Now that Halloween is over and Samhain is bridging the gap to Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) through a couple of Catholic holy days, we can accept that the holiday season is well and truly upon us. Was your weekend mostly tricks or treats? If you got out at all, let us know your best bird of the weekend.
My family was hit by a double whammy of strep throat and the stomach flu. Suffice to say, as the last man standing, it fell to me to care for everybody. At least I have White-breasted Nuthatches right outside my window! Corey’s account is far more exciting: New York State’s first record of Common Ground Dove (assuming that New York State Avian Records Committee accepts the bird.) The diminutive dove was spotted at Captree State Park and Corey took part in a high-speed twitch to get it.
Not a Mourning Dove!
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.
I think it was the mess of Stitchbirds I saw. I managed to get a few snaps before my battery died!
From Wedneday last week til Saturday, I had an Eastern Towhee hanging around my yard (along with 5 Rusty Blackbirds and 4 Fox Sparrows I might add). The ET is Uncommon here (Sudbury, ON).
I saw a pair of Common Ground Doves this weekend at Oscar Scherer State Park in Florida.
I spied, with my little eye (and a pair of brand-new Monarchs, still with the factory smell!), a hermit thrush hopping among the brambles at Twin Lakes in Eastchester, NY.
First runner-up: a family of seven swans-a-swimming. Sometimes solo birding yields great joy.
Not that I’m bragging or anything, but I saw a common nighthawk catching insects above the Ballpark in Arlington where I was attending game 4 of the World Series in perfect weather. Go Rangers! 🙂
It can’t beat that Common Ground Dove in NY, but we had the first arrival of a Eurasian Wigeon for the season. We usually get two or three each winter in greater Boise area.
The Franklin’s Gull which showed up in the parking lot of a fish-and-chip shop near where I live. My 300th life bird for British Columbia.
@Meredith: Those binoculars are good, especially for the price. Good pick!
@thainamu: Not sure if it is the game or the bird of which I should be jealous!
@Paul: I don’t want to hear about Franklin’s Gull considering I have never seen one and one appeared on Long Island this week that I was unable to chase…
Lapland Longspurs dominate any weekend they deign to grace. Love those calcariids! And I got to see Paul’s Franklin’s Gull, too, which was pretty sweet indeed–state bird for me.
Rusty Blackbirds return! At a new site, which is always nice for that species. And a county bird besides.
Mistle Thrushes on my attempt at finding my local Eagle Owls. They are still there, of course, but even a big dude like that can hide very effectively in a quarry…
A short glimpse at a Says Phoebe was probably the highlight, but two Barn Owls and three Great Horned Owl’s were not too shabby, either!
Rufous-capped Warbler on private property in Zavala County, Texas. That was one of 86 species our little group saw this past weekend in this very under-birded county.
@Corey: Thanks, I’m looking forward to years of awesome birding adventures with them. Unfortunately, I got just slightly the wrong model to take advantage of Nikon’s rebate. 🙁 (But then fortunately, fate stepped in during my afternoon run and placed—I kid you not—two $50 bills in my path. So it all works out.) Also, major props on the Common Ground Dove!
@Mike: Hope everyone is feeling better soon and that you’re not next in line for a round of antibiotics.
@Thainamu: Sorry about the Rangers. But you’ll always have the Nighthawk … and, for at least the time being, Jeff Francoeur. 😉
Tropical Kingbird in Massachusetts!
Hope everyone gets well soon…..turns out the reason I have been feeling half dead and done nothing since last Wednesday is laryngitis and bronchitis…..really get to love your own birds in your own garden! Yellow white eye wins this weekend.