We've had a lot of great moments behind the camera this fall with uncommon and rare birds...Sabine's Gull, Hudsonian Godwits, Long-billed Dowitchers, Horned Grebes, Red-necked Grebes, Cackling Goose (still haven't posted these photos yet), and now a Snowy Owl and this Purple Sandpiper. This bird lingered for a few days and I caught it here on the last day it was seen.
 
This was a dream come true experience and will definitely rank among my best moments of the year. Purple Sandpipers are rare, only show up late in the season and usually in unfavorable weather conditions and only briefly, and I don't think any of us had photographed a Purple Sandpiper until today. I've made it my mission in recent years to see one, having not seen one since 2006 and narrowly missing a photo opportunity then, but I never had any luck seeing one again after that encounter. I've become a bit famous with all my talk of Purple Sandpipers in recent years - the got to see one and got to get a photo of one talk that comes around in November - so now that this experience has put an end to that talk what next? Get ready for White-winged Crossbill talk ;)