Whenever I recommend a birding site to someone, I try to describe what they MIGHT see, depending on when they visit. I also warn that they will probably see different birds (or no birds) at different times of the day or the year.
Truthfully, even two birders riding together in a car looking out different windows are likely to see different birds or animals than the person they’re riding next to. For instance, on our visit to Colusa I got this shot of a White-Faced Ibis that Leslie didn’t see.
Right around the corner she got a shot of a Double-Crested Cormorant in breeding colors that I never spotted.
I got a shot of a Great Egret fluffing its feathers,
and she got a shot of two Wild Turkeys.
I couldn’t miss seeing the large Night Heron Rookery, but only Leslie could actually take pictures of it since it’s nearly impossible to hand-hold a 400 mm lens while pointing it out the opposite car window.
But that was okay because Leslie didn’t get to see the little Pied-Billed Grebe that popped up on my side of the car.
You never really know what you’re going to see while birding, but I do know that you never see the birds we saw at Colusa NWR while sitting at home on the couch.
It’s great that you go together and photograph what you see. That way, you “get to see” what you missed out there. Beautiful photos.