The beginning of August raises all kinds of mixed feelings, especially if you live in a temperate zone north of the Equator. Are we excited that we still have a month of more of summer weather left or bummed that fall migration is still that far off? Do we feel weird about being psyched about shorebirds, at least this month? And parents are doubly conflicted… is it OK to say that you’re glad that your kids are going back to school soon (maybe not soon enough)?

I will share on the record that I am not particularly psyched about shorebirds during any month of the year, but somehow we’ve enjoyed an epic shorebird summer here in the Rochester region. I added yet another new Monroe County bird in the form of a Stilt Sandpiper this weekend, which is the only way this species earns my Best Bird honors. Corey is enjoying life visiting relatives in southern California and has seen a bunch of birds he hasn’t seen awhile. While at San Joaquin Wildlife Refuge he tracked down the long-staying Neotropic Cormorants, a new Orange County bird for him and then found a Black Tern, which was also new for him on the state. It turned out that someone had reported the Black Tern the day before but because Corey thought he had discovered it he decided that one was his 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.