As the holiday season hurtles towards us, it’s fair to say that if you haven’t finished your holiday shopping yet, you’d best get to it! The rest of us can begin celebrating early, although those of us laid low by the current global economic instability may not be in much of a mood to be merry. Good thing so many of the best things in life are free! So what are you doing this weekend and will you be watching birds? Comment below on the excitement you have planned!
The Core Team is headed down to Potter County, PA for a little pre-Christmas Christmas… when you’re responsible for the grandchildren of various far-flung families, the holidays last a looong time. Anyway, I’m looking forward to feeder bird fun and potential winter rarities. Corey is also looking forward to both expected and unexpected species; he’ll be birding the Queens County Christmas Bird Count on Saturday and most likely recovering on Sunday. (If you don’t know what the Christmas Bird Count is, here is your enlightening answer.) Charlie is still recovering from various maladies and general decrepitude so he’ll probably remain in rehabilitative custody for a few more days!
Whatever you do this weekend, make time to enjoy Sky Watch Friday…
With all the snow Rochester has been getting lately, I’ve been dreaming of Joshua Tree
(Check this old post for more images of the unearthly desert beauty of Joshua Tree National Park!)
I’m driving up to Missouri on Friday, and on the way I hope to add a new county to my list of Texas counties birded (currently 68). Then Saturday is the Springfield Christmas Bird Count with the Greater Ozarks Audubon Society, and Sunday is solstice, so I’ll be participating in Birds of the Solstice. All in all, it should be a nice ‘n’ birdy weekend … if only I can shake this sore throat and fever….
Given that Vegas itself got snow, I’m guessing that Joshua Tree is pretty white right now too. Oh sure, it’s not Rochester white, but those high desert areas get a fair bit of snow in the winter especially given the storm that just dumped on So Cal.
Still, not many places better than Joshua tree to visit. I’ve never birded there, though. Only visited in my pre-birding days. Sigh, what a waste! 🙂
Saturday I’ll be taking part in my second Miami-Dade CBC Count. I’m assigned to the Virginia Key segment this time so I’m sure there will be lots of gulls, mergansers, and loons to come my way. On Sunday I’m going to do some Palm Beach County birding…something I only seem to do when I’m at work.
The nice thing about snow is that it makes you actually feel like it’s the holiday season. When you’re wearing shorts and tshirts and it’s 80 degrees out it’s hard for me to be convinced its even December.
Well, this weekend I won’t be going anywhere with the specific purpose of watching birds — the forecast is for rain both days. But on Monday morning, as the weather fines up (apparently), I’ll be teaming up with the Department of Conservation for the annual survey of whio (blue duck) in the Ruahine Range. This year two of us will spend three days in the headwaters of the Pohangina river looking for whio. We get flown out by helicopter on Christmas Eve. It doesn’t get much better :^)
Sunday I’m going to Mount Mitchell, the highest point east of the Mississippi to look for Crossbills and winter finches.
Such beautiful skies to be birdwatching under!
Awesome shot!
Gorgeous shot!
That is a wonderful photo
Absolutely wonderful shot and camera angle too. I simply adore this photo. looks like a very isolated but interesting place. I’d probably go mad if I ever got to such a place and bust my poor camera.
Happy bird watching, sky watching and holiday season. Here’s hoping you will sight some rarities.
Hey Mike, Nice shot of the out of this worldliness of Joshua Tree! I will be participating in the second of three Christmas Bird Counts with the Wintu Audubon in Anderson, near Redding, California this weekend. We’ve had plenty of snow around here in the last week so we should be seeing some waterfowl coming down from up North. Big storms coming down from Washington and Oregon should push some birds our way. CBCs are great fun for seasoned veterans and newbies alike.
Fabulous rock formations, great shot.
love shots from california…my native state. gorgeous capture of joshua tree.
This Saturday, I’ll be tracking down birds for the Allegany Co. CBC near Cumberland, MD. White-winged Crossbills have been reported recently in the county just to our west here and I’ve seen great numbers in PA already, but I’m hopeful at least a couple may turn up in the Allegany count circle on Saturday! As far as I know, it would be a new species for the count.
Happy Christmas Bird Counting!