[TN-Bird] Sunday in West Tennessee/Juvenile Reddish Egret

From: Terry Witt <terrywitt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: tn-bird <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "caryl@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <caryl@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, David Donsker <ddonsker@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Chad Smith <kingbird09@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Chloe Walker <chloebelle119@xxxxxxxxx>, "Stczipperer@xxxxxxx" <Stczipperer@xxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 8 Sep 2014 03:41:07 -0700

Started at 8 AM at the Tiptonville City Park.
Only bird on the sandbar was an adult Bald Eagle.
Just a few swallows on the wires now.

Next stop: Island 13.

The lake is receding but still plenty of habitat available.
On arrival, 4 juvenile Bald Eagles were sitting at the south end of the lake, 
but about 200 shorebirds seemed unfazed.
A quick scan revealed 7 herons at the north end of the lake, standing between 
the rock jetty and the water.
3 were GB Herons, 3 were Great Egrets, and there was a smaller dark heron/egret 
with his back to me and his head tucked  under his wing.  From the start, 
thought it might be a juvenile bird, but what species??
It finally pulled its head out and turned to face me.  I could now see the 
entire breast was a brown color, not unlike the African Hammerkop.
The bill was all dark, not bicolored.
I was still stumped, must have studied it 5 or 6 times, making sure I had seen 
it properly.
The distance was about 200 yards and the light was not the greatest.
I thought about trying a picture, but in my experience, wading birds standing 
in the open do not usually allow a very close approach, and there was no easy 
way to get much closer and/or get the sun behind me.
When I returned to the car and Sibley's new fieldguide, the only bird that made 
any sense was the juvenile plumage of Reddish Egret.
I had seen this species a number of times, including the bird Chris Sloan found 
at Gallatin, but never in this plumage.
The time of year is right for a post-breeding wanderer, I suspect this bird 
hatched somewhere near the gulf coast and followed the river north.
Any comments welcomed, either personal or on the listserv.
My skin is pretty thick, so don't hold back any negatives.

Also present were 150 Least Sandpipers, a couple of Spotted, Semipalmated, and 
Pectoral Sandpipers,
one Semipalmated Plover and one BB Plover.  There were 20+ Sanderlings running 
around, the largest group I have seen in the state.
Most of the Killdeer were in flocks along the road.

Ensley:

Still several thousand shorebirds around, mostly Least Sandpipers, but plenty 
of Pecs as well.
I did not spend much time with the peeps, but did see a number of Stilt 
Sandpipers, some Lesser YLs, one Greater YL at TVA Lake,
1 Solitary SP, a few Spotted Sandpipers, and what appeared to be an adult 
male(?)  non-breeding Wilson's Phalarope partly in transitional plumage.  I did 
not see the Red Knot or any dowitchers.  

A stop at Oneal Lake failed to turn up the TC Herons.

Cheers

Terry Witt
Murfreesboro Tn

[TN-Bird] Sunday in West Tennessee/Juvenile Reddish Egret

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