Best Bird of the Weekend (Third of February 2010)
By Mike • February 22, 2010 • 17 commentsOne certain way to heighten the pleasure of a special bird sighting is to brag about it later. Step right up and share your best bird of the weekend.
My best birds this weekend were Ravens, honking through the icy valleys of Potter County, PA. I’d rather be bragging about the Northern Shrike I spotted at the top of a tree but by the time we stopped the car to confirm, it had departed. Corey’s best bird of the weekend was a Lesser Black-backed Gull at Jamaica Bay that he (claims to have) picked out in flight. He might become a laridphile yet… We can only imagine what avian delights Charlie missed at Great Chalfield whilst attending to his pox-stricken daughter.
What was your best bird of the weekend? Tell us about the rarest, loveliest, or most fascinating bird you observed in the comments section. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment.
Tags: best bird, weekend
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My lifer Kokako (or North Island Kokako) on Kapiti Island. It was very far away through the forests, but it stayed there long enough for me to show it to some non-birders (no, it is at three o’clock from the long dead branch, no, not that dead branch). The Morepork next to the trail was nice, and it is never a bad thing to see a Takahe.
I had a great Birding weekend. Saturday an entire day at the Florida’s largest (natural) Bird Rookery with excellent opportunities to get Great Egret and Woodstork Displays, and the first Great Egret hatchlings, too.
Sunday I was off Clay Island and finally got my Barn Owl.
So I’m a happy camper!
Awesome weekend for me too. White-faced Ibis in Florida and a handful of Painted Buntings (including a couple males) which were lifers for the guy I was with. The real highlight wasn’t birds though, it was a North Atlantic Right Whale off the beach.
Klaus, which rookery were you at?
Drew
Seriously, Corey, and I really do NOT mean to rub in anything, but the highlights of my Sunday stroller trip through the fields south of Leimen were:
1 Black Woodpecker
4 Hawfinches
2 Bullfinches
15 Long-tailed Tits and on Friday (which is not weekend really, but what the hay) I watched an Eagle Owl on its nest.
Not bad…
Lesser Black-backed Gull at Jam Bay with Corey.
@Jochen: Don’t make me go all swamp thing on you…
a hungry flock of yellow-rumped warblers just outside my window
Candidates: Harlequin Ducks and a White-winged Scoter so close I could almost touch it at Barnegat Lighthouse, NJ; Red-necked Grebe at Manasquan Inlet, NJ; Spotted Towhee at Palmyra Nature Cove, NJ; Bald Eagle watching over the traffic on Rte. 1, Princeton, NJ. And, although I am very happy I finally saw the Towhee, and although I love seeing raptors in the midst of urban sprawl, I am going with–two weeks in a row–a Golden-crowned Kinglet flitting through the brush bordering Lake Carnegie (Princeton). I don’t know why, but seeing kinglets in the snow makes me happy.
I had five lifers this weekend, so they were all pretty incredible. Eurasian Wigeon, Redhead, Lesser Scaup, American Coot, and best for last – Barnacle Goose!
I finally found the Eurasian Collared-Doves that have been reported around southern British Columbia for the last year or two. Now, doves aren’t exactly LBJs but for some reason I could never find them until I specifically went looking for them.
Not a lifer, I saw one in England a couple of years ago, but new to my North America list.
My nemesis bird, the Red-whiskered Bulbul, was finally found. It only took me over a year of searching in Miami to finally find one. Well, that’s a little exaggerating. I don’t live in Miami but every time I’m close I give that bird a try. The wait was worth it though…saw FOUR of them in one tree.
Again, easy. Self-found Slavonian (horned) grebe but only after a lot of detective work, although isn’t that the best way?
Looking out my back door, saw a Mourning Dove flying fairly quickly into my pine trees. The best part was what followed. A Cooper’s Hawk chasing the Mourning Dove and trying to fit through th same hole in the tree branches. By the time he got through the dove was gone but it was the thrill of the chase for me. He sat perched in a maple tree for about thirty seconds and then took off.
Was a great weekend for birds in my back yard – of note were a flock of Cedar Waxwings, and an especially beautiful Pileated Woodpecker. See it on my Flickr photostream
Just found this blog via Google Buzz
the greenfinches that came to my feeding station this weekend
I had a great time watching both Brown and American White Pelicans fishing in the river at our house. One of the Brown Pelican had a very red gular pouch. We also still have our wintering Baltimore Oriole. Photos are at my blog:
http://arroyocoloradoriverblog.blogspot.com
Sungei Buloh singapore: 2 storkbill kingfishes. 6 blue herons, 1 chinese egret, 1 white bellied sea eagle, 1 black naped oriole and family of 4 otters. great week!