Birding

Best Bird of the Weekend (Fourth of July 2016)

July 25, 2016 by Mike 5 Comments

As we put another July weekend in the book, so to speak, we should consider the difference between relative and absolute time. Most people I know–in the Northern Hemisphere, naturally–have already succumbed to the creeping dread that summer is almost over, despite all evidence to the contrary on the calendar. If you’re panicking too, stay calm and enjoy yourself. We have plenty of summer still to come.

Speaking of summer, the coolest birds I saw this weekend were on the festive curtains (pictured above) in my son’s new cabin at sleepaway camp in the Finger Lakes. Pretty swanky, right? But if I have to pick a living bird, American Kestrels hunting along farm roads always work for me. Corey spent the weekend camping in the northern Catskills Mountains and was extremely pleased to have a family of fledged Eastern Kingbirds in and around the campsite. Tyrannus tyrannus is an exemplary 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.