Some of us have been wedged into meeting rooms this week, talking about how to make a great bird ID tool. One thing is clear: it’s going to take some time to develop the perfect Ident-O-Matic (some might call it the Petertron) – a tool that can pinpoint any of North America’s 700+ bird species based solely on a user’s recollections of traits like size, color, shape, beak size or, say, number of toes or aroma….
But we don’t want you to get impatient. So we’ll develop the tool in discrete stages that we can roll out over the course of development. (We’ll likely show you test versions of each stage in advance – keep your eyes on this blog).
For the first stage, we envision a tool that guides you to identifying around 120 common bird species through a short series of questions covering location, plumage color(s), general size, shape, and behavior. Later, upgrades will expand the number of species covered and make the searches more pictorial.
So naturally, the first question is: Which 120 birds make the list? Four of us squared off around a table to answer: Alex (representing Boston), Laura (Minnesota), Sam (Texas), and me (California). After agreeing on American Goldfinch, Black-capped Chickadee, and Red-breasted Nuthatch, the discussion branched out.
“Scissor-tailed Flycatcher? Bohemian Waxwing?”
“If we do California Quail, should we do Gambel’s Quail?”
“Sorry Hugh. Marbled Murrelet is not a backyard bird.”
To build our list, we’re also looking at Project FeederWatch results and popular All About Birds species accounts. Right now we’re whittling down a list of about 150 – but we’re concerned we might be forgetting some. So let us know: What kinds of birds do you have flitting around your town, or singing from your hedges, that we ought to be thinking about?
Coming next week: What makes identification hard or easy?
(Image: Scissor-tailed Flycatcher by Laura Erickson)
43 Comments
Neat! In my Austin, TX neighborhood I’m writing an article for my neighborhood association that lists the 20 most common year-round resident backyard birds. Based on my 3 years of eBird records for the neighborhood, I came up with this list:
Red-shouldered Hawk
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Eastern Screech-Owl
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Blue Jay
Carolina Chickadee
Black-crested Titmouse
Carolina Wren
Bewick’s Wren
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle
Great-tailed Grackle
Lesser Goldfinch
House Finch
House Sparrow
I would include a lot of prairie birds:
Dickcissel
Bobolink
Grasshopper Sparrow
Savananah Sparrow
Henslow’s Sparrow
How about all the sparrows?? People claim they are hard to ID, but most are pretty distinct when you get a good look.
Loads of warblers!!
How about all 100 birds in the Birder’s Conservation Handbook? That would only leave 20 more…
My favorite is the black-capped chickadee but you already have that one covered. I have Rose-breasted Grosbeak and the Gray Cat Bird (he sings pretty)
I posted an answer at my blog, with a top 40 of the local species for me.
I’m a fan of the woodpeckers; especially the southeastern woodpeckers:
Red-Cockaded
Hairy
Downy
Pileated
Red-bellied
Red-headed
Sapsucker
Flicker
Ivorybill(?)
I’m with Alan on the woodpeckers – espcially the Red-headed vs. Red-bellied for comparison purposes for those unfamiliar with them. (People tell me all the time about the “red-headed woodpecker” they have coming to their feeder here in Mass – every time it’s been a Red-bellied)
A few other suggestions (not mentioned yet by others):
Scarlet Tananger, Blue-headed Vireo, Cedar Waxwing, Dark-eyed Junco, House and Carolina Wrens.
Here in FL, the most common birds I see are:
Tufted Titmouse
Blue Jay
Cardinal
Carolina Chickadee
Carolina Wren
Pileated Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Mourning Dove
American & Fish Crows
Laughing Gull
Red-shouldered Hawk
Osprey
Turkey & Black Vultures
Cattle Egret
White Ibis
In the winter here I see more variety, such as warblers, sparrows, finches, and other migrants, but the above list is fairly consistant year-round for my area.
I would like you to focus on the identification challenges… how to tell all those “little grey birds” and “little brown birds” apart. For example, I’m having a hellofa time IDing a little grey and tan bird I see in the mountains that hovers at Aspen buds/flowers. I’d love to see a list of possibles narrowed by region and habitat, so I could listen to the calls and compare them.
