Here is a list of the bird species seen in or from my yard since July 2001, when we moved to this location. Order is based on the 7th edition of the AOU Checklist of North American Birds (as amended through
the 42nd supplement). As of 8/23/09, the list is at 196 species.
If I have a photo, there is a numbered icon in the photo link column. Click the number to go directly to the full-sized photo. Or, if you want to see notes on the photo, click the link in the classification column to go to that page, then scan the page for the photo and its caption. Classification and Abundance are both
based on occurrence in my yard and may not be the same as that listed in local checklists.
Classification Column: YRR = Year Round Resident WR = Winter Resident SR = Summer Resident M = Migrant (seen most Springs and/or Falls) A = Accidental (seen only
once or twice)
Abundance Column: Regular (RG) = can be counted on; seen or heard nearly every day without much effort; Common (C) = seen most days, in season, but may require more time or effort; Uncommon (U) = can't be counted on; Irregular (I) = seen often, but at irregular
intervals; Accidental (X) = has only been seen once or twice.
| Species (Common Name) |
Photo Link |
Classification |
Abundance |
Notes |
| Least Grebe |
|
|
|
|
| Pied-billed Grebe |
|
|
|
|
| Eared Grebe |
|
|
|
|
| American White Pelican |
|
|
|
|
| Double-crested Cormorant |
u |
WR |
I |
|
| Anhinga |
|
|
|
|
| Great Blue Heron |
|
|
|
|
| Great Egret |
u v |
YRR |
I |
|
| Snowy Egret |
|
|
|
|
| Little Blue Heron |
|
|
|
|
| Tricolored Heron |
|
|
|
|
| Cattle Egret |
|
|
|
|
| Green Heron |
|
|
|
|
| Yellow-crowned Night Heron |
|
|
|
|
| White-faced Ibis |
|
|
|
|
| Black Vulture |
u |
YRR |
RG |
|
| Turkey Vulture |
u v |
YRR |
RG |
|
| Black-bellied Whistling Duck |
|
|
|
|
| Mute Swan |
|
|
|
unknown if sighting was wild bird or an escapee |
| Canada Goose |
|
|
|
|
| Gadwall |
|
|
|
|
| American Wigeon |
|
|
|
|
| Blue-winged Teal |
|
|
|
|
| Northern Shoveler |
|
|
|
|
| Northern Pintail |
|
|
|
|
| Green-winged Teal |
|
|
|
|
| Canvasback |
|
|
|
|
| Redhead |
u |
M |
I |
seen on and off during winter months, 1 or 2 days at a time |
| Ringed-necked Duck |
|
|
|
|
| Greater Scaup |
|
|
|
|
| Lesser Scaup |
|
|
|
|
| Bufflehead |
|
|
|
|
| Hooded Merganser |
|
|
|
|
| Ruddy Duck |
|
|
|
|
| Osprey |
u |
WR |
I |
visit from nearby Canyon Lake |
| Mississippi Kite |
|
|
|
|
| Bald Eagle |
|
|
|
|
| Northern Harrier |
|
|
|
|
| Sharp-shinned Hawk |
u |
WR |
C |
|
| Cooper's Hawk |
u v |
WR |
C |
|
| Red-shouldered Hawk |
u v w |
YRR |
C |
nests locally |
| Broad-winged Hawk |
|
|
|
|
| Swainson's Hawk |
|
|
|
|
| Zone-tailed Hawk |
u v |
WR |
I |
|
| Red-tailed Hawk |
|
|
|
|
| Crested Caracara |
u v w |
YRR |
I |
Nests on a nearby ranch. |
| American Kestrel |
u v w |
WR |
U |
|
| Merlin |
|
|
|
|
| Peregrine Falcon |
|
|
|
|
| Prairie Falcon |
|
|
X |
fly by on 9/6/08 |
| Wild Turkey |
u |
YRR? |
X |
Photo is from a nearby ranch. |
| Northern Bobwhite |
|
|
|
|
