It’s 2017! What was your first bird of the year? Share it, and the story, in the comment section. Hopefully, it was a good one!
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.
My first bird in 2017 was a Rufous-collared Sparrow. No exciting for Costa Rica but certainly the most likely and nice to hear its song first thing in the morning. When the clock struck midnight, I made a cursory scan with binoculars to see if the fireworks had out any Barn Owls into flight but nope, no luck there.
Common Myna. Urban Melbourne seems to have more exotics than other Australian cities…
I think my first was a flock of 50 Rock Pigeons, but it would have been cooler if it were the Bald Eagle I saw 10 minutes later when I arrived at my CBC starting point.
I had Northern Mockingbird, which narrowly beat out Yellow-rumped Warbler.
My first bird of the year, as it has been several times, was a Common Raven seen in the parking lot of the Cypress Mountain cross-country ski area near Vancouver, BC.
Red-Shouldered Hawk screeching up a storm when I was getting ready to go Birding.
As I packed our suitcase into the car during the early dawn in Westerland, on the island of Sylt/Germany, I heard a Wren in full song. The first bird seen was a Herring Gull flying over the city a few minutes later.
First birds were a Great Tit & Italian Sparrow at the feeder.
Bufflehead, seen from our motel room in Ocracoke, NC!
Gray Kingbird