We may all perceive time differently, but in the modern world we are all subject to the same calendar. As the year 2013 accelerates towards its imminent endpoint, I find myself deluged with end-of-year tasks both mundane and inspired. Instead of easing into the last days of December and out of 2013, you might consider redoubling your efforts to end this year on a triumphant note. No matter how successful your efforts, you’re bound to begin 2014 with fewer regrets!
Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was his first Black Guillemot in New York State and it only took him two tries on the same day to get it! He is very relieved to finally get a guillemot in New York because the species was coming close to becoming a state nemesis bird for him. Now he just has to figure out how to induce it to swim or fly to Queens. I have to admit that I only had time for one interest this weekend, and it wasn’t birding. The only birds I saw were the totems for various NFL teams, whose avian iconography didn’t do much to help them. I, on the other hand, just took down another fantasy football championship without so much as straining a hamstring… please, hold your applause 🙂
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.
The Crested Goshawk on Friday was pretty good, as was the Bornean endemic Mountain Serpent Eagle I saw on Monday. But I have to give it to my first lifer family of the year, the Grey-rumped Treeswift.
Congrats for Corey on getting that near nemesis! I could still use one of those for NY as well. After helping out with a Christmas count at the very birdy Bosque del Rio Tigre Lodge in the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica, I have several candidates for best bird. My first Costa Rican Red-rumped Woodpecker was great, as was a vagrant Blackpoll Warbler but I am giving best bird award to Black-cheeked Ant Tanager, a very local endemic that only occurs on the Osa peninsula and a few other areas.
In an ice storm – a Northern Mockingbird feeding on scarlet rose hips. See blog – mybirdoftheday.ca
It’s been a tough weekend here along the shores of Lake Ontario. A crust of ice lies over a thick blanket of wet snow. Trees and other sources of food are coated and frozen – this is when survival of the fittest kicks in.
It is a tie. On Saturday, I showed my friend Amy her Life Snowy Owl. http://www.flickr.com/photos/queensgirl/11525596603/
I suspect Snowies have shown up on the Best Weekend pages pretty often this winter, but it is a special joy to show one to a friend. Amy was properly impressed with its beauty, but I don’t think I have converted her into a birder. Yet.
On Sunday, I found a Eurasian Wigeon for my Bronx/Westchester CBC team, one of two found for the whole count. That felt pretty good too! http://www.flickr.com/photos/queensgirl/11504560495/
Congrats Corey on your new addition to you NY list. Lori and I are in south Texas for the holidays and saw our first Crested Caracara in South Padre island. It practically buzzed us during a swoop! So far a highlight of this trip.