The first weekend of October offers much to the sports fan, with momentous matchups taking place all over the world. As thrilling as this time is in the United States for fans of both America’s Pasttime and America’s favorite sport (football, obviously), this month matters even more to sports fans fond of birds. Those of you who enjoyed a morning of migrant watching before sitting down to watch athletes in the afternoon know exactly what I’m talking about…
This weekend, I was pleased to get into a mixed flock of kinglets: Golden-crowned Kinglets always make me smile. In the same vein, Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was his first Ruby-crowned Kinglet of the fall, one of many that were out along the coast of Queens.
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 best bird of the weekend was a single flock of more than 400 blue tits. Southern Sweden has recorded record numbers of birds migrating south recently, and it seems the flood has already reached SW Germany! No river crossings were closed though due to the flood. 😉
A lot of good birds in Singapore this weekend. Great-billed Heron, Bar-tailed Godwit and Aleutian Tern at Pulau Ubin and Shrenck’s Bittern at Sungei Buloh.
I saw my first Black-and-white Warbler this weekend! Saw 2 actually. It was so pretty and posed nicely for a photo!
My best bird of the weekend was a Nelson’s Sparrow, seen near Sioux Falls, SD. It was a US bird for me.
Had my first ever Townsend’s Warbler this weekend at Paradise Pond in Port Aransas, TX.
Just a chilly Ruby-throated Hummingbird headed south who stopped in for a drink.
A pair of scissor-tailed flycathers – beautiful!! Down here in Huatulco, Mexico.
I’m traveling in Denmark with my husband for his work and have seen some beautiful birds for the first time- mostly common birds, but amazing to me! The Mute Swan, Great Cormorant, Jackdaw, and Great Tit were all exciting to see, and though not wild, about a hundred Melanistic Mutant (Black) Pheasants on Veno Island near Struer were also very beautiful. As Jochen noted, lots of flocks of migrating birds, too, but I can’t identify them from a distance.
Barring the warbler I have yet to ID, my BBOtW would be my first American Coots of the season, hanging out with a solitary Mallard, during my first trip to Chicago’s Northerly Island.
@Dawn Puliafico, Dick Latuchie, and Alan Olson: Congrats on the lifers!
Quite a few kinglets were seen but the best bird of the weekend for me was a Nelson’s Sparrow in Hamilton, ON during the OFO trip. At least 4 of them popping up out of the grasses and perching in full view for all in our group. Best bird not seen was a Le Conte’s Sparrow. Without seeing any field markings when it was in the open (looked like an LBJ to me), there was no way I could add this lifer to my list. Seems quite a few other birders did though. Damn.
Thanks M. This bird is drawing tens of folks to the island.
RE ELECT BO.
I saw some Brown-headed Nuthatches at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland. That makes four species of nuthatches for me this year.