To all you hardy naturalists who have already logged Christmas Bird Count hours in service to citizen science, I salute you! Winter has come early and often to Western NY. In the face of endless snow, all I want to do is seek shelter, warmth, and booze. Those of you willing to eschew creature comforts to tally birds across your ice-rimed count circles are my heroes. Share your CBC stories here!
One of the only upsides of this winter wonderland I’m trapped in is the appearance of cold season specialties like the handsome Rough-legged Hawk I spotted this weekend. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend could have been either his first Harlequin Duck or his first Glaucous Gull of the year. But he really appreciated the Surf Scoters he saw at Shinnecock Inlet out in Suffolk County on Long Island on Saturday so he chose that species. Of course, he sent this to me before he did his Queens County Christmas Bird Count on Sunday so who knows what his actual Best Bird of the Weekend was!
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.
Finally, a Snowy Owl! I know they’ve been as common as crows for the lucky folk along the coast, but we’ve finally got one giving reliable good looks in Troy, NY.
http://kestrelhill.wordpress.com/2013/12/14/schenectady-count-and-omg-snowy-owl11/
We were pretty well trapped by a major storm. Still, I put some seed out and enjoyed a Slate-colored Junco. My blog has the story & more at http://www.mybirdoftheday.ca
Surf Scoters are one of my favorites, too! This weekend at Fort Worden (Olympic Peninsula) I was enchanted by Golden-crowned Kinglets… their high-pitched song, their flitting flock, and their bright yellow crown!
I spent a lovely couple of minutes watching some Stitchbirds this weekend.
The abnormally cold conditions brought us all three Scoter species at once on one fairly small lake in Northern Mississippi as well as a Lesser Black-backed Gull! Good times.
Not the weekend, but on Tuesday evening as I drank bubbles and cider with my best friends I finally saw my first New Zealand Falcon of the year cruising past my house.
Spend a nice day at the Buenaventura Reserve in Southern Ecuador! The spectacular Long Wat. Umbrella Bird, White Beraded Manakin, Clap Winged manakin, Honey Creepers, Tanangers, Hummingbirds…were all part of the Menu! Great Birding!!
We were in Monumento Natural Yaxchilan doing a bird survey this weekend. Highlights included ~10 King Vultures, Ornate Hawk-Eagle, Rufous Piha, Black-throated Shrike-Tanager, Rufous Mourner, Great Antshrike, Black-and-white Owl and many more!