Down by the lake

Yesterday I went to a lake on the campus of my university- it's one of those places that you don't anticipate finding many birds beyond the local commoners but exceeds your expectations anyway. Kind of like seeing Cher at Pizza Hut (not that I would be too thrilled about Cher). In addition, there are always plenty of people/dogs around, which makes me even more amazed that in the midst of such chaos, I've discovered 5 lifebirds there (Green Heron, Wilson's Snipe, Yellow Warbler, Spotted Sandpiper, and Winter Wren). I can usually count on bluebirds, woodpeckers, phoebes, nuthatches, belted kingfishers, great blue heron, and hawks, too, and lately there's been a Pied-billed Grebe hanging around. Hey, obviously the birds think it's something special, so I'll keep going there too.

Spotted sandpiper going for a stroll along the lake. The way they walk, they look like they're being jerked along by a rather inexperienced puppeteer.

Back to the feeder- a cardinal waits his turn, it's getting competitive I tell you.