Brant in Manitowoc 11/4/20

One of my stops today was in Manitowoc, hoping to see the Brant, which would be a life bird. I arrived just after 11am. I walked out and ran into a couple who said they just had it in the dredging area, but it flew towards the lighthouse. I thought to myself, “oh great, here we go, miss another one!” I continued on towards the lighthouse and ran into another couple, who asked me what everyone was taking pictures of. So I explained it to them and gave a little info about the Brant. They asked if it was black and white, and I told them “yes basically” and they said, “well it’s right up around the corner in the water then, by the path.” Sure enough, I walk up 50′ and there it is right next to the path! I watched it, extremely close to me, for about 40 minutes. It swam around a little, but mostly fed on the vegetation. A walker came past and asked what I was doing, so I explained again, and she asked if she could walk past. I said, “go for it, we’ll see out what happens.” The Brant just watched and continued eating, not really getting too alert. When she came back, she again walked right past it, and nothing happened. When I left, it was still in the same spot. Pictures below are from today. Enjoy!