Yard List & Photo Index

01/02/12

(page constantly under construction; please check back for updates....)

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 9/10/11, after an unusual spring migration, and the addition of Yellow-breasted Chat in the fall, the list is at 205 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
1	Least Grebe
2	Pied-billed Grebe
3	Eared Grebe
4	American White Pelican
5	Double-crested Cormorant	u	WR	I
6	Anhinga
7	Great Blue Heron
8	Great Egret	u v	YRR	I
9	Snowy Egret
10	Little Blue Heron
11	Tricolored Heron
12	Cattle Egret
13	Green Heron
14	Yellow-crowned Night Heron
15	White-faced Ibis
16	Black Vulture	u	YRR	RG
17	Turkey Vulture	u v	YRR	RG
18	Black-bellied Whistling Duck	u v	YRR	I	Most common in the spring and early summer. Usually seen flying over at dawn or dusk.
19	Mute Swan				unknown if sighting was wild bird or an escapee
20	Canada Goose
21	Gadwall
22	American Wigeon
23	Blue-winged Teal
24	Northern Shoveler
25	Northern Pintail
26	Green-winged Teal
27	Canvasback
28	Redhead	u	M	I	seen on and off during winter months, 1 or 2 days at a time
29	Ringed-necked Duck
30	Greater Scaup
31	Lesser Scaup
32	Bufflehead
33	Hooded Merganser
34	Ruddy Duck
35	Osprey	u	WR	I	visit from nearby Canyon Lake
36	Mississippi Kite
37	Bald Eagle
38	Northern Harrier
39	Sharp-shinned Hawk	u	WR	C
40	Cooper's Hawk	u v	WR	C
41	Red-shouldered Hawk	u v w	YRR	C	nests locally
42	Broad-winged Hawk
43	Swainson's Hawk
44	Zone-tailed Hawk	u v	WR	I
45	Red-tailed Hawk
46	Crested Caracara	u v w	YRR	I	Nests on a nearby ranch.
47	American Kestrel	u v w	WR	U
48	Merlin
49	Peregrine Falcon
50	Prairie Falcon			X	fly by on 9/6/08
51	Wild Turkey	u	YRR?	X	Photo is from a nearby ranch.
52	Northern Bobwhite
53	Common Moorhen			X	Considered very rare in the general area; this single bird hung around for about 2 weeks. 1st seen 5/12/11
54	American Coot
55	Sandhill Crane
56	Killdeer
57	American Avocet
58	Greater Yellowlegs
59	Lesser Yellowlegs
60	Solitary Sandpiper
61	Spotted Sandpiper
62	Upland Sandpiper
63	Semipalmated Sandpiper
64	Short-billed Dowitcher
65	Long-billed Dowitcher
66	Wilson's Snipe
67	Wilson's Phalarope
68	Franklin's Gull
69	Ring-billed Gull
70	Rock Pigeon
71	Eurasian Collared Dove	u	A	X	will it become common?
72	White-winged Dove	u	YRR	RG	present in large numbers (75-125)
73	Mourning Dove
74	Inca Dove	u	YRR	RG
75	Common Ground Dove	u v	YRR	I
76	Yellow-billed Cuckoo
77	Greater Roadrunner	u v w	YRR	I
78	Eastern Screech-Owl
79	Great Horned Owl	u v w	YRR	I	See YRR page for additional photos.
80	Barred Owl
81	Common Nighthawk
82	Common Poorwill
83	Chuck-will's-widow
84	Whip-poor-will			A	heard once; 9/28/08
85	Chimney Swift
86	Ruby-throated Hummingbird	u v w	M	RG
87	Black-chinned Hummingbird	u v	SR	RG
88	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. Also put in an appearance in 2010 and 2011.
89	Calliope Hummingbird
90	Broad-tailed Hummingbird	u v w	A	X	Females may show up more than they are reported, as they can be easily mistaken for the more common Rufous. Fall of 2011 has brought more Broad-taileds than usual, including my first visiting male (a juvenile, with about half his gorget grown in).
91	Rufous Hummingbird	u v w x y	WR	C
92	Belted Kingfisher
93	Golden-fronted Woodpecker	u v w	YRR	C
94	Red-bellied Woodpecker
95	Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
96	Red-naped Sapsucker
97	Ladder-backed Woodpecker	u	YRR	C
98	Downy Woodpecker
99	Northern Flicker
100	Eastern Wood-Pewee
101	Least Flycatcher
102	Eastern Phoebe	u v w	YRR	C
103	Ash-throated Flycatcher	u	SR	U
104	Western Kingbird
105	Eastern Kingbird	u	A	X
106	Scissor-tailed Flycatcher	u	SR	I	Photo is from a nearby ranch.
107	Loggerhead Shrike
108	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.
109	Bell's Vireo
110	Black-capped Vireo
111	Yellow-throated Vireo	u v	A	X
112	Blue-headed Vireo
113	Warbling Vireo
114	Philadelphia Vireo
115	Red-eyed Vireo
116	Blue Jay	u v	YRR	RG
117	Western Scrub-Jay	u v	YRR	RG
118	American Crow
119	Common Raven	u v w	YRR	I	Nests nearby.
120	Purple Martin	u v	SR	RG
121	Tree Swallow
122	Northern Rough-winged Swallow				First recorded 10/4/08
123	Cliff Swallow
124	Cave Swallow
125	Barn Swallow	u v
126	Carolina Chickadee	u v	YRR	RG
