The month of July is drawing to a close, so prepare yourself for the inevitable chorus expressing surprise, chagrin, and dismay at the imminent end of summer. Do folks on the southern side of the globe, I wonder, do the same thing around the end of January?
My family and I have taken our show to the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. We haven’t seen many birds yet, but did enjoy the sight of a juvenile Peregrine Falcon unruffled by a mob of belligerent Blue Jays. The butterflies have been pretty good as well, especially if you’re partial to Black Swallowtails. Corey’s best bird of the weekend was a Common Raven that flew over his apartment on Saturday afternoon.
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.
My best was a pair of Nutmeg Mannikins seen foraging in the thickets of the local arroyo.
Cory’s and Greater Shearwaters gorging on fish pushed up to the surface from the hunting tuna below (Gulf of Maine).
A bunch of Painted Buntings on my feeders. And by bunch, I mean a family of three. They keep coming to the feeders but seem to be bullied by the House Finches and Cardinals.
Well I think I might be the worst birder ever. Climbing out on a small rock cliff on the rive r a black swan or goose flew out from under me. unprepared I misses the shot.he was a daazzling glossy jet black beauty with about a close to 3ft wide wing span
http://fingerontheshutter.com/2012/07/28/hawk/
Broad-winged Hawk in our backyard
First real visit to Colorado yielded quite a few life birds, but the ones I’m most excited about are the run-of-the-mill Western Scrub Jay and Steller’s Jay because I figured out the ID by myself. (Thanks to Larry for letting me know what to look for! http://10000birds.com/the-western-scrub-jay-a-bright-corvid-in-many-respects.htm)
An out of season female Red-breasted Merganser at the East Pond of Jamaica Bay
Two Cooper’s Hawks, very close above my head in the trees. What made it interesting is that they were both eyeing a squirrel (what ever the west coast species is..wasn’t a gray squirrel or red squirrel). The squirrel cautiously approached the birds through the branches, stopping often, freezing in place, then advancing again. He eventually chases away the smaller one, then set his sights on the larger one. I thought he was pushing his luck there, but when he was within two meters the second bird flew off calling as it went (which confirmed the ID for me). Hazy memory tells me they’re Douglas fir squirrels? Will have to look up to confirm.