Big doings in the local birding world. We got us a life bird today. A spotted redshank has been discovered about an hour from where we live. This is a European and African bird, considered an American Birding Association Code 4 North American bird. That would be a continental rarity. Right at the junction of Parker and Scio Church Roads. Quite convenient, so we went chasing. As did many others. The local sheriffs were on site and quite willing to hand out tickets if you weren’t parked completely off the road. We only saw Michigan plates but by tomorrow I expect Indiana, Ohio, and Ontario birders.
This bird is not without controversy. The original finder posted pictures on Flickr but did not give a location. This riled the local birding community. With some detective work from the pictures, and knowledge of the finder’s birding habits, other birders located the site and the bird. Somebody publicly accused him of “rudely hiding this bird with malicious intent”, and the original finder is accusing others of hacking into his cell phone or Flickr account to discover where he was. Things get ugly when you’re dealing with ABA Code 4 birds.
Behind that log is a Code 4 species.
Lots of optics. Lise is the second person back., looking through the scope.
Ed's and Lise's Biggish Years 