North America is aflame with eclipse fever right now, which provides yet another opportunity to wonder what life would be like if the average citizen felt a fraction as much passion for birding as is devoted to countless sports, media, celebrities, fashion, or even the rare astronomical phenomenon. Perhaps we should be glad that so many miss out on the pleasures of birding.The alacrity with which tens of thousands (or more) eclipse glasses sold out across the nation suggests that whiling away the day at your favorite patch would be far less peaceful if birding became mainstream.

I’m enjoying all the grungy adolescent birds gracelessly trotting about. This weekend, I happened upon a patchy young Dark-eyed Junco exhibiting the fearlessness of youth. Corey was pleased with the result of the whale-watching trip he took in Queens despite the fact that no one on the boat saw a single marine mammal. What? Why? Simple! There were four Wilson’s Storm-Petrels sighted, only the second time Corey has seen this species in Queens. That’s easily good enough for 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.