My backyard birds… Salt Lake City, Utah:
Mourning Dove
Downy Woodpecker
Scrub Jay
Black-capped Chickadee
American Robin
European Starling
American Goldfinch
Lesser Goldfinch
House Finch
House Sparrow
Lazuli Bunting
American Kestrel
White-crowned Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Black-billed Magpie
Red-crowned Kinglet
Northern Flicker
Pine Siskin
That’s an interesting challenge. We’ve had visiting our feeder – on the Kenai Peninsula (AK):
Gray Jay
Stellar Jay – coastal form
Yellow Rumped Myrtle Warbler
Townsend Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Orange Crowned Warbler
Boreal and Black-capped chickadee
Red Breasted Nuthatch
Junco
Sooty Fox Sparrow
Breaking down by region would be helpful, as I probably won’t see a Vireo – any variety – any time soon.
I live in Vallejo, at the NE corner of the San Francisco bay. We see a lot of migratory birds and wetland residents. I’d like help identifying similar breeds, for example, I’m not sure if I’m seeing Killdeers or Semipalmated Plovers at a marsh near my house, or maybe both. I’ve seen them do the fake broken wing thing, but that isn’t mentioned in my Sibley guidebook. I started doing ebird but I’m still unsure about a lot of birds and I didn’t want to fill it up with wrong information.
There is another bird I’ve seen around here that I’m not sure of – it looks like a sparrow with a lot of yellow around the breast and neck – there are lots of similar birds in the book! Maybe a Townsend Warbler?
here are locals that I am sure of:
Black phoebe
House Finch
Cliff Swallow
Nuttall’s woodpecker (frequent our old fruit trees & phone poles)
Mockingbirds
Scrub Jays
doves (probably mourning)
Red shouldered hawk
red winged blackbird (bicolored – variety)
Greater egret
Lesser egret
Black Necked stilt
Great blue heron
coots
cormorants
mallards
lesser scaup
brown pelicans
white pelicans
Grebes (western?)
Canada Geese
Turkey Vulture
Crows
Ravens
Starlings
pigeons
house sparrows (way too many of these)
seen only once or twice:
Robin
peregrine falcon
American Kestrel
white tailed kite
Pheasants (a pair, in semi-developed area last fall)
Black crowned night heron (more common in Oakland)
Not sure of identification
California Thrasher
Western Kingbird
Killdeer/Plover
various seagulls
Thanks for this site!
I personally would like to see the following:
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)
Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)
Least Tern (Sternula antillarum)
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)
Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
Barred Owl (Strix varia)
Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica)
Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis)
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus forficatus)
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota)
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)
Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina)
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna)
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)
Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus).
Thank you.
From the SF bay area:
Anna’s Hummingbirds
Black phoebes
Chestnut backed chickadee
California Towhee
House Finch
Bushtit
Nuttall’s woodpecker
Redshafted flicker
Mockingbird
Scrub Jays
Mourning doves
Common egret
Snowy Egret
Blackbird
Great blue heron
Cooper’s hawk
Brown pelicans
Canada Geese
Turkey
Crows
Ravens
Starlings
Pigeons
Black crowned sparrows
I live in San Ramon California, and here are the top 15
bird species that I see around my neighborhood.
1. House Finch
2. California Towhee
3. Black Phoebe
4. Mourning Dove
5. White-tailed Kite
6. Downy Woodpecker
7. Peregrine Falcon
8. Hairy Woodpecker
9. House Sparrow (Much more common in Spring)
10. California Quail
11. Great Egret
12. Purple Finch
13. California(n) Scrub Jays (Though very common in Summer)
14. Cooper/Sharp-shinned Hawks
15. Great Blue Heron
Thanks birdude – and the other listers on this thread. Your suggestions are updated in the word cloud at the top of the Listmania post. Check’em out…
Here are a few of the birds I see and would like them to be on the list:
1. Eastern Bluebird
2. White-tailed Tropicbird
3. Bermuda Petrel
4. Northern Cardinal
5. Greater black-backed gull
6. House Sparrow
7. European Starling
8. European Goldfinch
9. Barn Owl
10.White-eyed Vireo
Top 15 common birds around my apartment at Pasadena, CA:
Mourning Dove
Northern Mockingbird
House Finch
House Sparrow
European Starling
Rock Pigeon
Allen’s Hummingbird
Anna’s Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
American Crow
Western Scrub-Jay
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-chevroned Parakeet
Bushtit
Well, foremost in my mind (and ears) right now is the House Wren. I’m sure many people across the country and world are hearing what I’ve been hearing for at least 14 hours a day lately, male house wrens singing their heads off.
