Ah, what is so rare as a day in June? One could argue that weekend days in June are even more rare and precious, assuming you spend them wisely. Did you make the most of this one?
Corey carved time out of his complicated schedule to bird Central Park with Nate. The birding gods rewarded them both with a Yellow-billed Cuckoo in Central Park’s ramble, though a White-throated Sparrow, a good bird in June, was a close second. I took my son to his first baseball game and my first exposure to the local minor league franchise, the Rochester Red Wings. Our night was filled with both fun and falcons; not only did I spy one of the famous Rochester Peregrine Falcons, but I was also able to point out a bug-hawking American Kestrel to the fans around me. And the Red Wings won… nice!
Typical of many sports mascots, the Rochester Red Wings’ spirit animal doesn’t look much like its namesake, assuming the team is named for a Red-Winged Blackbird. Instead, the team mascot looks suspiciously like a Cardinal on steroids.
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.
Life bird in my own backyard! Rose-breasted Grosbeak in Utah. Oh yeah!!! http://www.birdingisfun.com/2011/06/rose-breasted-grosbeak-in-utah-id-help.html
Slim pickings near Lake Michigan this weekend, between the heat, the tail end of migration, and the loud fun run nearby. So my best bird was a cluster of Cedar Waxwings chowing down on berries and bugs. They’re my first of the year, and always a beautiful treat!
@Robert Mortenson: Congrats!
@Mike: Cardinals on steroids? No, that would never ever happen. 😉
Too many to count at the Canaan Valley Birding Festival in West Virginia. Can’t pick a “best”, but the oddest was while we were eating dinner at a restaurant and my wife looked over my shoulder and said, “There’s a bittern standing outside the window.” I thought perhaps her Pepsi had been spiked, but sure enough, an American Bittern had flown in and was standing outside the restaurant’s back window.
If we can include “heard only birds”, my best was Marbled Wood-Quail. My favorite sighted species were a pair of Black-faced Antthrushes hanging out at an antswarm in Carara National Park. I blogged about my Saturday morning there: http://birdingcraft.com/wordpress/2011/06/07/antswarms-at-carara-national-park-on/
Yesterday I spotted a Yellow Warbler, an American Redstart, a couple B-more Orioles, many Cedar Wax-Wings, and I even scared up a Barn Owl. It’s been quite a year here in Dutchess County, NY.
From what I can dig out of my trivia-laden brain, the mascot for the Red Wings is a cardinal, which dates back to the . . . early 1900s? when they were the farm club for the St. Louis Cardinals. And it’s clearly on steroids!
-Mike