A Birding Stint

My nephew Joey called me this morning after all other efforts to find a ride to Quivira had failed.  On a Kansas birding communication site he had found that the marsh manager at Quivira had sighted a Red-Necked Stint yesterday, the first one reported for the state of Kansas.  This bird is a Eurasian species, and so far, has been found only rarely along both US coasts and sighted at least once in Nevada, Texas, and Virginia.  (This is information from the Sibley field guide, and may be slightly outdated.)  It's a shore bird, and hangs out with other shore birds.

I happened to have an appointment in Sterling this afternoon, so I bargained with Joey.  If I could use someone else's vehicle, and if he and Bryant and Andrew wanted to wait in Sterling while I do what I have to do, I'd take them up there this afternoon to see the Stint.  Everything got arranged, and so I gathered up those three boys and Dietrich and Christy, and we all trundled first to Sterling.  They waited at the lake and then we headed for Quivira.

The boys knew exactly where to go in the huge wildlife refuge, based on reports of where it had been seen.  One other person was there looking for it, and then another showed up.  Before we left, four more people had come, some of them with powerful spotting scopes and cameras with lenses a foot long.  They shared the view with us.  Some of them were people whose names often appear on the Kansas birder's lists.

We saw it, every one of us.  The red neck was very clear, and we were delighted to have the opportunity to view this rare bird.