This is a rare visitor to California with most records being in late Fall
and winter. This individual has been delighting visitors to the Cosumnes
River Preserve in Sacramento County....

http://www.cosumnes.org/

...since it was first found 13 November. We caught up with it early
yesterday morning during the Central Valley Birding Symposium.

http://www.cvbs.org/

http://www.cosumnes.org/

...since it was first found 13 November. We caught up with it early
yesterday morning during the Central Valley Birding Symposium.

http://www.cvbs.org/

Record shots

We spent a week in Colorado where we were fortunate to see this species displaying on a lek near Hayden. There were about 25 birds at dawn
and the displays and noises were amazing. Even more amazing is that every few minutes the entire group would simultaneously stop motionless for about 30 seconds before starting up again. It was as though time stopped for them. The synchronization of the stopping and starting was like nothing I'd ever seen before.

Olympus 550z / Nikon FieldScope3 ED / 30XWA / hand-held out car window.

amazing is that every few minutes the entire group would simultaneously stop motionless for about 30 seconds before starting up again. It was as though time stopped for them. The synchronization of the stopping and starting was like nothing I'd ever seen before.

Olympus 550z / Nikon FieldScope3 ED / 30XWA / hand-held out car window.