How was your weekend? North of the equator, we have precious few remaining days where light exceeds darkness. The encroaching darkness instills in me a measure of gloom, but also creates the conditions that make fall activities interesting. Remember, I’m writing to you from a fairly northern latitude, though Clare probably thinks I’m spoiled!
My weekend was full of fall family fun with the highlight, a trip to pick the last of the season’s berries and the first of its apples. The best bird had to be an American Goldfinch pulsing overhead that Mason identified by song… amazing! Frankly, I had no idea he even paid much attention to birds. Corey can’t really choose his best bird of the weekend since he had a blast at the Midwest Birding Symposium. However, he is quite pleased with this photo of a female Common Yellowthroat:
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.
I saw my first Spotted Shag on the waterfront while eating an Ice cream. And got a text from my flatmate the next day asking “what are the birds with forked tails that dive in the water?”
They were White-fronted Terns. 🙂
I had to work this weekend, but on the previous Monday my best bird was 8 Banded Stilts at Werribee, the western Melbourne sewage treatment plant. They’ve obviously bred up with all the rain in inland Australia over the last few months as I’ve been going there (Werribee) regularly for the last 5 years. For those in the US, they’re rather like an Avocet but with a straight bill.
Flock of very obliging Cedar Waxwings In Blue Mt. area of Saugerties. A lot of juveniles mixed in . I would estimate well over 100 birds.
10,000 Birds in One Day
There are roughly 10,000 species of birds in the world (hence the name of this site?). While I did not see that many species this weekend, I did come close to seeing that many of one species – Broad-winged Hawks.
Mid-September is the peak of Broad-winged Hawk migration and weather conditions were ideal at the Chestnut Ridge Hawk Watch at Butler Sanctuary (Bedford, NY… about 30 miles north of NYC).
By 10:30 a.m. over 6,000 had been seen. And the total kept mounting. First a kettle of 50 birds, then a kettle of 200+, then a brief lull, followed by 150 birds. Broad-wings kept streaming by. Now I can appreciate the term “a river of raptors”.
While I did not get a close-up look at any one hawk, the sheer spectacle of so many birds flowing past is forever etched in my mind. Makes me wonder why on some days I can spend hours birding and not find many birds.
The official, full-time, paid hawk counter tallied 9,655 Broad-winged Hawks for the day. Mixed in with the Broad-wings was a smattering of Sharp-shins, Red-tails, Kestrels and Turkey Vultures.
Close enough to 10,000 for me
Even though I went on a long hike at Indiana Dunes State Park yesterday (slim pickings there, the best being a Red-bellied Woodpecker calling through the forest), the best bird of the weekend was the day before, at Montrose Point in Chicago. A speedy little American Kestrel was buzzing the beach and sending the local birds scattering. What a beauty!
@Hank: Incredible! Jealous. And homesick. 🙁
Best bird of the weekend was either the male Great Curassow that called while perched in a cecropia, or the three White-fronted Nunbirds that cackled at us from high up in the rainforest canopy at the Finca Luna Nueva lodge in Costa Rica.
How about 15 life birds at the Midwest Birding Symposium for me! Wahoo!!! Oh, and I got a life birder in Mr. Corey Finger. Too bad they ran out of time and my life bird dance was not publicly displayed for Corey to record.