "Jay" Walko
Collierville, TN
www.pbase.com/jwalko
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- » [TN-Bird] Sightings Report, Weds 3 Sept 2014, Ensley Bottoms-The Pits-Memphis Shelby County- Red Knot Yes - John Walko
