OKAY dad has finally uploaded the photos so behold today's lifers

lesser yellowlegs!

just a nice little bit of incidental serendipity before we spotted the reason we went out today:

th e REDDISH EGRET

ok plurk did a weird thing there but ok

anyway this is a largely Central American shorebird that rarely comes far inland, but they do seem to wander a bit northward after the breeding season

so this guy is an exciting rarity that every birder in the area has been showing up to report on eBird

I THINK this one is a juvenile, since its neck is not fully red? but according to Birds of North America it is "North America’s rarest and least studied ardeid".

so THAT WAS EXCITING

birding is a great hobby