Birding

Best Bird of the Weekend (Third of January 2014)

January 20, 2014 by Corey 7 Comments

Though many Americans spent a significant chunk of their Sundays watching the National Football League’s conference championship games we here at 10,000 Birds assume that you probably spent at least some portion of your weekend out looking for birds other than the Seattle Seahawks, who will be representing the National Football Conference in the Super Bowl on 2 February.

Of course both Mike and I were out and about spotting some birds this weekend. I could have chosen any of the four Snowy Owls I saw this weekend as myBest Bird of the Weekend but I decided that I preferred a Purple Sandpiper at Breezy Point, Queens, (pictured above) mostly because it was feeding on a jetty while waves crashed over it. What a great little bird! Mike enjoyed a bevy of rural Pennsylvania feeder birds this weekend. The best of the bunch was a hulking Hairy Woodpecker that dwarfed the diminutive Downies around it.

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 Corey

Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.

7 Comments

Ann January 20, 2014 at 8:12 am
My favorite birds of the weekend were a pair of ring-necked ducks on a pond behind our house. I wish I could attach a picture. We also have a pair of Egyptian geese that have been here for a couple of weeks. they are most unusual looking and not the least intimidated by my presence.
Carrie January 20, 2014 at 10:36 am
I succeeded in finding the Great Gray Owl, so it’s not even up for debate. What an incredible bird! And I was able to show it to a couple of friends, too.
Duncan January 20, 2014 at 1:34 pm
I located a New Zealand Falcon in the sanctuary. Nice not to have to leave this bird till the end of the year for my year list!
Clare and Grant-Broome Western Australia January 20, 2014 at 6:33 pm
A Bridled Tern near the wharf in very windy weather!
Bob C January 21, 2014 at 6:02 am
A leucistic Canada Goose. Last Monday I saw a flock of Canada Geese fly over and the second bird in the V was all white with a orange bill. It sure looked like a Snow Goose, an uncommon bird in our area. Sunday I got an email from a friend that there was a leucistic Canada Goose at a local spot. After checking it out I decided it had to be the same bird, so off the county list it went.
I posted a photo at
http://bushwhackingbirder.com/general/one-step-back-two-steps-forward/
Bob
Pat O'Donnell January 21, 2014 at 3:24 pm
Wow, nice shot of a Purple Sand! Best for me this past weekend were middle elevation birds like Emerald Toucanet and Prong-billed Barbet at the Cafe Colibri in Cinchona, Costa Rica. To see some photos from that day, please see my blog:
http://birdingcraft.com/wordpress/2014/01/21/why-i-like-to-patronize-the-cinchona-hummingbird-cafe/
Kathleen January 22, 2014 at 2:52 pm
Gray Partridges, FINALLY! They’re pretty rare where I’m from, and I’ve wanted to see them for years. It was a good sighting too – a lone bird slowly crossing the quiet farm road as I rolled up in my car, then suddenly partridges were exploding out of the ditches on either side of me!