Birding

Best Bird of the Weekend (Great Backyard Bird Count 2012)

February 20, 2012 by Mike 14 Comments

If you were ever looking for a reason to pay careful attention to the common birds around you, this

weekend offered the perfect opportunity. Have you been participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count?

Honestly, I did not embrace the GBBC with all my heart. This weekend was dedicated to enjoying the company of my visiting mother, brother, sister-in-law, and niece. Consequently, I spent lots of time in non-birdy environments. However, I did carve out time for a quick twitch once Corey alerted me to a convenient first-year male King Eider up on Lake Ontario. The gender of this duck drove my decision, since I swore I would not be moved to chase a drab eider hen, even if it would be a life bird. The joke was on me though; after employing the persistence and patience most twitches demand, I finally got my bird… a proud Queen Eider. Dash it all!

You won’t be surprised to learn that Corey had many good birds to choose from for his Best Bird of the Weekend. From Orange-crowned Warbler to Razorbill, from Lapland Longspur to Red-necked Grebe, from Northern Shrike to Gray Catbird, Corey had a heck of a weekend. But on his boat ride around lower New York Harbor and Jamaica Bay on Sunday he found himself appreciating the Herring Gulls more than any other species. Is he becoming a larophile? Only time will tell…

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.

14 Comments

PortageBirdLady February 20, 2012 at 2:56 am
The bird I couldn’t ID! I have no picture, but floats like a goose, except a lot lower, body almost entirely in the water. What I could see was grey with an orange beak. West Coast of Canada, mixed salt-fresh inlet. Couldn’t find it on my GBBC cheatsheet… Oh, and it goes underwater for long periods of time. I think the herring are in town.
Jochen February 20, 2012 at 7:31 am
Clearly the many – yes, truly many – Hawfinches that sit and fly around everywhere in Heidelberg at the moment. Neat birds.
Jochen February 20, 2012 at 7:37 am
@PortageBirdLady: maybe an immature Double-crested Cormorant? The immatures can appear very brownish-grey, and an orange beak sounds very much like DC Cormorant.
Sean Paul Kelley February 20, 2012 at 9:04 am
We saw four gorgeous wood ducks on Shoal Creek just a few blocks from our house. Didn’t get to do much birding this weekend.
~Rico~ February 20, 2012 at 9:33 am
I spied a male Eurasian Wigeon at the local duck pond among the Mallards, Coots, and Canada Geese.
Pics: http://arroyobirds.blogspot.com/2012/02/eurasian-wigeon-anas-penelope.html
Dawn Puliafico February 20, 2012 at 11:04 am
My best bird this weekend was Cedar Waxwing! I had never seen one before and was so thrilled to see a small flock! Such a lovely bird.
Meredith February 20, 2012 at 12:19 pm
I finally managed to get out to Starved Rock State Park, where Illinois birders would probably say my best bird of the weekend was the Tufted Titmouse at the feeders behind the visitor center; that bird seems to be somewhat uncommon in these parts. Most everyone else would probably vote for the Bald Eagle, even though my views were distant. But I’m going to go with the noisy pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers, simply because it was a hoot to watch them at the feeders, shooing away the Pine Siskins and Black-capped Chickadees:
http://blog5bdotcom.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/happy-birthday-mr-presidents/
@Dawn Puliafico: Congratulations on your lifer! Aren’t Cedar Waxwings gorgeous? I’m glad you got to see them!
PortageBirdLady February 20, 2012 at 8:26 pm
@Jochen: Thanks! The DC Cormorant was the closest I could find, so that’s probably it. Will have to brush up on my juveniles! Thanks for responding!
Jeremy Medina February 20, 2012 at 8:26 pm
I had killer views of 3 Rufous-capped Warblers in Florida Canyon:
http://azbirdbrain.blogspot.com/2012/02/southeast-arizona-tour.html
Hank February 20, 2012 at 10:16 pm
@ Meredith
Saw my first Tufted Titmouse ever at Starved Rock State Park. But no Bald Eagles ever in Illinois. And you see them every week
Pat ODonnell February 21, 2012 at 9:41 am
Congrats on the Queen Eider! Way to get a lifer during a family visit. In Costa Rica, a displaying Resplendent Quetzal on Irazu volcano was awesome as were Snowcap, male Black-crested Coquette, and Yellow-eared Toucanet in Braulio Carrillo National Park.
Katrina February 21, 2012 at 6:59 pm
There’s been a Harris’s Sparrow hanging around near Kempton, PA since sometime in November. I finally found time to go look for it this weekend. Having never seen one before this year, I’ve now seen two, one near home and one in California last month. No pictures unfortunately, due to my good camera breaking last month.
Mike February 21, 2012 at 9:56 pm
Patrick, thanks for the congrats but you know I would much rather have seen the birds you saw. Gotta get to Irazu!