Time to put another year in the books! You are undoubtedly reviewing the best and worst of everything you experienced in 2012 as we prepare to ring in the New Year. But for now, let’s focus on some specific highlights from just this past weekend…
My Best Bird of the Weekend was Red-breasted Nuthatch, many of which were emboldened to visit my feeder in the midst of mountains of snow. Corey’s BBOTW was a large covey of Gambel’s Quail at Joshua Tree National Park on Friday.
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.
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.
My son and family were here for Christmas and we had some wonderful days birding a few hours at a time around Dallas. I got three lifers, including my first owl. But I have to confess we saw that owl only because some professional birder noticed how pathetic we looked gawking at the multitude of pelicans and showed us their hiding spot. I blogged about it here: http://lindasfamilynews.wordpress.com/2012/12/31/birding-with-andrew/
Flock of 25 Common Redpolls have invaded my back yard. Amazed at the differences in their appearance.
Definitely the razorbills at St. Marks NWR, Wakulla County Florida!
Long-tailed Ducks, a whole bunch of them just a few yards offshore from my city’s most-loved lakeside park. They are really common on Lake Ontario in the winter but they are so cool. The males look like they’re ready for a fancy New Years party and plan to leave their Cinderella mates at home to sweep the hearth.
More on them at http://www.mybirdoftheday.ca
Life Ross’s Goose! I wasn’t sure in the field whether it was Ross’s or Snow, but I snapped some photos and had some fun debating the ID on Facebook and Twitter.
Varied Thrush, Christmas Mountains, near Terlingua, Texas
A lively Red-breasted Sapsucker on Indian Island here on the Olympic Peninsula.
Hard choice, as I was winding up my T+T trip on the island of Tobago. I’m going to go with Red-billed Tropicbird. I loved watching them fly around the wildlife sanctuary island of Little Tobago. And, even better, we got close-up views of the birds nesting on the island. It wasn’t hard to find the nests, just move a leaf, twist your head, and there one or two were, sitting quietly. They did not seem bothered by our presence, but we treated the nesting birds with respect, and photographed them from a distance: http://www.flickr.com/photos/queensgirl/8334272296/
Definitely the bald eagle I spotted, first directly outside my building, then across False Creek. I saw it again, today, circling high in the sky. Unfortunately, I’ve yet to get close enough to it to get a decent photograph. The one time I was within shouting distance, I didn’t have my camera. I swear, I’m never going outside without it, again! Every time I venture out camera-less, I spot something I wish I could’ve snapped.
I saw five Rusty Blackbirds while doing a Christmas Bird Count on Sunday. Rusty Blackbirds have become very hard to find in recent years and that particular count is not one where I normally see blackbirds of any species so they were a real surprise.
No doubt the red bellied woodpecker. My son said he looks like a clown bird. He its definitely a bird that is enjoyed by all. even non birders have come by to feast their eyes on him