A rare sighting

 ©2014 Lydia Hinshaw

Red phalarope

 MORAINE LAKE, AB -- We spotted a strange trio of birds here Saturday, and it took me a few days to identify them in a bird book.

 It was the first time we'd ever seen a bird with the sharp beak of a sandpiper, swimming around like a duck on amphetamines.  They were in constant motion, darting here and there, frequently dipping their heads to eat tiny creatures.

 They are red phalaropes, not red this time of year because it's not the breeding season.  The books and websites I consulted said these birds migrate up and down the Pacific Coast and are almost never seen in inland lakes.  Lake Moraine is definitely an inland lake, so this was a sighting to remember.