Hi TJ I looked at the beak but it seems a lot shorter than that of the Dowitcher (a short-billed one at that!). I enlarged the pic a little -does this help? Thanks Shyamala

Thanks! I looked up the sandpipers that are seen in NE Canada in summer - this might be a semipalmated sandpiper (same in thread 1).

WOW!! What an incredible variety of birds you have-and you know the locations of their nests, and keeping track of owl and hawk babies! I hope your friends and family pony up and help you purchase one of those high powered scope cameras that are supposed to come out this year. That way you can post amazing photos of intimate birds life without disturbing them. With my 400mm lens I have to get within a few yards of a bird to get a decent shot. As for people noticing wildlife, it must be experiential as well as cultural. If people have been exposed to birdwatching through their family, or through having bird feeders they might notice birds.Or not. My kids certainly heard all about it, but could care less. Since locals do their birding through a rifle scope they mostly notice game birds. In Mexico, people don't even SEE wildlife because animals don't matter there. Three foot iguanas can stroll around and nobody even glances at them. If I ask people the name of a bird, they don't know what I mean. In Haiti, most wild animals, including insects are "bete."

Gorgeous photos. The male tree swallow is iridescent in your pics! I do question your final id though, are you really sure that's a rabbit? (big grin)