As a northeast birder my suggestion would be to focus some on the identification of sparrows and wrens (one from another) as well as hawks, falcons, waders, gulls and warblers. In my own experience these are the hardest to identify either because of great similarities or having to view from a great distance. The shore birds are just tough to identify in general. Of course these do not apply to al regions so…
I live in a rural section of Nevada County, CA and see many birds that are not commonly seen in the rest of the county. But here is a list of birds that I think are quite common in the county as a whole.
Mourning Dove
Anna’s Hummingbird
American Crow
Common Raven
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
Brewer’s Blackbird
Spotted Towhee
Stellar’s Jay
Western Scrub Jay
Turkey Vulture
Canada Goose
American Robin
English Sparrow
Dark Eyed Junco
Western Bluebird
Mountain Bluebird
Great ideas! I would add that in this northernmost coastal corner of California, our backyard populations vary enormously by season. Whereas I would put Dark-eyed Junco first in winter, they are gone in summer. All year, though, the Steller’s Jay is our most frequent visitor. Right now, they are joined by red breasted woodpeckers, northern flickers, black headed grosbeaks and American finches in numbers, augmented by Allen’s and Anna’s hummingbirds as the flowers appear.
Where I live in south central Indiana, the following are the most common:
Mourning Dove
House Finch
House Sparrow
Gold Finch
Northern Cardinal
European Starling
Downy Woodpecker
Blue Jay
American Robin
Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Black-capped Chickadee
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Indigo Bunting
Blue Bird
American Crow
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Mallard
Canada Goose
Great Blue Heron
Green-backed Heron
Belted Kingfisher
Cedar Waxwing
Hairy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Red-headed Woodpecker
Tufted Titmouse
Birds that I see in my yard:
brown-headed nuthatch
red-breasted nuthatch
white-breasted nuthatch
American goldfinch
Carolina chickadee
Carolina wren
Northern cardinal
Bluejay
Pileated woodpecker
red bellied woodpecker
downy woodpecker
mourning dove
common crow
Robin
Purple finch
Wild turkey
We spend part of our summer on an island in the St Lawrence River. Would the birds we see commonly in our “backyard” qualify for the list?
Great Blue Heron Common Tern
Osprey Phoebe
American Eagle Gold Finch
Canada Goose Purple Finch
Mallard Cormorant
Ring Billed Gull House Wren
Common Merganser
Ruby Throated Hummingbird
Western NC mountains
These are the year-round most common
Cardinal
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Towhee
House Finch
Goldfinch
European Starling
Common Grackle
Eastern Bluebird
Mourning Dove
Downy Woodpecker
Carolina Wren
Song Sparrow
Blue Jay
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown-headed Cowbird
Those that visit by season
Indigo Bunting – summer
Rose Breasted Grosbeak – summer
Junco – winter
Brown Thrasher – summer
Ruby-throated Hummingbird – summer
White-throated Sparrow – winter
Catbird – summer
Fox Sparrow -winter
I’ve got a long list of species we’ve seen here at our farm in SE Indiana. We “run” it for the wild animals so it is no wonder we have so many birds visiting here.
American Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Green Heron (yearly breeding pair with 3-4 chicks per year)
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture (breeding site less than 1/2 mile from farm)
Canada Geese
American Black Duck
Blue Winged Teal
Mallard
Ring Necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Hooded Merganser
Bufflehead
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp Shinned Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk (breeding site less than 1/2 mile from farm)
Broad winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Wild Turkey (flock located in woods behind farm)
American Coot
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Mourning Dove
Rock Dove
Great Horned Owl
Barred Owl
Common Nighthawk
Whip-poor-will
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher (breeds by our creek)
Red -headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
(all above woodpecker species breed in our woods)
Olive-sided Fly Catcher
Eastern Pewee (breeds in woods)
Acadian Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe (has chicks on my front porch right now!!!)
