So here we are midway through November, and the birding in my part of the world is starting to get interesting again. We all know how terrific the months of migration are for bird watching, but those of us far from the Equator see big swings in our avian distribution during the year. Those weeks between the departure of the last warbler and arrival of boreal birds coming just a little south for the winter feel dreadfully long. Did you see any signs of the new season recently? Let us know about your best bird of the weekend?
While scanning Lake Ontario fruitlessly for seaducks, I did spy a distant bird, hulking and brown, that may just have been a jaeger of some sort. That would have been a terrific sighting had I actually identified it, but since I could not, I’ll be content with the waves of Bonaparte’s Gulls traveling like terns along the shore. Corey is still unpacking his Ecuador list, so expect to be regaled relentlessly with killers like his 1000th species, the underrated Yellow-browed Sparrow.
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.
A flock of over 500 Great Knot on Cable Beach feeding rapidly in amongst the tourists-probably just arrived from the north and food was a lot more important than worrying about people-maybe they had not seen any before!
Why is it that one can see a seaduck on a lake, but not a seagull?
The weekend was spent visiting relatives, so there was no birding time except casual and inconspicious glances over the relatives’ respective shoulders during conversations. Best result of this birding method was a Common Buzzard soaring by quite closely.
The Sword-billed Hummingbird from my bed. After two long years of waiting for the passiflora mixta to grow on the garden, the beautiful plant is now in full bloom and covering the front entrance to the cabañas. The beautiful flowers that hang from the vine have attracted the most precious hummingbird in the area and now I can claim that I have a Sword-billed Hb in my garden.
Pomarine Jaeger on my first ever pelagic cruise (although on Lake Erie) The weather was actually too nice, as we didn’t see many of the less common gull species we were all hoping for. But you certainly can’t look a gift-jaeger in the mouth.
Went to Walpole New Hampshire this weekend to see a Townsand’s Warbler that someone located on a back road in farm country. Im always amazed by the locations of these rear bird sightings and can’t help but wonder how it ever happens in the first place. The Townsand’s Warbler is only the third NH state record and was a life bird for many.
I have posted images of the bird at my blog. Link here:
http://beautifulflyingobjects.blogspot.com/
I was fighting off a cold, so I really didn’t get any birding done except watching the Kaka fly by. Which was still nice, obviously.
A Dunlin pecking at the edge of the West Pond in Jamaica Bay, a lifer for me!
Most definitly a saw whet Owl, seen in my county (lifer! State bird! County bird!) with my wife (she is almost always ok to go for a twitch if it’s a “cute bird”) and my 18 months old son.
A Demoiselle crane totally lost just north of the airport outside Rome, Italy. It was busy feeding with 6 common crane. They are seldom seen in this part of the world!