If you’re not finding mid-June birding all that exciting, you’re definitely not alone. Worry not, though, because you’ll find plenty of avian-themed excitement in our Bird Renaming Week extravaganza, which you’ll be pleased to know has already begun. If, on the other hand, you managed to eke out a bird of interest this weekend, tell us all about it…
I brought the family to Chimney Bluffs State Park, a magnificent slice of New York currently suffering from extremely high levels on Lake Ontario. The reliable Bank Swallows that nest in the bluffs didn’t seem to mind, which I was counting on. While birding in his hometown on Sunday morning, Corey heard an odd sound coming from low down in a marsh. He had a suspicion that it might be a Virginia Rail though it wasn’t a noise he was used to hearing from Virginia Rails. To confirm the identity, he played a quick snippet of Virginia Rail tape – literally less than five seconds – and, well, as you can see from the photo above the bird responded! Easily Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend and a very amazing encounter, though Corey did feel bad about getting such an overreaction from the recording.
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.
Chestnut-Sided Warbler
I made a trip to New Jersey to see the Henslow’s Sparrow at Negri-Nepote Grasslands, a small preserve I used to bird every day when I worked at Rutgers. This is a tremendous find, a bird that used to be common in N.J. and is now extremely rare. Henslow’s Sparrow was named by Audubon after John Stevens Henslow, a British botanist with whom he corresponded. An alternative name is “fish-lip,” apparently for it’s sound, but I don’t like that either–doesn’t sound like fish-lip to me and the image the name produces is not flattering. Grassland Sparrow is too broad. Jeez–this renaming of birds named after people is tough.
American three-toed woodpecker. Heard them a few times but finally got a good look at one!
Have to go with a Crested Caracara that was seen south west of Tucson.