Another Super Bowl has passed and, as predicted, the feathered team fell short. Birds are amazing for a host of reasons, but bringing luck to sports teams may not be their strong suit.
My weekend was rather prosaic from a birding perspective, but I took time to appreciate some local Mourning Doves, distinctive not just for their early sunrise plumage but for their species success; I found these doves as plentiful in lush Caribbean forests as they are in Rochester’s inclement winterscape. Corey had five life birds this on Saturday in Austria and Lichtenstein but easily the best was a very cooperative Wallcreeper which was working the walls of an Austrian castle. The setting, the species, and the sheer awesomeness of the sighting made it an exceptionally easy decision.
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.
My hearing a Black Woodpecker near Heidelberg pales to Corey’s wallcreeper, but nevertheless, that is mine.
The much less colorful Tawny-throated Leaftosser in middle elevation rainforest, Costa Rica.
Getting to see a pair of Black-throated Gray Warblers, way out in the middle of the desert was a complete surprise to me. I guess they just go lost on their trip south to Mexico for the winter.
I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time and place to spy one of our local Peregrine Falcons cruising just north of Philadelphia’s City Hall. What a treat!
@Mike: I guess not all Falcons are as fearsome, or gifted with endurance.
Like Meredith, I was in the right place at the right time. I was crouching on the beach, here on the Olympic Peninsula, trying to photograph a pair of faraway Black Oystercatchers with my zoom lens, as I never want to disturb them. Suddenly a Great Blue Heron (common but magnificent bird) walked right past me, very slowly, just a few yards away. (I got great photos!)
A friend and I saw and photographed a flock of 14 Sandhill Cranes in the Grand Pass Conservation Area in mid-Missouri – unusual for this time of year. Also 26 Trumpeter Swans, 50+ Bald Eagles, and too many Snow Geese and Mallards to count!