Birding

Best Bird of the Weekend (First of 2021)

January 4, 2021 by Mike 5 Comments

So many different factors contribute to the quality and quantity of a birding adventure that one would be hard-pressed to predict the very best time to watch birds in a particular area beyond a vague three or four week window. However, one weekend always delivers on the promise of some of the most thrilling and non-judgmental birding encounters of any year. Which one is that? Obviously, the very first weekend of the year! My weekend was fantastic, considering I’m already two owls into the new year. However, my best bird was a lifer, at least for the moment… a Hoary Redpoll I’ve been chasing for weeks that finally gave me the look I craved. Corey also got his year list started off well over the weekend and saw a whole bunch of great birds across Queens. He also chased and dipped on a Spotted Towhee in Nassau County, which would have been a new bird for him in New York State. Of all the birds he did see he most appreciated a very cooperative Red-throated Loon at Breezy Point on Friday morning, stretching the definition of weekend but it is a pandemic so all bets are off. The loon is his 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.

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.