So I spent a good piece of Election Day last week hanging out with some cool birders at Shelburne Bay. There were plenty of reasons to vote early this year, which Dennis and I had done, but "Vote early in case a Purple Sandpiper turns up on Lake Champlain," wasn't one of them. But it should have been, and I was very glad we didn't need to take time out--we could just throw the scope and binoculars and warm clothes in the car and head out the minute the eBird report came through.
No, they aren't bright purple, but they have a lovely lavender wash to their feathers. They nest way up in northern Canada and Greenland and head down to the relatively warmer northern Atlantic coast for the winter. A late afternoon report on Monday indicated that two had decided to head farther west and check out Lake Champlain, and when one was reported still being there Tuesday morning, we were all over it (Well, I was. Dennis was a good sport.)
Of course I joined the other birders crouched down behind a ledge out of the wind, and spent half a chilly hour watching the lovely little guy poking about in the mud and seaweed looking for delicacies. (His companion of the day before had left.) He was hanging with a Dunlin, also a lovely shorebird, though more common. They were so close I was able to get cell phone photos. And my mask kept my nose warm.
It's so nice when life listers happen like this. Sometimes I make three or four trips to an area where a bird has been reported and leave empty every time. (Don't mention the name Say's Phoebe to Dennis. Or Bicknell's Thrush.) But it's always fun to be outside, and I get to sharpen my birding skills, hang out with cool people, or just be alone. I never get discouraged or feel like a day had been wasted because I can't check off a bird in the back of my bird book when I get home. Birding is...a way of life. And when you do get a lifer, it feels soooo good!
I think I'll name this one Biden.
The Purple Sandpiper is in the center of the photo, on the shore.
The Dunlin is to the right, in the water next to the rock.
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