Robert Mortensen has been named “Bird of the Year Coordinator” for the ABA. Here’s hoping he does the right thing and chooses Green Heron as the Bird of the Year for 2012. Who’s with me?
And, if you want, use the comments to put forth your idea for the 2012 Bird of the Year (you had just better pick Green Heron).
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.
It would seem most equitable to alternate non-passerines and passerines, so it clearly has to be the Brown Creeper this year. A true American patriot, the Creeper is, having left all his cousins in the old world to forge a life of creeping here.
And if it’s going to be a heron, sorry Corey, but the Reddish Egret would destroy your Green Heron in a dance-off.
I think the bird of the year should be the Rose-throated Becard, to make it up to that little bird for being lumped with the tyrant flycatchers for so many years. It’s the only breeding species of Tityridae you’ve got, you should be making a bigger deal of it.
Failing that, I nominate any bird from Central America. Oh, wait, I can’t! Because even though Central America is in North America, it isn’t!
I nominate Cerulean Warbler. As if its habitat getting destroyed for mining operations weren’t bad enough, this year it suffered the indignity of losing its genus name as well. The poor warbler can’t catch a break.
Bearded Vulture Bearded Vulture Bearded Vulture Bearded … what’s that you say? No ABA records? Well, too bad! That just goes to show how little attention people pay in North America towards the potential occurrence of the species, and choosing it as Bird Of The Year would definitely raise awareness and might eventually lead to a few being found in the Rockies.
Bearded Vulture Bearded Vulture Bearded Vulture!
Or New Zealand Fantail.
See? I am not fussy.
I’m with John on Cerulean.
This Patrick is also routing for Cerulean Warbler.
Great suggestions everyone…even the unlikely ones were fun to read about.
My own thoughts for selecting a new BoY species:
The bird should have an attention-getting appearance or endearing behavioral characteristics, even for potential birders (notice I don’t say “non-birder”, because everyone is a potential birder). A species that can be seen across most of the ABA area is nice, but not required. A species that may have some element of conservation that people can rally to, but it doesn’t have to be a species of critical concern.
I’d love to continue to receive species nominations with a briefly stated case for why it would be a great BoY for the ABA. I’ll keep following comments here our you can email me at BoY at ABA dot org.
oh and we’re still going to finish strong with the current ABA BoY, the American Kestrel, so standby for news!
Attention getting appearance? How about the Willow Flycatcher? That is a magnificent bird and certainly unlikely to be mistaken for any other! Little to no eye ring, unlike those ugly and diminutive Least Flycatchers, and not dark unlike those evil looking Alder Flycatchers.
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron to make Jochen happy…
What?
Yellow-crowned What-heron?!?
Never heard of it. Must be a myth, like the tooth fairy or Santa Clause.
My yard bird of the year was definitely the GREEN HERON. We had one hanging out in the swamp in the front yard for about 6-7 weeks. It arrived around the time of Hurricane Irene, and stayed past mid-October. Eating was pretty good ~ lots of pollywogs there. Most days it was just one heron, but sometimes there were two. In the past we’ve had a green heron visit for one or two days, not weeks and weeks!
Barn swallow.