Do you keep a Backyard Bird List???

Just wondering....

I just finished a book called "To See Every Bird on Earth" by Koepple http://www.amazon.com/See-Every-Bird-Earth-Obsession/dp/B000LMPLME/sr=8-1/qid=1169742476/ref=sr_1_1/105-4966272-1292468?ie=UTF8&s=books a memoir about a son and his father who was a "Big Lister" birder. The son was a pretty good storyteller and included a lot of information about bird watching and birding which I didn't have a clue about before.

Anyway, they kept all kinds of bird lists--listing for example, 'Life' birds, birds for 'the year to date', 'yard' birds, specific 'species', etc. And I was wondering if any of our DG Birdsters kept lists. Especially "Yard" lists.

I was surprised that this Koepple fellow had over 200 birds on his Long Island, NY, yard list...I have been staring out the window at my feeders and I can't find more than, say, 25 different birds. I'll keep looking...what about you?!!!

Give us your report!

Photo is my back yard and a feeder--not too many birds!

This message was edited Jan 27, 2007 7:07 PM

I had a list, but I kept it in the back of my Peterson's field guide, which I lost somehow during a trip to the beach last year. Devastated! I had about 110 birds marked, all from my back yard or from the beach house where we stay near here. Keep watching! :)
DebinSC

84 on mine, including 21 fly-overs (*):

*Mute Swan
*Whooper Swan
*Greylag Goose
*Canada Goose
Mallard
*Cormorant
*Grey Heron
Sparrowhawk
Kestrel
Merlin
*Peregrine Falcon
*Golden Plover
*Lapwing
*Woodcock
*Whimbrel
*Curlew
Laughing Gull
Black-headed Gull
Common Gull
Lesser Black-back
Yellow-legged Gull
Herring Gull
*Iceland Gull
*Great Black-back
Rock Dove
Stock Dove
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
Tawny Owl
Common Swift
*Alpine Swift
Kingfisher
Great Spotted Woodpecker
*Sky Lark
*Sand Martin
Barn Swallow
House Martin
*Meadow Pipit
Grey Wagtail
Pied Wagtail
Bohemian Waxwing
Winter Wren
Dunnock
Robin
Common Redstart
Ring Ouzel
Blackbird
Fieldfare
Song Thrush
Redwing
Mistle Thrush
Lesser Whitethroat
Common Whitethroat
Garden Warbler
Blackcap
Chiffchaff
Willow Warbler
Goldcrest
Spotted Flycatcher
Long-tailed Tit
Coal Tit
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Nuthatch
Treecreeper
Jay
Magpie
Jackdaw
Rook
Carrion Crow
*Hooded Crow
Starling
House Sparrow
Tree Sparrow
Chaffinch
Brambling
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Siskin
Linnet
Lesser Redpoll
*Crossbill
Bullfinch
Hawfinch
*Yellowhammer

I think I've seen about 31 including the flyovers I've identified.

One of my friends does such a good job of this - every year she puts down the date of the first sighting of those that aren't around all year and makes notes of the activities of those that are. She does similar notes on her gardens. Wish some of that would rub off on me! I did print a list from the Ornithology Society of Washington State and started marking those that I've seen - I think I was at about 35, but will be marking a few more.

I used to do that by marking it down in whichever guide I was using at the moment. Would also include date and place. Haven't seen a new one for some time, and kind of got away from it for awhile...looking more at flowers and insects! Someday I should get all the guides (I have several) together and make my lists into one list!

cj I wrote to the department of natural resources here in Ohio and received a free list of Ohio birds. I found this list of TX birds on Wikipedia-- http://bird.wikiguide.info/wiki/Texas_bird_list TX has a LOT of different birds, doesn't it! Wikepedia has lists for several states in cluding Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, MInnesota, Arizona, etc.

Resin--you have quite a long and interesting list for us here in the states to study. So many I am not familiar with.

Pelle--tell us about some of your bird visitors?

Oh, and the NPWRC USGS Bird list page for regions in the US. A nice link.

http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/birds/chekbird/

I make a note in my bird book for the first sighting, date and place. I don't think I would have more than a couple dozen for my yard. Maybe I'lll count them to go to sleep tonight.

Well, my sightings cover several states. I always take my binoculars with me, and my National Geographic Birds of North America (my favorite guide.) So this is my life list, not just my backyard bird list.... Those state lists come in very handy for a quick reference - what am I most likely to see in this state? But I still need a guide to look it up.