127	Black-crested Titmouse	u v	YRR	RG
128	Bushtit
129	Red-breasted Nuthatch	u v w	A	X
130	Rock Wren
131	Canyon Wren	u	YRR	I
132	Carolina Wren	u	YRR	RG
133	Bewick's Wren	u v	YRR	RG
134	House Wren
135	Golden-crowned Kinglet
136	Ruby-crowned Kinglet	u	WR	RG
137	Blue-gray Gnatcatcher	u	M	C
138	Eastern Bluebird
139	Hermit Thrush	u v	WR	U	comes to the bird bath; heard as often as seen
140	American Robin	u	WR	I	Usually around, but often only seen at dawn or dusk. Numbers vary greatly from one year to the next.
141	Gray Catbird				1st seen 5/2/11 during an active spring migration when a strong cold front grounded many birds. It was eating an orange.
142	Northern Mockingbird	u v	YRR	C
143	Curve-billed Thrasher	u v
144	European Starling
145	American Pipit
146	Cedar Waxwing	u	WR	C	numbers vary from year to year, and day to day
147	Blue-winged Warbler
148	Tennessee Warbler
149	Orange-crowned Warbler	u v w	WR	U
150	Nashville Warbler
151	Yellow Warbler	u	M	U
152	Chestnut-sided Warbler				1st occurrence for yard 5/8/11
153	Magnolia Warbler
154	Yellow-rumped Warbler	u	WR	U	For my yard, some years a winter resident and others only seen as a migrant. Winter resident in general area.
155	Golden-cheeked Warbler
156	Black-throated Green Warbler	u	M	U	Usually seen at least once or twice during spring migration. Sometimes in small groups (3-4 individuals).
157	Blackburnian Warbler	u	A	X
158	Pine Warbler
159	Bay-breasted Warbler	u v	A	X	1st occurrence for yard, 5/1/11
160	Black-and-White Warbler	u v	M	I
161	American Redstart
162	Mourning Warbler
163	Wilson's Warbler	u v	M	U
164	Yellow-breasted Chat	u			Added Sept 2011. One individual stuck around for about 2 weeks, eating grapes from a feeder.
165	Summer Tanager	u v	SR	I
166	Scarlet Tanager
167	Spotted Towhee	u	M	X	Added at long last in April 2010. My habitat seems right, but they just don't show up here. A winter species locally.
168	Canyon Towhee
169	Cassin's Sparrow
170	Rufous-crowned Sparrow	u v	YRR	RG
171	Chipping Sparrow	u v w	WR	RG
172	Clay-colored Sparrow	u v	WR	U	present in small numbers (1-2 individuals); takes effort to find among much larger numbers of Chipping Sparrows
173	Brewer's Sparrow
174	Field Sparrow
175	Lark Sparrow	u v	YRR	U
176	Grasshopper Sparrow
177	Song Sparrow
178	Lincoln's Sparrow	u v	WR	U
179	White-crowned Sparrow	u v	M	I	locally a winter resident, but rarely shows up in my yard
180	Dark-eyed Junco	u	WR	I	usually only one, seen on and off for a few weeks; not seen every winter
181	Northern Cardinal	u v w	YRR	RG
182	Rose-breasted Grosbeak	u	A	X
183	Black-headed Grosbeak	u v w	A	X	photo 1 = immature; photos 2,3 = adult male
184	Blue Grosbeak	u v	SR	I	nests locally; usually just one pair and their offspring seen
185	Lazuli Bunting	u v w	A	X	not expected, but seen the last several springs
186	Indigo Bunting	u v	M	U
187	Painted Bunting	u v	SR	C	Has become more common in my yard. Regular during the summer of 2009, a year of severe drought.
188	Dickcissel
189	Red-winged Blackbird	u	SR	I	Numbers vary with the level of the neighborhood lake. A breeding resident when the weather allows suitable habitat to be present.
190	Western Meadowlark				Added 10/31/2010. Seen, and fortunately, heard 'chucking' to provide id. (both Eastern and Western are present in the area)
191	Yellow-headed Blackbird
192	Common Grackle	u	M	U	Transitioning to a regular summer resident (at least for summer 2010; juveniles have been seen in late June)
193	Great-tailed Grackle
194	Bronzed Cowbird	u	SR?	RG	1st seen, 4/30/11, but daily since then (and 2 seen at times). Remains to be seen if it will become 'resident'.
195	Brown-headed Cowbird	u	SR/M	C	More common some years then others.
196	Orchard Oriole	u	SR	I	Probably nests nearby; many spring and fall migrants
197	Bullock's Oriole	u v	M	U	Northern Orioles are common fall migrants, but identifiable Bullock's are less common than Baltimore's.
198	Baltimore Oriole	u v	M	U
199	Scott's Oriole	u v w	SR	U	See the Blackbirds and Orioles page for more pictures.
200	Purple Finch
201	House Finch	u v	YRR	RG
202	Pine Siskin	u v w x	WR	RG
203	Lesser Goldfinch	u v	YRR	RG	nests locally; numbers higher in winter
204	American Goldfinch	u v	WR	RG
205	House Sparrow	u	YRR	RG

This site was last updated 12/29/11