{"id":3870,"date":"2012-03-20T05:30:58","date_gmt":"2012-03-20T13:30:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thebirdersreport.com\/?p=3870"},"modified":"2012-03-20T05:25:26","modified_gmt":"2012-03-20T13:25:26","slug":"the-american-birding-association-announces-the-evening-grosbeak-as-the-2012-bird-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thebirdersreport.com\/birds-in-the-news\/the-american-birding-association-announces-the-evening-grosbeak-as-the-2012-bird-of-the-year","title":{"rendered":"The American Birding Association Announces the Evening Grosbeak as the 2012 Bird of the Year!"},"content":{"rendered":"
It’s official, the American Birding Association (ABA) announced their Bird of the Year for 2012. It is the Evening Grosbeak<\/strong> (Coccothraustes vespertinus<\/em>)! I was lucky enough to have several of these beauties grace my yard just about a year ago. The portrait above is one of the males from last March before reaching full breeding plumage.<\/p>\n Personally, I think this is a great choice for several reasons. Number one is that they are gorgeous birds with bright colors. They are a rather large finch that should be easily identifiable. And three, they are gregarious and visit bird feeders!<\/p>\n Here are a couple of photos of the female and male in their breeding plumage when they returned to visit my yard at the end of May last year. Click on photos for full sized images.<\/p>\n Just a couple of the things that I think are great about the American Birding Association (ABA)<\/strong> are its commitment to birding ethics and its continued efforts to introduce young people to the joy of birding.<\/p>\n The ABA code of ethics<\/a> begins “Everyone who enjoys birds and birding must always respect wildlife, its environment, and the rights of others. In any conflict of interest between birds and birders, the welfare of the birds and their environment comes first<\/strong>.” To me this says everything about this organization. Ethical behavior is especially important in bird conservation and is one of my critical values for joining any organization.<\/p>\n Also, in my opinion, the promotion of youth birders<\/a> is essential to the survival of our birding passion and the American Birding Association succeeds at this endeavor with all kinds of activities for our young friends.<\/p>\n<\/a>Evening Grosbeak<\/strong> (Coccothraustes vespertinus<\/em>) Male photos by Larry Jordan<\/p>\n
<\/a>Evening Grosbeak Female<\/strong><\/p>\n
<\/a>Evening Grosbeak Male<\/strong><\/p>\n