September, as you’ve no doubt heard time and time again, is a season of flux. No matter where you are in the world, chances are that an array of organisms are responding to climatic signals by, among other things, growing, dying, blooming, fruiting, fattening, nesting, or migrating. Believe it or not, the usual birds on the brain are not what calls this frenzy of activity to mind. Instead, I’m thinking of whatever plant is currently agitating my allergies!
I saw some sweet fall warblers this weekend down in Pennsylvania farm country, but was most impressed with the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds hanging on despite a mild frost. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was a Pomarine Jaeger, his first ever in New York State and only his second ever. He was also pleased to add his third and fourth Pomarine Jaegers. All three were seen on the pelagic trip he took on Sunday.
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.
Wow! Pomarine Jaeger what a beutiful pelagic!
I’m still looking for this bird. I’ve seen one time, but still far.
Great Job!
A whippoorwill in plain sight in Central Park!
If I can count Thursday as the weekend, I saw a Black-billed (and possibly also Yellow-billed) Cuckoo. But does it count as a lifer if it has shuffled off this mortal coil?
http://blog5b.com/2012/09/14/a-bird-in-the-hand/
The first flock of Sanderlings I’ve seen this fall on the Olympic Peninsula. They were beautiful flying along the Puget Sound and landing on the beach together, then proceeding along the shore, always in motion.
Feeling stupid about getting my “best” bird of the weekend rejected:
“Thanks for sending the pictures, I really appreciate it. The birds in your photos are domestic barnyard geese. Very similar to Greater White-fronted, but their ‘pot-belly’ look is just one of a few features that can be useful in separating the two. They are not to terribly uncommon at some of the city ponds, and farm ponds across Missouri.”
I loose.
Oh, well, who’s counting?? 😉
On a low-key stroll through Century Park (in Shanghai), I didn’t see any uncommon bird, but the groups of Azure-winged Magpies were really fun to watch. Noisy, large and very beautiful with striking coloring. I’ve newly moved to China, so all the birds I’m seeing are life birds. Exciting!