One of the must do tasks for New Year’s Day around here is to total up the number of species of birds that we have heard or seen in or from our garden during the preceding year.
The garden list for 2021 topped off at a gratifying 76 different species of birds.
For those who understand the importance of this sort of thing, the birds that honoured us with their presence were the following. Note that this list is given in taxonomic sequence which groups together related species and makes it easier to digest the data.
One of the reasons I share this list every year is to encourage our neighbours to get out and look at the birds in their own gardens. Too often when talking about these things I am greeted by “Wow!” or perhaps “Nothing much – just a few Sparrows and a Cardinal” or something like that. Yet there is nothing that special about our garden, other than the native plants we encourage, because all these birds have to cross other gardens and parks to get to us and could as easily be seen in those locations. The trick really is to make a point of actively and regularly observing and I hope sharing our lists will encourage our friends and neighbours to start keeping their own records in a spirit of friendly rivalry.
For the record – 2022 started with a couple of Mourning Doves.
** There are a few highlight photographs below the list
Taxonomic Sequence – Garden 2021 |
| Canada Goose – Branta canadensis |
| Mourning Dove – Zenaida macroura |
| Chimney Swift – Chaetura pelagica |
| Ruby-throated Hummingbird – Archilochus colubris |
| Ring-billed Gull – Larus delawarensis |
| Turkey Vulture – Cathartes aura |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk – Accipiter striatus |
| Cooper’s Hawk – Accipiter cooperii |
| Red-tailed Hawk – Buteo jamaicensis |
| Great Horned Owl – Bubo virginianus |
| Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – Sphyrapicus varius |
| Red-bellied Woodpecker – Melanerpes carolinus |
| Downy Woodpecker – Dryobates pubescens |
| Hairy Woodpecker – Dryobates villosus |
| Pileated Woodpecker – Dryocopus pileatus |
| Northern Flicker – Colaptes auratus |
| Merlin – Falco columbarius |
| Least Flycatcher – Empidonax minimus |
| Eastern Phoebe – Sayornis phoebe |
| Great Crested Flycatcher – Myiarchus crinitus |
| Blue-headed Vireo – Vireo solitarius |
| Warbling Vireo – Vireo gilvus |
| Red-eyed Vireo – Vireo olivaceus |
| Blue Jay – Cyanocitta cristata |
| American Crow – Corvus brachyrhynchos |
| Common Raven – Corvus corax |
| Black-capped Chickadee – Poecile atricapillus |
| Tufted Titmouse – Baeolophus bicolor |
| Ruby-crowned Kinglet – Corthylio calendula |
| Golden-crowned Kinglet – Regulus satrapa |
| Red-breasted Nuthatch – Sitta canadensis |
| White-breasted Nuthatch – Sitta carolinensis |
| Brown Creeper – Certhia americana |
| Winter Wren – Troglodytes hiemalis |
| Carolina Wren – Thryothorus ludovicianus (nested and raised young – see photo) |
| European Starling – Sturnus vulgaris |
| Gray Catbird – Dumetella carolinensis |
| Swainson’s Thrush – Catharus ustulatus |
| Hermit Thrush – Catharus guttatus |
| American Robin – Turdus migratorius |
| Cedar Waxwing – Bombycilla cedrorum |
| House Sparrow – Passer domesticus |
| House Finch – Haemorhous mexicanus |
| Purple Finch – Haemorhous purpureus |
| Common Redpoll – Acanthis flammea |
| Pine Siskin – Spinus pinus |
| American Goldfinch – Spinus tristis |
| Chipping Sparrow – Spizella passerina |
| American Tree Sparrow – Spizelloides arborea |
| Fox Sparrow – Passerella iliaca |
| Dark-eyed Junco – Junco hyemalis |
| White-crowned Sparrow – Zonotrichia leucophrys |
| White-throated Sparrow – Zonotrichia albicollis |
| Song Sparrow – Melospiza melodia |
| Baltimore Oriole – Icterus galbula |
| Red-winged Blackbird – Agelaius phoeniceus |
| Brown-headed Cowbird – Molothrus ater |
| Common Grackle – Quiscalus quiscula |
| Ovenbird – Seiurus aurocapilla |
| Northern Waterthrush – Parkesia noveboracensis |
| Nashville Warbler – Leiothlypis ruficapilla |
| Common Yellowthroat – Geothlypis trichas |
| American Redstart – Setophaga ruticilla |
| Cape May Warbler – Setophaga tigrina |
| Northern Parula – Setophaga americana |
| Magnolia Warbler – Setophaga magnolia |
| Bay-breasted Warbler – Setophaga castanea |
| Blackburnian Warbler – Setophaga fusca |
| Yellow Warbler – Setophaga petechia |
| Chestnut-sided Warbler – Setophaga pensylvanica |
| Blackpoll Warbler – Setophaga striata |
| Black-throated Blue Warbler – Setophaga caerulescens |
| Yellow-rumped Warbler – Setophaga coronata |
| Black-throated Green Warbler – Setophaga virens |
| Northern Cardinal – Cardinalis cardinalis |
| Rose-breasted Grosbeak – Pheucticus ludovicianus |
That’s a nice list and photos. I suspect that your garden is more “special” than most with its native plants and running water in natural settings.
Peter
Well, it’s special to us and we do manage the place for wildlife but all those birds have to pass through other people’s gardens to reach us, even if only stopping briefly, and I would love to know more about their wanderings. Our garden is just an average suburban lot, not one of those massive riverside forests.