Blink of An Eye

Three sightings in the last 3-4 days -- owl flying over our house in the late evening on Solstice, I looked one way and Tom looked the other, he saw the owl, I did not. Next morning, I saw a harrier fly over our backporch while I was glancing out the back window, no more than 10' up off the ground. Tom had just looked down into his breakfast plate. He missed it this time, I was the lucky one. Then yesterday, out on the Kenai River flats, 2nd visit, I stood and stared at the flats and kept looking for the Willet which had been reported. Suddenly the wings flashed by my field of vision (prob. 400 yards or more out) - I looked at the bird landing - he stood there and looked around, ate, walked, did nothing much. I kept hoping he'd fly again to make sure I knew what I was seeing. After about 3-4 minutes he did fly, and the distinctive wing pattern appeared. I watched him fly off for about 5 seconds. Yippee! A new bird on my list. Came back later - more people there, including Tom, no luck. Again this morning, no luck.