Resin this is impresive list. I m thinking to do the list, but probably not from my backyard, cause that would be very short, impresive due to the numbers....LOL , but short list. Would look somthing like;

house sparrow
starling
crow
steller`s jay
western scrub-jay
song sparrow

and then one day:

O MY GOD!!!!!! varied thrush !!

I've kept a life list for 45 years. What is funny, is that some of the birds names have changed. Such as the Louisiana Heron is now called the Tri-colored Heron. The Sparrow Hawk is now called a Kestrel, and the Fish Hawk is now called an Osprey. I still use the old names: sort of dates me.

LOL birdcrazy--love your list! Quite exclusive!

Yes, bsharf, the name changes throw the lists off and I think make people a little crazy! In the book I read, "To See Every Bird on Earth", one of the big conundrums of the (competitive?) Lister/Birders was to keep track of the name changes and the splitting and lumping of different species (like the Oriole has experienced in recent years). I suppose the changes can make a difference in the numbers of birds on your lists and put a birder down farther on the list of listers!

I am getting started by keeping track of the birds at our feeders for the year 2007: yesterday was a good day because the temps dropped and the birds were very hungry. A red-breasted nuthatch (fairly rare for here--ours are usually the white-breasted nuthatches) , a mockingbird, a purple finch, and a sapsucker were all first time visitors for 2007 (at least that I saw) yesterday. I had a six woodpecker day in the yard yesterday with the sapsucker visitor counted. (No red-headed wp which is the only one missing for our area.)

The 'little brown birds' still confound me, but I am getting better at ID-ing them. I am hoping to add some of those to my list this month, too. Before, I basically lumped them into a simple-minded "LLB's and finches" category.

This is the List of Birds for Cincinnati area created by our "Cincinnati Bird Club". I like it because it shows how likely each bird will be in the area during the months of the year.

http://cincinnatibirds.com/birdlist/list.php

I had a new little black and white bird this morning with a yellow breast. I think I will make a list too.

cardinals
blue jay
carolina wren
chick-a-dee
crow
hummingbirds
tuffted titmice
red-bellied woodpecker
downy woodpecker
pileated woodpecker
mockingbird
brown thrasher
red shouldered hawk
crested flycatcher ( briefly in spring only)
magnolia warbler
house finch
goldfinches
new black and white bird with yellow breast...looking for id...small bird
morning doves
bluebird ( trying to get it to LIVE in the yard...no luck yet)

I just ordered the book "To See Every Bird on Earth" from Amazon. Sounds like an interesting read. I like birds but I'm not as crazy as I used to be. Now I'm happy to see them in the backyard, or out of the car window. No more getting up in the middle of the night, and driving 2 hours to be in the marsh at dawn.

Some pretty good lists here (Birdscrazy, you crack me up)!!! And, Tabasco, I wish there was such a list available for my area - what a great job the Cincinnati Bird Club did. I have a list from the Washington Ornithological Society, but it is really big and some of the birds listed are one-time sightings - and no info as to when they were spotted.

I'm definitely going to keep better track than I've been doing, though - this thread has me energized!

I printed out the local list on a site tabasco had given us on this post back a ways. http://davesgarden.com/forums/p.php?pid=3129286
Then I can check off and note those that I have seen; in my yard/neighborhood (Y), county(C), state (T), or in my lifetime(L). I figure that is about as detailed as I will ever get! LOL!

I had missed that link somehow - I just printed out 8 pages of birds here on the island (I don't know yet how many are one-time sightings, etc., but what a list to look over!).

This is kind of a fun list of quizzes from the American Birding Association.

http://www.americanbirding.org/photoquiz/quizpast.html

I think I know this week's answer, but also I'm thinking it's some kind of clever trick!

http://www.americanbirding.org/photoquiz/index.html

A good 'learning tool', anyway!


At least the ABA checklist is easy to read: http://www.americanbirding.org/photoquiz/quizlist.html

I didn't know that we had a bird watching forum. I love watching birds and have had bird feeders up for years. Here are some that have been at the feeder this winter:

House Sparrow
Starling
Downy Woodpecker
Blue Jay
Black Capped Chicadee
Cardinal
Junco
Purple Finch
Gold Finch
Mourning Dove
Flicker

In summer, I get Robins, Baltimore Oreoles and Hummingbirds.

If the weather gets extremely bad and lots of snow, I sometimes get birds that I usually never see.

