While many Americans celebrated a certain vision of independence this past weekend, I like to think that any holiday, vacation, or sequence of at least a few unencumbered hours presents the most authentic celebration of freedom. And what symbolizes freedom better than birds if not the liberty and choice to look at them?
My holiday weekend took me to a part of the Southern Tier of New York where I can count on seeing both old-fashioned Fourth of July bunting and plentiful Indigo Buntings. Corey spent the weekend in his hometown and saw some nice birds. The best were breeding Blackburnian Warblers he found a few miles from his folks’ house in a preserve he hadn’t really explored before. That’s a pretty nice 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.
Oriental Reed Warbler
The earliest returning fall shorebirds worked for me. A Semi-palmated Plover, remarkably a difficult to find species in Pierce County, WA was a FOY for me and my best bird of the weekend at the Chambers Bay Beach Access. (Yes this is where the U.S. Open was played a few years ago.