Montezuma...all Birds, no Revenge

We ID'd this as a Caspian Tern.
It was as big as the Herring Gulls it was hanging with

Thursday is one of my favorite days of the week. With writing chores done I can putter at other stuff with no deadlines hanging over my head.


Thus when Alan and I were shooting the breeze in the backyard early yesterday morning and mention was made of the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge and he said, "Let's go."

We could.

???

We did.

Great Egret

 Mistakes were made. Two birders. One pair of binoculars. We broke off halfway through and ran to Bass Pro so he could buy himself a pair. He got good ones....which we really wished we had earlier when we were on the ponds in the rain looking at brown ducks and little sandpipers.

It was a great day. One of the best I have ever had birding...ticking off life birds for him like jelly beans in a bowl and a few for me too. It took us a good two hours to drive a quarter mile there were so many to see and hear.

Now comes the fun of sorting the horrible photos we got into species....it was quite dark and rainy in the morning. So many shorebirds were in fall plumage and I am awful at them. Can barely tell a Willet from a whale. Is that a Yellowlegs? Maybe....but which one? I am going to be keeping the Nat Geo and Facebook Bird ID Group busy for a few days I guess.

And of course we saw a nifty little flycatcher, and got a reasonable shot of it, but it wasn't talking. I think it was one of the Traill's splits, but....dang...this is hard.

Anyhow, another great day for the books and a list of 26 IDs so far, with at least four or five others to figure out.

Our chariot awaits at the end of a long walking trail we took