Two new birds this weekend and a mutant!

Well it was another great weekend. I spotted this pair of horned grebes on Friday while exploring a new area but I couldn't get any decent pictures so I thought I would try again on Saturday but this time I would try something a little different for me. So I donned the camouflage, found a spot close to where I saw the grebe on the day previous and sat there and waited. The place was crawling with fishermen and in fact one walked right in front of me without seeing me. I said "morning" to him as he passed and all he could say was "Holy" and "Geez". Oops, I think I startled him but it made me feel like my plan would work. As the fisherman made his way to where the grebe was resting, it woke up and started looking for food. It came quite close to me but I still couldn't get any full frame photos because of the area I choose. It was feeding in this little bay and I should have chosen a site closer. Oh well, maybe next time. I also want to find out a way to make the click of my camera quieter. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know.

The next part of my weekend was very interesting. I saw a spotted bird along the edge of a river that I couldn't identify at first glance, so I got out of the car and made my way to an area with a better vantage point. The bird came very close but I was still very confused. It looked a lot like an american robin except for all of the white. It even moved and sounded like a robin. I took a video of it just in case I would need it for identification later even though it was pretty apparent that it was just a mutated robin. When I got home a posted a couple of photos on an online birding forum for some help identifying it. I got a response very quickly which offered up the idea of Leucism. I read the link the person attached and then did some research of my own and it looks like they would call this a leucistic pied amercian robin. This is a rare genetic mutation that prevents melanin from being deposited normally on feathers. Unfortunately for this bird it has some challenges ahead of it. This condition will make it more visible to predators, it might have a harder time getting a mate and it might have a harder time staying warm. So I wish it luck.

The final exciting thing was finding a spotted sandpiper foraging in a river. It was very far away and at this point in the day I was too tired to attempt getting closer for a better photo. Today it is supposed to rain all day so it will be my day of rest.