2016 Year List

94. Barn Swallow, 23 April
95. White-crowned Sparrow, 24 April
96. White-throated Sparrow, 24 April

great. finally saw our red-winged blackbird actually perched on an old milkweed stem in the marsh. So must be nesting. it was counted earlier, but good to see it anyway.

I've had sightings so good I wish I could count them twice. :) I like the Red-wingeds too. One year during nesting season, a male let my husband know he was not welcome in the area and kept dive bombing around him.

38- House Wren
39-Carolina Wren
40-White-throated Sparrow

25. White throated sparrow. Welcome to the yard, buddy.

Nice, Iris... Do they nest in your area? I think they are just passer-bys here.

97. House Wren... by the creek. I hope they stay there for a little while yet to give the Bluebirds and Tree Swallows a good head start.

They are listed as nesting in MA. The white crowned (which I have not seen) listed as a migrant, doesn't net in MA.

41-Rose-breasted Grosbeak
42-White-crowned Sparrow
43- European Collared Dove
44-Tree Swallow

April was a good month for birds even if I didn't get out as often as I'd like
71 Wood Duck
72 Gadwall
73 Cinnamon Teal
74 Scaled Quail (year round here but they haven't been in my yard)
75 Western Grebe
76 American White Pelican
77 Double-Crested Cormorant
78 Turkey Vulture
79 Swainson's Hawk
80 Black-chinned Hummingbird - a little early this year
81 Broad-tailed Hummingbird - zinging through to somewhere else
82 Belted Kingfisher
83 Yellow-headed Blackbird - Lucky sighting now, more common when I was a kid
84 Common Grackle - driving me nuts, their wide range of weird calls has me searching for new birds that aren't there
85 Bullock's Oriole - arrived just before a snow storm
86 Pine Siskin - watched for them all winter and they finally show up in April
87 Violet Green Swallow
88 Cliff Swallow
There were other new arrivals in Colorado that I already counted in San Diego in January

This message was edited Apr 30, 2016 11:40 PM

You got some great birds! I too had been watching for the Siskins, but haven't seen it. We had one in August some years ago, so maybe we'll get another surprise!

98. Sedge Wren, 2 May... 19 days earlier than last year, but still twelve days later than the record early for the state.

99. Bobolink!!!! One of my favorite birds... I sure wish they came to feeders.

100. Baltimore Oriole
101. Chimney Swift

Took photos of what I believe is a Waterthrush... needs to be ID'ed.

Still better than here: #26 cowbird I really don't like to see those.

Aaw, Iris... that is a year bird I'd like to never see. :(

My waterthrush was identified as a...
102. Northern Waterthrush, 5 May
103. Vesper Sparrow
104. Cliff Swallow
105. Clay-colored Sparrow 6 May

The Cowbirds evolved with the Buffalo/Bison - and they would not stay in one place, no time for the Cowbirds to raise a family. They have a bad reputation, but they are a victim of adaptive evolution, and a reminder of a time the Buffalo roamed free Texas to Canada. And not all birds fall for their tricks, so not all of their eggs are successful. In other-words, I don't consider them a "bad" bird - squirrels and Magpies probably do as much damage - a domestic cats probably do more.

106. Pectoral Sandpiper, 6 May
107. American Golden-plover
108. Spotted Sandpiper
109. Black and white Warbler, 7 May

This message was edited May 9, 2016 10:11 AM

We don't have Magpies in New England. I wish the hawks would take care of the squirrels, although DH found a squirrel tail & later the tail of a young skunk which was around last spring. He suspects the work of owls.

110. Orchard Oriole, 7 May
111. Lincoln's Sparrow
112. Northern Rough-winged Swallow, 8 May
113. Eastern Kingbird
114. Yellow-headed Blackbird

I removed the Semipalmated Plover above... I was looking at my photos again when it dawned on me that the size difference with the Killdeer was too great to be a Semipalmated. It was a young Killdeer! It seemed too early, so I had not even considered that.

good some of those are birds we don't see.
27-Chipping sparrow. I had seen a couple before but they fade into the dropped seed shells of the black oil seed. It can be hard to see the head marks.
28-Catbird. first one this year.

115. Gray Catbird.... rare to see them in our yard, so a real treat.

Yes, those Chipping sparrows are hard to find with their tiny size and coloring. There are a lot of them here this spring and a lot of fighting. It looks ferocious, but they don't kill each other.

116. Common Yellowthroat, 11 May
117. American Redstart
118 Rose-breasted Grosbeak
119. Lark Sparrow, 12 May This also is a new yard bird!
120. Ruby-throated Hummingbird, 13 May

This message was edited May 13, 2016 11:39 AM

121. Yellow Warbler, 13 May
122. Pileated Woodpecker, 14 May
123. Great Crested Flycatcher
124. Eastern Wood-pewee
125. Swainson's Thrush
126. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
127. Yellow-throated Warbler, Lifer
128. Red-eyed Vireo
129. Tennessee Warbler
130, Magnolia Warbler
131. Indigo Bunting
132. Warbling Vireo
133. Yellow-throated Vireo

so glad you have seen the piliated wood pecker. they have not been around here lately.

29 grackle on the suet feeder

45 - Baltimore Oriole
46 - Ruby-Throat Hummingbird
47 - Eastern Kingbird
48 - American Redstart

134. Eared Grebe, 16 May
135. Black Tern
136. Pine Siskin, 22 May Unpredictable birds, never know when they are going to show up.

This message was edited May 24, 2016 4:12 PM

May birds:
89 Common Nighthawk - I used to see these a lot as a kid, but these were the first ones in years
90 Horned Lark
91 Yellow Warbler
92 Lark Sparrow
93 Lark Bunting
94 Brewer's Blackbird

30 kingfisher (in flight-ID by husband)
31 Barred owl (sitting on a wire, which seemed strange).

137. Yellow-billed Cuckoo, 31 May
138. Henslow's Sparrow, 11 June
139. Prothonotary Warbler

We are way down from last year at this time Even today's day list is at least 20 birds less than the field trip a year ago. Maybe things will pick up in the fall. ??

My garden group was discussing the fact that hummingbird numbers seem to be down this year. Of course this time of year a lot of birds are being furtive and stealthy because of their young ones.

32. rose breasted grosbeak reported by DH actually on our tube feeder.

33 Piliated woodpecker. Oh my!!!

No new birds in June for me

The woodpecker had been banging on the house. I looked up his tapping. It was that rather than the drumming. We hare going on a day trip to see the Isle of Shoals later in July. I hope to see interesting birds then.

to the Isles of Shoals in NH so 34. common tern 35. cormorant 36. common merganser, 37. black backed gull



I had hoped for puffins, but they must be on the northernmost isles.

I managed to stumble across a few new birds in July
95 Greater Roadrunner
96 Calliope Hummingbird
97 Rufous Hummingbird
98 Pygmy Nuthatch
99 Cedar Waxwing

38-mockingbird
39 Harrier birds flying today.

40 Black & white warbler checking out the tube feeder. I didn't know that they did that.

41 grackle usually see them in flocks

Am I the only one with new birds? Actually, my husband saw this one: 42 Red breasted nuthatch. Not only the color of the breast, but distinctive line through the eye. It was after the few cherries on the Cornelian cherry tree.