Mud Hole

Sat by a mud hole in a field for 25 minutes this morning waiting for birds, and found it interesting what birds needed at the mud hole. Several species came by for a drink (robin, brown-headed cowbird, eastern meadowlark, mourning dove), for a bath (robin), for high quality clay mud to build a nest (barn swallow), and to forage for food (spotted sandpiper, pictured). Other birds such as red-winged blackbirds and kildeer would not approach as I was at the water's edge.