This site uses cookies to improve your experience. To help us insure we adhere to various privacy regulations, please select your country/region of residence. If you do not select a country, we will assume you are from the United States. Select your Cookie Settings or view our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Used for the proper function of the website
Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Strictly Necessary: Used for the proper function of the website
Performance/Analytics: Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
Pretty much every birder in the area has gone out to see theses birds and full frame photos are popping up on blogs, Twitter accounts and Facebook pages and groups. What is up with the birding community in the northern part of the US recently? Have we all gone completely mental? It’s a pleasant way to spend and hour on the refuge.
In the last ten days the two biggest bird blogs in the bird blogosphere, 10,000 Birds and the ABA Blog , have had their biggest days in terms of traffic ever. On a monthly basis more people are visiting bird blogs than ever before and traffic continues to rise. There are a lot of bird blogs but not a lot with a lot of traffic.
The month and this particular period is all the more auspicious for me and mine, as so many friends and families celebrate spring birthdays. My family took our annual post-Easter Egg hunt hike at Powder Mills Park, where I spied several gorgeous matched pairs of Wood Ducks along with lots of different woodpecker species.
In addition to working with family to create a new cocktail (the “Christmas in July” which is the liquid that drains from ceviche mixed with vodka, preferably with a chunk of whitefish in it) he got some good birds. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. How about you?
Corey went for a walk at Jamaica Bay with his family on Saturday evening, after the rain had stopped in New York City and went out again, alone, on Sunday morning before the rain picked back up. He and his family were delighted by displaying American Woodcocks once it got dark out. How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend?
But what we did have was our own blog carnival! The inaugural edition of I and the Bird featured sixteen bird bloggers from around the world, many of whom are still blogging today (right Sharon and Clare ?!) As the web matured, the traditional blog carnival lost its relevance. But all good things must come to an end.
I finally had a chance to visit my brother and his family in their beautiful new home in Westchester. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. We explored a trail near his home, where we (really just me) were rewarded with a sighting of a perky Winter Wren. How about you?
But his Best Bird of the Weekend was one he saw with his family on a visit to Jamaica Bay on Saturday evening. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. If you were wondering, the rabbit won this encounter. Corey enjoyed some good birding on both Saturday and Sunday mornings.
My family’s walk through Rochester’s historic Mt. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. We just endured the warmest June on record, which may well turn out to be the coolest June we’ll see in a long time. How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend?
I know that families in the United States are already fretting/anticipating September’s arrival. Now that we’re later in the season, they are grouping either in family clusters or anticipation of migration. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment.
Corey spent the last weekend before his son started school camping with family and friends in the western Catskill Mountains. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Most of the birds I spotted this weekend are the same species I’ll be hanging out with all winter. How about you?
While I saw some pretty special species this weekend, the most special was the Gray Catbird because my sweet 7-year niece totally got into finding one; I think I’ve found the next generation birder in the family! If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. How about you?
Corey enjoyed camping with family and friends for the long weekend after getting tested for COVID and coming up negative. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Those owls were easily Corey’s Beat Birds of the Weekend. How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend?
Just a few miles up the road from me is the quintessentially English village of Howick, overlooked by the family seat of Earl Grey, the same one that gave his name to that most English sounding of teas. His Birding Frontiers blog is at the cutting edge of identification (and sometimes ahead of it).
April bears the most fruit for my family tree, including my own bad apple birthday this week. Does your family celebrate a lot of April birthdays? If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. The wood-warblers are back! How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend?
I ask because, despite my deep affection for warmth, indoor plumbing, and uninterrupted Internet access, I found myself and my family enjoying an overnight out of doors. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Why is camping so interesting? How about you? Birding best bird weekend'
He goes on to describe how early classifications of the nine-primaried oscines relied on bill shape to determine family boundaries. A new perspective on tanagers Much of the core of the tanager family remains intact. Most of these birds are small, finch-like species with thick, conical bills for cracking seeds or eating insects.
At least I didn’t have to travel far for great birds; my whole family thrilled to the sight of an adult Sharp-shinned Hawk chowing down on an unspecified rodent in our yard. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Some weeks, Monday feels more like a respite than a burden.
Proving that cruelty knows no bounds, some (language unsuitable for a familyblog) in Virginia Beach is shooting blow darts at birds. Meanwhile, an Oregon farmer caught a beating from a neighbor irritated by his loud “bird cannons.” (Who Who knew there was such a thing?).
However, my best birds showed up much closer to home in the form of a chattering House Wren family which apparently displaced my usual Carolina Wren. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. I need more birds!! As usual, I restricted my birding activity this weekend to local trails.
Also lots of birthdays in my family, which is cool. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. A better question might be to ask what isn’t great about April. And also birds, also cool! How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend? Birding best bird weekend'
I found myself fully immersed in marine species while boating, fishing, and birding coastal Virginia with family this weekend. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Out on the shore, though, a whole suite of species exists in the places we gravitate to anyway. How about you?
