No matter how you feel about the contributions of American and Canadian workers, you can’t deny the exceptional timing of Labor Day in the more temperate North American countries. School either just started or is starting soon, weather in most places simply demands grilling, and birds are on the wing. What more could you want for a three-day weekend?

I wish I could count the uncharacteristically confiding Sunbittern at the Toronto Zoo, but that species continues to elude me in its natural range. The consolation prize was spotting Toronto Blue Jays–both the birds and the baseball players–during my first trip to Canada in far too long. Corey had a pretty big number of birds from which to choose this weekend, but he most appreciated the fearless nature of Semipalmated Plovers that foraged all around him on Sunday morning on Rockaway Beach. Close shorebirds in great light make an easy choice for Best Bird of the Weekend!

How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend? Tell us in the comments section about the rarest, loveliest, or most fascinating bird you observed. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment.

Semipalmated Plover

Written by Mike
Mike is a leading authority in the field of standardized test preparation, but he's also a traveler who fully expects to see every bird in the world. Besides founding 10,000 Birds in 2003, Mike has also created a number of other entertaining but now extirpated nature blog resources, particularly the Nature Blog Network and I and the Bird.