Monday's Bird Walk

I had 9 birders on yesterday’s Bird Walk and we identified a record 27 different species.  A brand new one to me was an American Pipit.  This is a small sparrow sized bird that is listed as an unusual winter visitor here and nests in the tundra of the north.  We also saw, what we assumed from a distance to be a Turkey Vulture, but with a closer look with binoculars proved to be an immature American Bald Eagle.     The most astonishing site of the day was a Pied-billed Grebe, like the ones shown in the photo above, swallowing a crayfish.  I would not have thought it would be possible for such a small bird to swallow such a large crustacean. My guess would be it was the last thing he ate for the day.