Have you noticed a change in the light where you live, a little more daily sunshine or perhaps a little less? We’re barreling towards an equinox, which signals a lot more than just a shift in local patterns of day and night. As the rhythms of another season rearrange themselves, the eternal restlessness among all the wild things reasserts itself. You know what that means, right?

Spring may be coming, but the Great Lakes region still lies mired in icy winter. The only birds I’m willing to look at during a frigid March weekend are the ones outside my winter. Cheers to those Mourning Doves, who remain unflappable when the cold is unbearable. Equally unflappable Corey explored a variety of parks in Queens this weekend, seeking to increase his year list by hitting a variety of habitats. But, of course, it was Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge that paid off the most when Corey carefully scanned the margins of the West Pond and turned up a surprise American Bittern. Sure, it was way across the pond and the heat distortion was murder but he got the year bird and a horrible digiscoped image. Despite the not-great look the bittern is still Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend.

How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend? Tell us in the comments section about the rarest, loveliest, or most fascinating bird you observed. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment.

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.