I went out with my friend Amber Burnette on Sunday to Dakota County on Sunday to go birding. She's a much better photographer than I am so I opted to go with her photos for this entry.

I never get tired of dickcissels. I had so much fun with Amber on Sunday, I drove the car and she took photos. We used the car as our mobile photo blind and I worked to maneuver the vehicle so she could get photos of the birds.

I love how she got the white stripe on this eastern kingbird. Oh, look at that right wing, somebody's moulting.

I'm debating about something. We have a slaty-backed gull in adult plumage up in Grand Marais, MN. This is huge, this bird is way out of its range and what the heck is it doing in Minnesota this time a year? I'm trying to justify going five hours to go see it. I'll go five hours for hawk watching easy...but a gull...even if it is a first state record...

I just don't know. I shouldn't go out of town, Non Birding Bill is getting into the final rehearsal period for his Fringe show (the show is not as racy as the title suggests--but is a very funny show), but I could easily fit in a trip Friday/Saturday.

Is a rare gull worth a 10 hour round trip drive?