The beginning of the calendar year feels somewhat arbitrary, especially since different cultures celebrate the new year at different times. The true unfolding of another journey around the sun, at least in temperate zones, doesn’t really launch until the cold earth gives up its first green shoots and early blooms. Every week of spring draws us deeper into what, at last, feels fresh and new. Do you disagree?

While camping with my son at the Genessee Country Village and Museum, we encountered lots of FOY birds, the most auspicious of which were certainly Eastern Phoebes, pumping their tails with vernal vigor. In the same vein, Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was one of the early spring migrants, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, his first of the year in New York State. He spotted it, and a second, at the waterhole in Forest Park, Queens.

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.

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.