You never paint shorebirds, Jorge commented yesterday. It's true. I think I'm intimidated by the detail in the feathers of the back and flanks. But because this Eurasian Curlew was a lifer this past summer, maybe I can break the curse? As we drove down from the Wicklow Hills towards the Irish Sea, we stopped to scan the Vartry Reservoir, near Ashford, County Wicklow. Everything was so far away, but there was a flock of these curlews resting on the shore!

Eurasian Curlew, Numenius arquata
Vartry Reservoir, County Wicklow IRELAND, August 30, 2024

Another lunchtime search for the avian residents of Horsebarn Hill turned up this Savannah Sparrow. In Connecticut it's a grassland and coastal species, and is here year around. The very similar-looking Song Sparrow was perched nearby on the same wire fence, but dropped down into the cattails before Jorge even had the car window open.

Savannah Sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis
Horsebarn Hill, UConn campus, Storrs-Mansfield Connecticut