@lichtscheu I mean they do sound like pigs. Maybe they thought it was a pig?

@lichtscheu They are! Soo quick!

@stubacon Thank you!
And same, I have seen one before but only extremely briefly.

@helenclayton Haha! I can imagine!

@helenclayton Thank you!
I was lucky with the spot. As long as they weren’t hiding in the pipes they were quite visible even though you couldn’t get close to them. (The photo is obviously cropped.)
But I usually only hear them as well. Their sound is so much fun!

@GPJohnston It is!
And I have to say that I’m even more impressed by your photos now. Especially the last one you posted.
So impressive!

Yesterday I met two(!) water rails. Got a tip that a rail had been seen in a ditch near some pipes. But it turned out to be two! Lucky!

This is the first time I’ve been able to photograph a rail.
Super difficult cause they are so fast and always moving, running and, of course, hiding a lot.

Any gull experts here?

I’m getting really confused trying to id the gulls nearby.

The variation between third gull from the left and the fifth is just too great. They got to be different species. No?
Or are they really all just herring gulls?

Waiting for the bus. Going to attend a group walk for birders around a lake.

Hoping for rough-legged buzzard and waxwings. 🥰