Birding

Best Bird of the Weekend (Second of March 2013)

March 11, 2013 by Mike 5 Comments

At last, we stand on the threshold of a new season, moving inexorably into a period of phenological flux. Nature lovers love those magical months between winter and summer, so get your affairs in order… migration is either coming or may have already come!

I took a run up to the lake today to find that most of the winter seaducks have moved offshore, at least for the weekend. On the other hand, at least one Red-winged Blackbird found his voice and sang his passionate song of very early spring. Corey had three simple options to choose from for his Best Bird of the Weekend. He could decide to make the Gyrfalcon at Giglo Beach his Best Bird of the Weekend for the second time, he could choose the flock of White-winged Crossbills that flew overhead while he was looking for the Gyrfalcon, or he could choose the Varied Thrush he twitched in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. The thrush won, despite providing poor photographic opportunities.

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.

best bird weekend

Written by Mike

Mike is a leading authority in the field of standardized test preparation, but he's also a traveler who fully expects to see every bird in the world. Besides founding 10,000 Birds in 2003, Mike has also created a number of other entertaining but now extirpated nature blog resources, particularly the Nature Blog Network and I and the Bird.

5 Comments

Patrick March 11, 2013 at 6:08 am
The pair of Cooper’s Hawks that seem to be staking out a nest site in our yard was pretty cool.
peter Thoem March 11, 2013 at 9:32 am
Song Sparrows. Yes really! Two of them singing and staking out territory. It’s symptomatic of this birder’s shoulder season that birds that wouldn’t rate a second glance a month from now are a short lived celebrity. More at http://www.mybirdoftheday.ca
Donna S. March 11, 2013 at 9:52 pm
Tie between the three Short-eared Owls I saw flying over the marshes along the Road to Nowhere (also known as part of Forstyhe NWR) and the surprise Saltmarsh Sparrows we found just as it was almost too dark to see the bright yellow on their faces.
Pat O'Donnell March 12, 2013 at 2:04 am
A weekend trip to the wetlands of Cano Negro in northern Costa Rica was replete with a fat bunch of year birds, and three lifers (an extremely unlikely occurrence for me in Costa Rica). Two of those lifers tied for best bird but if I have to settle on one, I pick Pinnated Bittern over Yellow-breasted Crake because I got some damn fine photos of it!
http://birdingcraft.com/wordpress/2013/03/11/birding-costa-rica-at-cano-negro-wildlife-refuge/
Kathleen March 12, 2013 at 7:28 am
It would likely be the Hermit Thrush that appeared at work.