You are browsing the archives of best bird.

Here in the U.S., we’re still on the more temperate side of Memorial Day, after which summer unofficially begins and one may wear white shoes with impunity. Yet if you roasted this weekend like we did in western New York, you’re probably a little scared of what July and August will look like! Save your [...]

This time of year, avian excitement is occurring ALL OVER THE WORLD! Let’s not waste precious time with introductions or niceties… see anything amazing this weekend? I blitzed Cobb’s Hill Park for a taste of migration, coming away with some lovely, lovely birds. While spotting six thrush species in a morning–four at once visiting a [...]

It is May! For those in the northern hemisphere migration fever is upon us and employers who employ birders are wondering where everybody is. Have the birds really started moving where you live? Both Mike and I were on the road this weekend. I was in Chicago (actually, I might even still be here by [...]

April didn’t deliver many of its vaunted showers in my area this year. I’d fear for May flowers if so many weren’t already in bloom. How is the season in your corner of the world? My best bird this weekend has to be the Hermit Thrush that’s been hanging around my backyard for the last [...]

Yesterday marked the celebration of Earth Day, a holiday most of our readers observe every day. Here’s a question for all the proud naturalists and tree-huggers out there: Does Earth Day feel special to you or like more of the same? My Earth Day was cold and rainy, which didn’t bode well for the next [...]

The second weekend of April holds special meaning for citizens of the United States, and by special, I really mean dire. But like it or not, most of us have filed our tax returns. At last, we can turn to more important issues like earning enough money to pay next year’s taxes! As promised, I [...]

Early April is a special time for most, especially those of us in the Northern Hemisphere that love each emerging sign of spring. The month and this particular period is all the more auspicious for me and mine, as so many friends and families celebrate spring birthdays. Today happens to be mine, so send some [...]

This odd weekend began with the end of March, which didn’t exactly go out like a lamb, and ended with the beginning of April. Only January commences with more fanfare and merriment than April. Did you enjoy any particularly amusing April Fools jokes? We’re especially interested in ones involving birds and nature. My best birds [...]

Now that late winter has eased into early spring, it seems owls are in the air. I’m hearing all kinds of owl howls, from Saw-whets at (where else?) Owl Woods and Short-eared Owls from New York to the Galapagos Islands. One birder known to many of us even had her life Barn Owl turn up [...]

Faith and Begorrah, I’ve made it through another St. Patty’s Day without ingesting corned beef, cabbage, or green beer! My liver lingers on in the same (sorry) state in which it entered the weekend. Can you say the same? My weekend was devoted to a seemingly endless celebration of my son’s 8th birthday, which meant [...]

Change is in the air, isn’t it? All around the world, satisfaction subsides as an inevitable restlessness sets in on a cellular level. If you’re able to resist the lure of migration, you can at least pull up a seat and watch the endless waves pursue their predestined bliss. Or join in… Corey’s Best Bird [...]

Some weekends are sublime and others mundane. Obviously, we cannot survive one transcendent weekend after another, but this stretch of late winter seems to require more than the usual routine. I found little inspiration in the usual birds, so I turned to the great Herman Melville for some grand avian allegory: And there is a Catskill [...]

We’re in the rough part of winter now, the part that seems to keep spring just a fingertip’s length out of reach. I’m not saying winter has been rough, since the season has actually been rather clement. But even one extra day of February keeps us that much farther from our long awaited vernal visitors. [...]

If you were ever looking for a reason to pay careful attention to the common birds around you, this weekend offered the perfect opportunity. Have you been participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count? Honestly, I did not embrace the GBBC with all my heart. This weekend was dedicated to enjoying the company of my visiting [...]

Last weekend, millions of people devoted their full attention to football and the accouterments of Super Bowl festivities. This weekend, the annual Grammy awards along with the unscheduled and untimely demise of a pop icon ensured that music dominated wide interest. Do you think that any event in our lifetimes will ever focus so much positive attention [...]

Yee-haw! The New York Football Giants have won the Super Bowl for the second time in 4 years. Not too shabby! Not only does my football team end up on top, but now I get my Sundays back! This weekend, however, I didn’t see any special birds, unless you count the bird M.I.A. flipped during [...]

Do you get out birding much? If you’re checking in here on a Monday morning, chances are you have a bird tale to tell. Then again, maybe like me you simply enjoy hearing about the avian observations of others even when you can’t make time for your own bird chases. Speaking of Birdchasers, Rob Fergus [...]

Are we going to talk birds here or discuss how awesome it is that the NY Giants are going to the Super Bowl? Oh, birds? I should have guessed that. Big Blue fans can leave proud comments and hyperbolic predictions in the comments! My Best Bird of the Weekend™  was a Blue Jay celebrating a rare Rochester [...]

What a splendid weekend! With superb American playoff football all weekend long, I hardly noticed the bitter arrival of authentic winter weather or the apparent absence of non-corvid avifauna in my immediate vicinity. But who cares, right? As a Giant fan, I enjoyed my fill of meaningless entertainment this weekend. Oh, you’d rather talk about [...]

Just two weekends into 2012, I already love this year. No doubt the weather has something to do with it; Rochester, NY may historically be one of the United States’ snowiest metropolitan areas, but we’ve been basking in almost vernal weather. Plus my New York Football Giants just advanced in the first round of the NFL playoffs. [...]