Following their normal fluctuation schedule, the Alabama reservoirs of the Tennessee Valley Authority are filled in March and April. They remain bank-full, or nearly so, until late summer. Mudflat edge seldom occurs before early August. The dry weather of late summer and early fall, increased power use, and the beginning of the flood-control drawdown cause a steady drop in water levels throughout the remainder of fall and early winter. This schedule results in good conditions for shorebirds in late summer and early fall, but little available habitat in spring, and helps account for the fact that the majority of the shorebird records from this area are made during the fall period.