No, he just brought his family to the area he knew one was hiding and waited for Daisy to make the discovery. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. No matter who found it a Northern Saw-whet Owl is always a pleasure. How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend?
For such a small place, birders are often spoiled for choice, there seems to be a representative of almost every neotropical family making their presence felt in some corner of habitat. On this blog, I have spoken previously of a trend I managed to pick out while compiling the information for a book I published last year.
Corey greatly enjoyed his weekend in the beautiful Catskill Mountains of upstate New York with family and friends. His favorite, and therefore his Best Bird of the Weekend, was actually a family of Eastern Phoebes , in particular the four fledglings. That level of cute is tough to top! How about you? Birding best bird weekend'
But Corey also hit up the Forest Park bird feeders with his family Saturday afternoon and Desi, his five-year-old, was so taken with a Red-bellied Woodpecker (the one above) that Corey had to choose it as his favorite bird of the weekend too. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment.
You may have experienced one of the weirdest weekends of your life, what with all bars and restaurants closed and people maintaining a healthy distance from even close friends and family. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Sometimes the little things really do mean the most.
However, my whole family did take time to appreciate the understated beauty of Mourning Doves. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. With hope, a little time in nature—or at least looking at something wild from your window–took your mind to a better place this weekend.
Actually, signs that winter won’t release its icy grip so readily are also apparent… my traditional Easter family hike was canceled on account of snow. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Signs of spring are evident everywhere winter once held sway.
I have another dream that involves a beach covered with gulls and bikini-clad women but perhaps we should leave that one off this family-friendly blog. I know that folks from Florida read this blog, I know that previous attendees of Space Coast read this blog, and I know that birders are an extremely helpful bunch.
But it was during an outing to Rockaway Beach with his family on Sunday afternoon that he saw his Best Bird of the Weekend, his first Piping Plover of the year. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. In fact, he saw six! How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend?
Corey was extremely pleased to finally get out and about birding again after his family all caught COVID and recovered. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Whatever species it turns out to be it is Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend. How about you?
Corey enjoyed getting out on birding outings both mornings of the weekend, and was out in nature with his family both afternoons. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Needless to say, he has quite a few birds to choose from in terms of his Best Bird of the Weekend. How about you?
Maybe the name of this blog should be 10,015 birds. The 15th is grouped in the Bucconidae family and appears similar to a Striolated Puffbird. That would reflect the number of new species discovered in the Amazon rainforest over the past five years or so, according to scientists. Of the bunch, 14 are passerines.
Corey got his Best Bird of the Weekend early this weekend as while he and his family were making their way home from a week-long vacation in Cape Cod on Friday a Black-throated Gray Warbler was found in Queens at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. His wonderful family agreed to drive straight there before going home and Corey got a new Queens bird!
Corey enjoyed his Easter weekend upstate with his family, though he did sneak out in the early mornings to look for birds. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Now that’s a Best Bird of the Weekend worth watching! How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend?
On the other hand, another species – the Red-tailed Minla – is not a member of the Actinodura family. It likes to be in its own family, confusingly named Minla (of which the Blue-winged Minla and the Bar-throated Minla are not members). The Maroon Oriole thus is not as much of an outsider as I thought.
Blog security is serious business! If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Corey and I don’t get out in the field together much, since we’ve determined that the ongoing security of 10,000 Birds requires the two of us to live in separate cities. How about you?
So many people devoted serious time this weekend to acquiring gifts for family, friends, and strategic acquaintances. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Hopefully, each of you found time to give yourselves the gift of a decent bird sighting or two. How about you?
But a family hike on Sunday at Doodletown led to his first Cerulean Warbler of the year and there are very few birds that can top a Cerulean Warbler. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend?
I like Julie Zickefoose’s art , her writing , her blog , her blog posts here on 10,000 Birds , and, of course, I like birds. So a book about birds by Julie Zickefoose, featuring her writing and art, some of which has been featured in different forms on her blog, is guaranteed to be a hit with me. How could it not be?
On a recent family trip to Jones Beach, on New York’s Long Island, I had the opportunity to observe a small flock of gulls bathing, resting, and preening in some shallow brackish water that had collected behind the beach. They can also, because of their odd appearance, be difficult to identify.
If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend isn’t rare, difficult to see, or worthy of such a status by any other typical metric. How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend? Birding best bird weekend'
December 25th is possibly the worst day of the year to be posting a blog, because lets face it, even the dispensing of wisdom from the world’s leading birder (past, present, and future) can compete with family duties. Remember, if your family or poor year list is getting you down, whiskey will go a long way.
We organize all of the trending information in your field so you don't have to. Join 30+ users and stay up to date on the latest articles your peers are reading.
You know about us, now we want to get to know you!
Let's personalize your content
Let's get even more personalized
We recognize your account from another site in our network, please click 'Send Email' below to continue with verifying your account and setting a password.
Let's personalize your content