3 FOY Bird Day

I went out this morning for a scenic drive, and came across a few good birds that I can check-off for this year's list. Unfortunately, the birds I really wanted pictures of were either half a mile out on the lake or really easily spooked along the shoreline. The highlights of the day were 2 Common Loons, (1 at Pine Lake, 1 at Stone Lake) a FOY (first of the year) Spotted Sandpiper and a few songbirds along the way. I'll be back out there to try and get better quality pictures! The first two pictures are of the CL. If I had a $8,000 lens to go with my camera, these pictures would be amazing.....BUT, I don't!

 The typical Mourning Dove. They are everywhere around here and usually fairly easy to take pictures of.

 Below are two pictures of the Spotted Sandpiper. Every time I would get within 40 yards of him, he took off flying and would land a couple yards further up the bank. This happened several times!

 I got a chance to drive back this evening and see if I could get another look at the Spotted Sandpiper. As I was driving along the edge of the water, I noticed a decent sized bird hiding in some thick weeds. I put the car in reverse to get a better look and I'm glad I did. It was a Wilson's Snipe resting under a bush. These guys are hard to find because of this fact alone, they hide very well. I tried to get some pictures of him, but I could never get the camera focused on him well, due to the thick vegetation. I tried though and at least you can see what a Snipe looks like now.