| American Coot |
|
|
|
|
| Sandhill Crane |
|
|
|
|
| Killdeer |
|
|
|
|
| American Avocet |
|
|
|
|
| Greater Yellowlegs |
|
|
|
|
| Lesser Yellowlegs |
|
|
|
|
| Solitary Sandpiper |
|
|
|
|
| Spotted Sandpiper |
|
|
|
|
| Upland Sandpiper |
|
|
|
|
| Semipalmated Sandpiper |
|
|
|
|
| Short-billed Dowitcher |
|
|
|
|
| Long-billed Dowitcher |
|
|
|
|
| Wilson's Snipe |
|
|
|
|
| Wilson's Phalarope |
|
|
|
|
| Franklin's Gull |
|
|
|
|
| Ring-billed Gull |
|
|
|
|
| Rock Pigeon |
|
|
|
|
| Eurasian Collared Dove |
u |
A |
X |
will it become common? |
| White-winged Dove |
u |
YRR |
RG |
present in large numbers (75-125) |
| Mourning Dove |
|
|
|
|
| Inca Dove |
u |
YRR |
RG |
|
| Common Ground Dove |
u v |
YRR |
I |
|
| Yellow-billed Cuckoo |
|
|
|
|
| Greater Roadrunner |
u v w |
YRR |
I |
|
| Eastern Screech-Owl |
|
|
|
|
| Great Horned Owl |
u v w |
YRR |
I |
See YRR page for additional photos. |
| Barred Owl |
|
|
|
|
| Common Nighthawk |
|
|
|
|
| Common Poorwill |
|
|
|
|
| Chuck-will's-widow |
|
|
|
|
| Whip-poor-will |
|
|
A |
heard once; 9/28/08 |
| Chimney Swift |
|
|
|
|
| Ruby-throated Hummingbird |
u v w |
M |
RG |
|
| Black-chinned Hummingbird |
u v |
SR |
RG |
|
| Anna's Hummingbird |
u v w x y z |
A |
X |
Two birds winter of 2005; one bird winter of 2007/08; one bird winter of 2008/2009. |
| Calliope Hummingbird |
|
|
|
|
| Broad-tailed Hummingbird |
|
|
|
|
| Rufous Hummingbird |
u v w x y |
WR |
C |
|
| Belted Kingfisher |
|
|
|
|
| Golden-fronted Woodpecker |
u v |
YRR |
C |
|
| Red-bellied Woodpecker |
|
|
|
|
| Yellow-bellied Sapsucker |
|
|
|
|
| Red-naped Sapsucker |
|
|
|
|
| Ladder-backed Woodpecker |
u |
YRR |
C |
|
| Downy Woodpecker |
|
|
|
|
| Northern Flicker |
|
|
|
|
| Eastern Wood-Pewee |
|
|
|
|
| Least Flycatcher |
|
|
|
|
| Eastern Phoebe |
u v w |
YRR |
C |
|
| Ash-throated Flycatcher |
u |
SR |
U |
|
| Western Kingbird |
|
|
|
|
| Eastern Kingbird |
u |
A |
X |
|
| Scissor-tailed Flycatcher |
u |
SR |
I |
Photo is from a nearby ranch. |
| Loggerhead Shrike |
|
|
|
|
| White-eyed Vireo |
u v w |
YRR |
U |
Usually to be found in the neighborhood, but not often in the yard (heard more often than seen in yard). Juveniles are the most frequent visitors to the yard. |
| Bell's Vireo |
|
|
|
|
| Black-capped Vireo |
|
|
|
|
| Yellow-throated Vireo |
u v |
A |
X |
|
| Blue-headed Vireo |
|
|
|
|
| Warbling Vireo |
|
|
|
|
| Philadelphia Vireo |
|
|
|
|
| Red-eyed Vireo |
|
|
|
|
| Blue Jay |
u |
YRR |
RG |
|
| Western Scrub-Jay |
u v |
YRR |
RG |
|
| American Crow |
|
|
|
|
| Common Raven |
u v |
YRR |
I |
Nests nearby. |
| Purple Martin |
u v |
SR |
RG |
|
| Tree Swallow |
|
|
|
|
| Northern Rough-winged Swallow |
|
|
|
First recorded 10/4/08 |
| Cliff Swallow |
|
|
|
|
| Cave Swallow |
|
|
|
|
| Barn Swallow |
|
|
|
|
| Carolina Chickadee |
u v |
YRR |
RG |
|
| Black-crested Titmouse |
u |
YRR |
RG |
|
| Bushtit |
|
|
|
|
| Red-breasted Nuthatch |
u v w |
A |
X |
|
| Rock Wren |
|
|
|
|
| Canyon Wren |
u |
YRR |
I |
|
| Carolina Wren |
u |
YRR |
RG |
|
