Birding

Best Bird of the Weekend (First of February 2011)

February 7, 2011 by Mike 11 Comments

Go Packers! With a stirring Super Bowl victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay team have finally moved beyond the Favre era and into what appears to be a bright future.

Oh wait, you’re not here for football commentary? Some of you (you know who you are) don’t even consider the game we play in the United States real football at all? Fine, let’s get down to business… my best bird of the weekend was a hulk of a Hairy Woodpecker, the kind that could never be mistaken for a Downy. Corey was thrilled to find his first-ever-in-Queens Snow Bunting at Jamaica Bay.

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.

best bird weekend

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.

11 Comments

Jochen February 7, 2011 at 4:46 am
I did not see the Super Bowl but thankfully was compensated for that bitter miss by watching a comparatively athletic and action-packed sports event, a women’s synchronized swimming competition.
Oh well, best bird of the weekend.
Yes, I COULD say yet again that I saw Long-tailed Tits, Hawfinches and a splendid Northern Bullfinch (of the trumpeting kind) – and this would also be true – but I don’t think this will make Corey even slightly upset anymore.
So, the winner is …
Common Raven (cheers, Arctic Bay!!), a pair flying over Rohrbach/Heidelberg into the Rhine valley. That’s pretty darn good, as they are regular yet scarce in the mountains not even a mile to the East, but in my three years here I have NEVER seen them in the valley.
Laurent Fournier February 7, 2011 at 9:19 am
The 15 mn of effective play was rather nice, I enjoyed it. The halftime show was absolutly horrible (they should have shown some music instead), but some commercials were creative and funny.
Best bird of the week end….I guess a hairy woodpecker coming at my feeders…..still waiting for my bins to come back from California after repairs…
Hilke Breder February 7, 2011 at 9:40 am
I saw about 300 snow buntings, some 50 horned larks and l lapland longspur on a snow and ice covered farm track yesterday. The longspur was seen through a friend’s scope, which doesn’t quite feel real to me unless I can see it with my naked eyes. But I guess I can add it to my life list anyway. I got some really fabulous snow bunting close-up photos on Friday though.
http://tinyurl.com/6kd73cb
Kirby Adams February 7, 2011 at 11:12 am
I ran into (not literally) two not-all-that-common-in-midwinter birds for this area. A pretty female hooded merganser and a belted kingfisher. I thought I was hallucinating when I heard the kingfisher, since I’ve never seen one in winter here, but just after I shot some video of the merg, he zoomed right past. Made me feel like spring despite the near zero degree Fahrenheit wind chill.
http://bit.ly/enBl60
Meredith February 7, 2011 at 11:39 am
@Mike: Go Pack go!
@Jochen: Cool sightings. I bet Corey will ask you to mention the raven (wait for it) nevermore. (sorry, couldn’t resist)
@Hilke: I feel the same way about naked-eye lifers!
@Kirby: Maybe it’s the wacky weather that has pushed both birds into your neck of the woods? The merganser video is lovely.
Sorry I’ve been MIA for a few weeks. An unexpected and crisis-ridden apartment move, a bad cold, and massive amounts of snow and frigid temps conspired against me birding. As it was the local Eagle Fest on Saturday was canceled due to icy conditions.
*But* yesterday, heading out to the laundromat at 7:30 AM in warmer weather, I happened to look up and see a bald eagle soaring on an updraft. No, wait, make that a pair of eagles! No mistaking the white head/tail and the monstrous, perfectly flat wingspan. I now officially heart my new home along the Hudson River!!
Rick February 7, 2011 at 11:56 am
An apparent Northern Cardinal x Pyrrhuloxia hybrid beat out Rufous-backed Robin for bird of the weekend on a nice day out in southeast AZ.
Paul Riss February 7, 2011 at 2:14 pm
Saw Evening Grosbeaks. Posted about it on my blog, Punk Rock Big Year. Read about it here.
http://punkrockbigyear.blogspot.com/2011/02/owls-will-have-to-wait.html
Redgannet February 8, 2011 at 4:29 am
Can I count 4 Spoon-billed Sandpipers if they were seen on a Friday?
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/02/pak-thale-bangkok.html
Jochen February 8, 2011 at 4:33 am
@Meredith: oh crap, how did I miss that chance!? I LOVE Poe (well, his work).
I guess it was because I wrote my comment around a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
over a pipit, quaint and curious,
with paler or with spotted lores.
While I nodded, nearly napping, over Sibley there came a tapping,
like a nuthatch gently rapping, rapping at a suet ball.
`’Tis some Long-tailed Tit,’ I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door –
Only this, and nothing more.’
Jochen February 8, 2011 at 4:44 am
@Redgannet: no! Definitely not! Neither on a Friday, nor a Saturday, nor a Sunday. Completely out of the question.
thainamu February 10, 2011 at 7:28 pm
It is almost time for next weekend, but I can say that I had a great–if chilly–winter bird watching vacation last week in southeastern Arizona with my husband and his parents (all very good sports if not really serious about birds). I saw 62 species, and 27 were new ones for me. Details here:
http://thainamu.blogspot.com/2011/02/winter-vacation-birdcount.html