| Purple Sandpiper is the United States' east coast representative of the shorebirds known as "rockpipers", so called because they habitually frequent rocky coastlines. Either for bad luck or lack of knowledge, I had only the briefest of luck with this species until the winter of 2003-2004, which was a banner year in New York State for cold-weather visitors. One bitterly cold day, at Point Lookout on the south shore of Long Island, my father and I enjoyed spectacular views of a flock of at least 30 Purple Sandpipers. |
| One of the other featured species that winter was an unusually high number of striking Harlequin Ducks, and, as luck would have it, a small flock joined the Purple Sandpipers as my father and I watched, providing the wonderful winter moment pictured below, of Purple Sandpipers and Harlequin Ducks in the same frame. |
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