We’re already a week into March, but I’m still shoveling snow. WTF. This cruel, cruel fate we endure in western New York torments man and beast alike. Pity the poor robins and cardinals whistling and whooping in a misguided effort to claim territory amidst a blanket of white. Pity me too while you’re at it… I’m as ready for spring as any migrant!
All the local avian characters have been extra-antsy despite the weather, all contending for best bird of the weekend. However, I’ll bestow that honor upon my first local Common Grackles of spring. Corey encountered a bunch of winners, but 24 Common Redpolls at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, in almost the exact same spot he saw them a couple of years ago, feeding on birch inflorescence by the East Pond, were easily his best birds of the weekend.
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.
After what seemed like an age – Waxwings! And well worth the wait…
http://norfolknbirds.wordpress.com/2011/03/05/about-time/
Didn’t really see anything special but a red tail hawk chasing prey in Jamaica Bay wildlife refuge. We were at Big John’s pond and a red tailed hawk came out of nowhere and we thought he was going to fly right into the blind. No time to take a picture.
I had a fairly quiet birding weekend but the highlight was watching Melodious Lark calling and mimicking other birds while hovering over its territory. Some of the bird calls picked out from his repertoire were African Quailfinch, Crowned Lapwing, Longtailed Widow and Didericks Cuckoo.
Fleeing the snow and cold of NY, we visited Florida and I got a lifer – a snail kite. Also the wood storks and sand hill cranes were cool, too.
Best bird, for sure, was FISH CROW. My first bird in Washington DC, where I am visiting for the weekend.
Appropriately enough(see Corey’s post of today) it is the Eastern Bluebird. See my watercolor of the male we saw at Morris Arboretum in Philadelphia here. This pair was our first of the year though they can be found in Philadelphia most winters.
I personally didn’t see anything all that exciting, so I will have to report what my son saw–an Ankober serin. Yes, sometimes I have to get my thrills through the binoculars I’ve bought for others.
Horned Lark.
And my first Killdeer of year!
Maybe not the best bird here, but the most exciting!
I had a beautifull view on 5 horned grebe here (one in breeding plumage), in Ann Arbor Michigan, for the 3 seconds it lasted, until I heard a huge “CRRACK”, and I fell through the ice.
2 feet of water, so no big deal, but I had to run back 2 miles home (I am on a bigby year, mostly on foot), and that was quite cold outside…..
My best bird was a toss-up of a few birds.
On Saturday at Flushing Meadows Corona Park I saw a male northern harrier. It was very a pale gray. When I first saw it I thought it might be a snowy or a barn owl because it was almost white. Once I looked at it through the binoculars I saw it was a male harrier. I see why people sometimes call them gray ghosts.
On Sunday at Kissena Park I saw five species of sparrows. A mixed species flock of sparrows (american tree, field and chipping) was by the bike track parking lot. Also present in other parts of the park were fox and white-throated sparrows.
Wow, Laurent, I hope you’re ok. Falling through the ice could not have been fun.
My Bbest bird for the weekend was a Long-tailed Woodcreeper seen at Carara National Park in Costa Rica.