Before the weekend began, I mentioned how swallows hadn’t invaded these northern latitudes yet. I was mistaken. Swallows are indeed here, which means spring is as well!
Spring happens to be peak raptor migration season in Western New York, so I spent some time at one of the nation’s premier hawkwatch platforms. Braddock Bay on a clear sunny day is a terrific place to enjoy the passage of hundreds of Broad-winged Hawks, which I was happy to do. Corey went much further out of his way to twitch a bird that had traveled much farther still (or at least we hope it did). He was rewarded by an extremely rare New York State Willow Ptarmigan. How’s that for a 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.
Brown Thrasher singing from on high, or maybe an American Bittern that scrambled from the cattails, or perhaps a Common Gallinule (once common, now rare), perchance a high soaring Sandhill Crane. A Red-throated Loon or rafts of Red-necked Grebes. Too much to choose from. All on my blog which you can read by clicking on my name above.
A flock of over 500 Red Knot feeding within 30 feet of my wife and I while on a beach walk on Tybee Island, GA. Many entering breeding plumage. Definitely one of my favorite non-birding birdy experiences!
I broke my ankle two weeks ago which has put a damper on my birding. But I can’t complain too much when there are male Painted Buntings in my backyard (suburban Dallas). See last photo on my personal blog post from yesterday: http://lindasfamilynews.wordpress.com/2014/04/27/weekend-update-2/
I had the first day of training in “oiled bird capture and care,” so practiced anatomy ID and rescue techniques on a hybrid Mallard duck. A rather overwhelming experience, and it heightened my appreciation of the brave work of animal rehabilitators.
My best-ever look at a Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher (FOY). It was basically at eye level in a tree without foliage!
@Wendy Feltham: You rock!
A glorious Mountain Trogon, my second trogon ever but the first with photos. Or was it the Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireo I saw an hour later? Both from the Parque Nacional José María Morelos y Pavón, near Morelia in central Mexico