Birding

Where Are You Birding This Third Weekend of September 2011?

September 15, 2011 by Mike 4 Comments

All of us who identify ourselves as birders are thrillingly familiar with the sense of discovery, accomplishment, and even adventure that goes hand in glove with the personal quest to observe and understand avifauna. Alas, we’re also intimately acquainted with darker emotions; the lust in our hearts alone (for lifers and optics, naturally) exacts a heavy emotional toll. But even more bitter is a birder’s envy…

Jealousy makes up so much of the birding experience that I imagine the green-eyed monster derives its color from parrot plumage. But the envy that gnaws at me right now stems not from the thought of the 9,000+ birds that I haven’t yet seen that others have. Instead, I envy the excitement brewing just one Great Lake away. While I languish on the bird barren shores (actually, it’s not so bad here) of Lake Ontario, many of North America’s most colorful and charismatic birders are gathering on the shore of Lake Erie for the Midwest Birding Symposium. Oh, and Corey will be there too! Aren’t you jealous too? Buenos aves to everyone in Ohio this weekend or anywhere else for that matter.

What are you doing this weekend and will you be birding? Share your plans in the comments below. Whatever your plans this weekend, make time to enjoy SkyWatch Friday. Also be sure to come back Monday to share your best bird of the weekend!


Gorgeous sunrise over Liberty Marsh in Orange County, NY — home of black mud and floating onions!

Written by Mike
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.