Cindy

This message was edited Feb 15, 2007 10:17 AM

Cindy, this forum is only a month old and has gone crazy with photos and sharing of experiences!! It's wonderful. Do you have any pictures you can post?

tabasco - Thanks for the links. Great!! I know what you mean - I think I know too, but surely it MUST be a trick!! Can't think of what else it could be, though. Oh well, we'll find out, won't we?!

if you want a nice book journal for your list National Geographic sells them

Oh I see Murmur, I didn't know that. I will have to check through my files and see if I have any pics.

Sounds like something to look into, DonnaB!

And Cindy, hope you can find some photos - it is the greatest ever to see birds from around the country (and around the world, I might add!!!).

Great topic tabasco. I have kept a list for about 25 years - since before I was married. Now that you brought the topic up I can't find it! I usually keep it tucked into one of my guides (its written on old sheets of looseleaf paper lol). I'm going to tear the house apart until I find it.

here's a link for some at Amazon used catagory but new or unused at great prices
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0792274563/ref=dp_olp_2/102-5517432-9812121

Donna, thank you - I'll be checking that out.

LOL Doesn't anyone else have an opinion on that ABA quiz for this week (in my post above from 2/2 @ 5:30 a.m)? ceejay and I both think it's a bit of a bluff...anyone have a thought? Just have a look at this link: http://www.americanbirding.org/photoquiz/index.html

Speaking of backyard birds, this week a professional photographer called and asked if he could take pics of my Pileateds for a calendar series (He had an introduction to us from an acquaintance). I am learning lots about how to 'stage' a bird photo. So far no luck with a pic, though. (It's too cold out to sit in the 'blind' for hours to get the perfect shot--I don't do that--I just make the coffee. the Pileateds have been coming, but not stopping at the 'perfect' spot with the 'perfect' light, etc.)

Yes, great prices--did I read that right? 61 cents? for the Bird List. I looked inside and it seems to be quite complex and complete. Thanks for posting Donna.

My DH and I signed up for an all-day Birding Symposium featuring speakers from the Ohio Amish community who specialize in Backyard Birding. The meeting is March 3--perhaps I will have some good info to share after that!

Very cold today. Thought I might have new visitors to the feeders today, but no luck. The birds are scarfing down the seed and suet though. (The starlings are taking over and it is making me mad.) I think my backyard list is at about 31.

lilyfantn--good luck finding that list! We will be curious to know if you have anything new to add to it.

tabasco, I'm having the same problem with the starlings; even took down the feeders for over a week and it didn't help at all. :-((((

Speaking of the quiz, I think its a joke too. :-)

I know what I call it on MY list! :-((

Tabasco you read that right. I have saved a fortune replacing all my book lost in Katrina. I haven't gotten a bad one yet. They have all been new or at least looked knew. Most every book on Amazon has used book link under the catergory. Just click the used book link under the Amazon book you searched for

I got the list for Kennesaw, GA from tabasco's link. It is the closest GA one to me. I was amazed when I counted the one's I'd checked - 26 in my backyard! Becky

Congratulations Becky!! :-)

Well, Europe can get all the 'credit' for the Starling, Resin!

Yes, donna, I agree, I have purchased many great books from the 'used' list at excellent prices---often new books from distributors or library supply houses. I rarely buy 'new' these days from Amazon. I recommend it, too.

It's very chilly here today (Zero degrees, I think)--had a nice Northern Mockingbird visit the feeders. And a Cooper's Hawk--two backyard 'firsts' for 2007,

Spending time 'wintersowing' seeds for my 'bird and butterfly' flower gardens this week...

Actually, if I know the ABA, they've probably invented some ghastly grammatic barbarism like "Eurasian Common-Starling", they've done that sort of stupidity with lots of other species . . .

Look at their mangling of e.g. Black-crowned Night Heron, Greater Prairie Chicken, American Golden Plover, Collared Dove, Eastern Screech Owl, Northern Pygmy Owl, etc., etc.

Resin

Actually, they have a list on the site that you can use. They call it a European Starling.

I've had a couple of brown-headed nuthatches visiting my feeders the last few days. If they weren't so fast (they hit and run like chickadees) I'd show you a picture! LOL!!!

CJ it took me 3 years of trying to get a good pic of the Brown-headed Nuthatch. they are fast lol

Well the ABA has no monopoly on bird nomenclature (obsession), that's for sure.

http://www.bou.org.uk/recbrlst.html

Sorry, I thought I had posted the ABA (quiz) list

http://www.americanbirding.org/photoquiz/quizlist.html