James Russell Lowell famously wondered, “And what is so rare as a day in June? Then, if ever, come perfect days…” Of course, he was on the mark concerning the quality of June days, but don’t you think he might have overlooked September?
Corey and I were most pleased to see that shorebirds haven’t entirely abandoned the Esat Pond at Jamaica Bay. My BBOTW was a weird Dunlin while Corey was most partial to the Pectoral Sandpiper pictured above.
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.
Mike is a leading authority in the field of standardized test preparation, but he's also a traveler who fully expects to see every bird in the world. Besides founding 10,000 Birds in 2003, Mike has also created a number of other entertaining but now extirpated nature blog resources, particularly the Nature Blog Network and I and the Bird.
Best bird was a Black-Capped Chickadee at my home feeder, which had before only hosted Carolina Chickadees. I live on the southern side of the overlap zone, so seeing an obvious Black-Capped was great!
It wasn’t feasting on a Blue-winged Teal like Corey’s—I’m not sure if I even saw a small fish in its claws—but my BBotW was hands-down an adult Bald Eagle taking off from Wickahisson Creek in NW Philly, with oblivious motorists only a few hundred yards away. I was 2/3 into my long run and starting to flag, so this sighting really rejuvenated me to keep pushing onward. Well done, Bald Eagle!
I’d choose a young, female Chestnut-sided Warbler. It took me a while to realise what I was looking at; in fact it took a lucky photograph for me to figure it out. I wrote about it (and others) on my blog which you can read by clicking on my name above
For me, hands-down, it was a Northern Wheatear that showed up in Ottawa, Ontario this weekend, and is still around right know. I actually missed it the day that it was found, but returned the next day and there it was!