Nobody enjoys the end of a birding adventure. No matter how exhausted, sunburned, frostbitten, or penniless your exertions have left you, the hope of one more blissful bird sighting still beckons. How do you cope with the momentary feelings of deflation that set in once the trip is over?
The Ugandan adventure Corey and I embarked on in November has finally come to an end. While he’s sweeping Mabamba Swamp one more time for Shoebills, I’m awaiting my airport transfer and hoping for the rain to end in time for a final burst of African bird excitement. We both fit in as many hours as possible birding the Entebbe Botanical Gardens during the African Birding Expo this weekend. While we saw all sorts of amazing birds, top honors will go not to the rarest or even best looking. Instead, we’ll honor the Black and white Casqued Hornbill, an incredibly large. vocal, and common species that ennobles any setting in which it spreads its massive wings.
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.
Araripe Manakin
It’s no Hornbill but … I was super-stoked that, as I pulled up in front of my house, I saw a Red-tailed Hawk hunting House Sparrows in my neighbor’s postage-stamp front yard! It then perched on the shrubs and I was able to get lots of shots and video (from the driver’s seat). What a wonderful up-close encounter!
Not the end of the trip! Say it ain’t so, Mike! 🙁
All good things come to an end, Suzie. I’m already thinking of my next trip!