| Bewick's Wren |
u v |
YRR |
RG |
|
| House Wren |
|
|
|
|
| Golden-crowned Kinglet |
|
|
|
|
| Ruby-crowned Kinglet |
u |
WR |
RG |
|
| Blue-gray Gnatcatcher |
u |
M |
C |
|
| Eastern Bluebird |
|
|
|
|
| Hermit Thrush |
u v |
WR |
U |
comes to the bird bath; heard as often as seen |
| American Robin |
u |
WR |
I |
Usually around, but often only seen at dawn or dusk. Numbers vary greatly from one year to the next. |
| Northern Mockingbird |
u v |
YRR |
C |
|
| Curve-billed Thrasher |
|
|
|
|
| European Starling |
|
|
|
|
| American Pipit |
|
|
|
|
| Cedar Waxwing |
u |
WR |
C |
numbers vary from year to year, and day to day |
| Blue-winged Warbler |
|
|
|
|
| Tennessee Warbler |
|
|
|
|
| Orange-crowned Warbler |
u v w |
WR |
U |
|
| Nashville Warbler |
|
|
|
|
| Yellow Warbler |
|
|
|
|
| Magnolia Warbler |
|
|
|
|
| Yellow-rumped Warbler |
|
|
|
|
| Golden-cheeked Warbler |
|
|
|
|
| Black-throated Green Warbler |
|
|
|
|
| Blackburnian Warbler |
u |
A |
X |
|
| Pine Warbler |
|
|
|
|
| Black-and-White Warbler |
u v |
M |
I |
|
| American Redstart |
|
|
|
|
| Mourning Warbler |
|
|
|
|
| Wilson's Warbler |
u v |
M |
U |
|
| Summer Tanager |
|
|
|
|
| Scarlet Tanager |
|
|
|
|
| Canyon Towhee |
|
|
|
|
| Cassin's Sparrow |
|
|
|
|
| Rufous-crowned Sparrow |
u v |
YRR |
RG |
|
| Chipping Sparrow |
u v w |
WR |
RG |
|
| Clay-colored Sparrow |
u |
WR |
U |
present in small numbers (1-2 individuals); takes effort to find among much larger numbers of Chipping Sparrows |
| Brewer's Sparrow |
|
|
|
|
| Field Sparrow |
|
|
|
|
| Lark Sparrow |
u |
M |
U |
|
| Grasshopper Sparrow |
|
|
|
|
| Song Sparrow |
|
|
|
|
| Lincoln's Sparrow |
u v |
WR |
U |
|
| White-crowned Sparrow |
u v |
M |
I |
locally a winter resident, but rarely shows up in my yard |
| Dark-eyed Junco |
u |
WR |
I |
usually only one, seen on and off for a few weeks; not seen every winter |
| Northern Cardinal |
u v w |
YRR |
RG |
|
| Rose-breasted Grosbeak |
u |
A |
X |
|
| Black-headed Grosbeak |
u v w |
A |
X |
photo 1 = immature; photos 2,3 = adult male |
| Blue Grosbeak |
u v |
SR |
I |
nests locally; usually just one pair and their offspring seen |
| Lazuli Bunting |
u v w |
A |
X |
not expected, but seen the last three springs |
| Indigo Bunting |
u |
M |
U |
|
| Painted Bunting |
u v |
SR |
C |
Has become more common in my yard. Reg summer 2009. |
| Dickcissel |
|
|
|
|
| Red-winged Blackbird |
|
|
|
|
| Yellow-headed Blackbird |
|
|
|
|
| Common Grackle |
u |
M |
U |
|
| Great-tailed Grackle |
|
|
|
|
| Brown-headed Cowbird |
u |
SR/M |
C |
More common some years then others. |
| Orchard Oriole |
u |
SR |
I |
Probably nests nearby; many spring and fall migrants |
| Bullock's Oriole |
|
|
|
|
| Baltimore Oriole |
u v |
M |
U |
|
| Scott's Oriole |
u v w |
SR |
U |
|
| Purple Finch |
|
|
|
|
| House Finch |
u v |
YRR |
RG |
|
| Pine Siskin |
u v w x |
WR |
RG |
|
| Lesser Goldfinch |
u v |
YRR |
RG |
nests locally; numbers higher in winter |
| American Goldfinch |
u v |
WR |
RG |
|
| House Sparrow |
u |
YRR |
RG |
|
