Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Bird of the Year

Members of the BIRDCHAT mailing list have been sharing their "Bird of the Year." It can be anything - a great yard bird, an outstanding rarity, a long-sought-after species, or just a really nice look at an everyday bird. I have had an amazing year of birding including getting my 500th ABA bird, seeing a Western Reef-heron, making some new friends in NY state, and doing some travelling.

It's tough to choose my "Bird of the Year". After some debate, the Ivory Gull that I saw in NY on February 26 is the winner. Bicknell's Thrush was a tough competitor because of the fun we had finding it, but the Ivory Gull wins because it was such an amazing view of a bird that I thought I would have to travel 1000's of miles to see (and still need some luck). I'm looking forward to some more great birding in 2008! Please share your "Bird of the Year" in the comments or on your blog.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ivory Gull is a great bird for sure!

tai haku said...

Hey Patrick
I'm trying to start a meme sharing bloggers' top 10 nature moments of 07 and I'm hoping you'll participate - details here:

http://tai-haku.blogspot.com/2007/12/top-10-nature-moments-of-2007.html

Patrick B. said...

Tai, excellent idea!! I'll be sure to post mine tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

You just had to rub that Ivory Gull sighting in, didn't you, Patrick? You know I'm joking since you're the person who alerted me to it, but I'm still sore about missing it!

Patrick B. said...

Sorry Mike! I should have called you earlier. I was in "rarity mode" and it just slipped my mind. You can ask Beth about how I get sometimes.

Beth said...

My "Bird of the Year" is Ferruginous Hawk because I found it in New Mexico!

dguzman said...

Nice! I'll try to find my bird of the year too. Thanks for the post idea!

Patrick B. said...

Beth, that's a good choice!

Delia, Common Yellowthroat!