The rush of migration seems to have ended just about everywhere in the world. Are these, I ask gesturing figuratively around me, all the winter visitors or resident breeders we’ll be observing for the next few months? Thankfully, the answer is no, that the grand dance of avian irruption, digression, and vagary never really ends. Don’t give up on the next season of birding just yet.
That said, I gave up birding this weekend, not just because of work but in preparation for a MASSIVE trip Corey and I are embarking at the end of this week. Stay tuned for details! I did, however, appreciate the endless streams of American Crows at sunset convening towards their evening winter roosts. Corey–who never gives up n birding–was pleased to get out birding in a variety of underbirded spots in Queens this weekend and to see a whole bunch of good birds. The undisputed highlight was only his third Common Gallinule in Queens, and first since 2011, a young bird at Baisley Pond Park, spotted by Corey’s buddy Seth while the two of them were birding together. Until Mute Swans took over Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, gallinules bred there. Sadly, that was before Corey moved to Queens. So it was a pleasure to see one and the gallinule was Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend.
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.
Golden-Winged Parakeet
After dipping on it 5 times over the past two weeks, I was happy to finally see an EMPEROR GOOSE here in Portland, Oregon on Sauvie Island. The bird has been here for 3 weeks, in nearly the same location. It is a ways away from its native grounds on the Aluetian Islands in Alaska.