Today's journey took me down to the millpond, an old favorite destination, in the hope of communing with Cardinal flowers and Dragonhunters, and while I definitely found both in residence, the highlight of the trip was something unexpected. As I walked towards the waterfall, I spooked a small bird that immediately headed towards the downstream shallows below the dam. I couldn't see much in the shadows, but every so often the bird entered a sun-lit spot and there, I noticed that it carried spotting on its breast and belly, and it was inclined to bob its tail like a wind-up toy. I was pretty sure it was a Spotted Sandpiper, recently migrating south from the breeding sweepstakes in the far north, and as I switched lenses, from macro to telephoto, I quietly zeroed in on the handsome bird as it probed the gravel for invertebrate meals. It eventually flew in panic, but before it vanished. the Spotted rewarded my patience by posing, ever so quickly, for a perfect portrait.