the yard list

It looks like 2005 will be the first year we have not added any new species to the yard list, which stands at 129. Our last addition was Philadelphia Vireo in May 2004.  Admittedly, adding species is getting a little tough.  We've had 25 species of warblers, 11 sparrows, 7 flycatchers, and all the expected thrushes and vireos.  Flyovers count, so we've had Bald Eagle and Peregrine Falcon.   We've been startled to hear Whippoorwills on several occasions in spring migration.  In fact, unexpected song has often alerted us to good species, like White-eyed Vireo and Orchard Oriole, both on the northern edge of their ranges here.  However, two of our rarest visitors came to our feeders: a Lark Sparrow and White-winged Crossbills.

I have lived in this small house in an older suburban neighborhood for ten years.  It has a small yard, but I've built a tiny pond with circulating water, kept open all year, and planted many native shrubs. We practice organic gardening, and have brush piles and let our leaves sit in the flower beds. There are plenty of mature trees in the neighborhood. But the real secret to a good yard list is making sure to spend time paying close attention to our real neighbors and co-inhabitants.  Our yard is an extension of our home, and we're more than willing to share it. You never know who might stop by!

 

Comments

[Pamela]

Great list! Interesting about the orchard oriole. I saw one here(possibly a pair, but sadly I wasn't paying attention at first--thinking they were Baltimores), just beyond what is thought to be the northern edge of their range.

[Kris]

Wow! I wish you could bird-watch at our place--we are rank amateurs who weren't even interested until we moved to a rural area. We have recorded about 60 species here but I bet if you were the bird-watcher, that number would be at least doubled. We are still learning! We have 35 acres, some of it wetlands, and we overlook a lake, so we get lots of waterfowl. I had never seen a meadowlark or a bluebird until we moved here almost six years ago. We are very fond of a couple of great horned owls that perch in a tree near the lake quite often, and of the red-tailed hawks with their wild cry, among many many others. We also are so glad to see the same pair of sandhill cranes every year when they return--this past year they had two offspring, although only one seems to have survived. I feel as if I must have been walking around blind most of my life, now that I have opened my eyes to the feathered life around me.