Our day started back on the fabulous boardwalk at Magee Marsh, and once again we were gobsmacked by the riot of warblers we enjoyed.  Today the weather was a little warmer and the wind wasn’t blowing quite so hard, so maybe that’s why the warblers were just so confiding.  When you think how tough it can sometimes be to get a good look at a warbler back in the UK, we find it just staggering to be within six feet or so of a Black-throated Green Warbler.  Birding here is just magnificent.  All the usual suspects were back on display: Cape May, Black-throated Blue, Blackburnian, Magnolia, Nashville, Yellow, and today Blue-winged and Golden-winged Warblers were added to the mix.
In the afternoon, we took out a group on a guided Shorebird walk.  On our last recce, there’d been little mud and even fewer waders, but today Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge just came up trumps.  There was a greater expanse of exposed mud, and things looked very promising indeed.  Together with Laura from the Refuge, and Josh from Tropical Birding we headed out with the group to see what was about.  Starting with a close view of a Muskrat, (yes, we know it’s not a wader but it was a mammal lifer for some of the group) we started off in fine style with close up views of Solitary Sandpiper and Killdeer. 
Further along the mud and shallow flooding, we caught up with White-rumped Sandpipers, and Alan was able to share with the group how to look for the diagnostic elongated appearance and streaking down the flanks.  More Solitary Sandpipers intermingled with Lesser Yellowlegs, while diminutive Least Sandpipers pottered around amongst them.  It was great to be able to see a mixed selection of waders in the scope at one time, and really appreciate their relative sizing. 
By now we were joined by Michael from TB and his group who’d been on a wader ID workshop and were keen to put their new-found skills into practice.  Getting 80 or 90 birders onto waders through 4 scopes is quite a challenge, but people were very good humoured about queuing up for a scope view and luckily, four Semi-palmated Plovers were also showing, their striking white faces and bellies and black chest band standing out well enough to view them just through binoculars.  A single Dunlin played hide-and-seek amongst the new reed growth, but with persistence everyone was able to admire the bird through the scope, as it looked very dapper in its breeding plumage.
A Peregrine Falcon appeared in the sky, flying right towards us and then powering right overhead before swiftly disappearing from view behind the trees.  Right in the foreground, a black Water Snake lay coiled, fast asleep on the mound of a muskrat’s nest, soaking up the warmth of the sunshine, while next to it, seemingly oblivious of the snake, a Painted Turtle glimmered in the sunlight.
It was a great Shorebird Walk, and when we headed back to the Visitor Centre, Rebecca Hinckle, Communications Director at the Refuge was kind enough to take us out onto the Reserve to see the roosting Great Horned Owls.  Bunched up on a branch, dozing in the sunshine, these two birds had proven very popular with the crowds of visitors.
Later we met up with Laura Kammermeier, who we’d been in contact with via Facebook.  Funny, it felt like we already knew each other thanks to FB, and we swapped stories over supper about what had got us into birding, the future of nature conservation in our respective conservation, and the problems of two countries being divided by a common language (wearing a vest, and nibbling on a pasty both apparently meaning two very different things depending on what side of the Pond you are from!).
Our day was rounded off by two great illustrated talks.  First up was Christian Boix, our great friend from Tropical Birding, who was talking about birding the Roof of Africa, ie Ethiopia.  Christian had guided us round this country on The Biggest Twitch and his fantastic show of photos brought back some wonderful memories.  Then Sam, another old friend from TB, shared with the audience his top 5 hummingbird destinations in Ecuador, and his top 12 hummers – though how he managed to choose just 12 from the staggering and shimmering display available, we’ll never know.