Birding

Best Bird of the Weekend (Fourth of January 2021)

January 25, 2021 by Mike 2 Comments

While the fourth weekend of January finds us all mired in the depths of whatever season grips our part of the world, the light is ever so slowly changing. Another couple of months of a little more or less light at dusk every day will soon trigger that global migration of birds we all eagerly await. Until then, make the most of what we have today.

What I have is a typical Upstate New York winter, so this weekend was about adding more typical Upstate New York winter birds. I had a hankering for Horned Larks, so Ivy and I hit a spot I know larks to lurk. Those black-and-yellow visages, so reminiscent of the classic smiley face, bring welcome cheer to a chilly day. Corey made a second attempt this weekend at seeing New York State’s first Ferruginous Hawk, which has been seen regularly in the Black Dirt region of Orange County. It was found sitting way out in a field by Andy Guthrie on Saturday morning and Corey arrived in time to see it before it flew a short distance out of sight. The picture above is horrible but it kind of documents that Corey saw a state first this weekend which makes it obviously his 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.
Written by Mike
Mike is a leading authority in the field of standardized test preparation, but he's also a traveler who fully expects to see every bird in the world. Besides founding 10,000 Birds in 2003, Mike has also created a number of other entertaining but now extirpated nature blog resources, particularly the Nature Blog Network and I and the Bird.