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough Winged Swallow
barn Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Winter Wren
Gold-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Wood Thrush
American Robin (breeding in front garden spruce tree)
Gray Catbird (breeding in backyard Viburnum bush)
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler (first time seen this year on our farm!)
Pine Warbler
Palm Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Louisiana Water Thrush
Common Yellow Throat
Yellow-breasted Chat
Summer Tanager
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
American Tree Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
bobolink
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole (nesting in Catalpa trees less than 200 feet from house)
Baltimore Oriole
Purple Finch
House Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Sorry this is so long, but after 10 years and building this place to be
for animals and birds, we are very proud to be able to host so many
full time residents, breeding pairs, and migrants who stop in to
fish and hunt for their food on their way to breeding or wintering
grounds.
You already have my lists from Project Feeder Watch for winter. For summer, I would have to add the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird and the Catbird too. Once you have the most common bird list how about adding how high they typically like to feed in the trees? My trees are 80 feet tall and it would be a great help in my ID’s.
Auburn, Al.
Here are birds I see around Santa Cruz, CA. I’m a beginner birder, so these may not necessarily be the most common, but they’re the ones I’ve figured out.
western grebe
brown pelican
double-crested cormorant
great blue heron
snowy egret
pigeon guillemot
turkey vulture
Canada goose
mallard
red-tailed hawk
California quail
American coot
black turnstone
herring gull
ring-billed gull
mourning dove
Anna’s hummingbird
black phoebe
western scrub jay
American crow
barn swallow
American robin
northern mockingbird
European starling
California towhee
dark-eyed junco
red-winged blackbird
house finch
house sparrow
Birds in my garden in Corrales, New Mexico are
spotted towhee
blue grosbeak
white-breasted nuthatch
american goldfinch
lesser goldfinch
pine siskin
cassin’s finch
broad-tailed hummingbird
rufous hummingbird
gambel’s quail
downy woodpecker
northern flicker
curved-bill thrasher
bewick’s wren
mourning dove
cooper’s hawk
sharp-shinned hawk
american kestrel
screech owl
long-eared owl
western tanager
red-winged blackbird
american robin
steller’s jay
starling
barn swallow
Here are some common birds from our feeders and general neighborhood:(Southeastern PA)
American Robins
Tufted Titmice
Carolina Chickadees
Indigo Buntings
Chipping Sparrows
Song Sparrows
Field Sparrows
Mourning Doves
Downy Woodpeckers
Hairy Woodpeckers
Red-bellied Woodpeckers
Northern Flickers
Pileated Woodpeckers
Great-horned Owls
Eastern Screech-owls
Gray Catbirds
Northern Mockingbirds
White-breasted Nuthatches
Red-breasted Nuthatches
Red-winged Blackbirds
Common Grackles
American Goldfinches
House Finches
Wood Thrushes
Eastern Bluebirds
Ovenbirds
Eastern Phoebes
Eastern Wood-pewees
Great-crested Flycatchers
Brown Creepers
White-throated Sparrows (winter)
Wild Turkeys
Brown-headed Cowbirds
Blue Jays
American Crows
Cooper’s Hawks
Turkey Vultures
Black Vultures
Red-tailed Hawks
American Kestrels
Killdeer
Canada Geese
Mallards
Great Blue Herons
That is all I can come up with off the top of my head…
In my northern New Mexico yard, the most common birds in winter are:
house finch
juniper titmouse
bushtit
pinyon jay
western scrub jay
bewick’s wren
canyon towhee
spotted towhee
red shafted flicker
junco
common raven
magpie
american goldfinch
mountain chickadee
cassin’s finch
In summer the common birds are:
black headed grosbeak
mourning dove
western bluebird
lesser goldfinch
common nighthawk
turkey vulture
house finch
juniper titmouse
spotted towhee
canyon towhee
common raven
western scrub jay
magpie
bewick’s wren
say’s phoebe
Here’s what I’ve seen in my backyard in Central Florida:
brown thrasher
white winged dove
mourning dove
common ground dove
northern mockingbird
northern cardinal
blue jay
quail (FL species)
palm warbler
sandhill crane (flyover)
red shouldered hawk
white crowned sparrow
goldfinch
red bellied woodpecker
chipping sparrow
grey catbird
vulture
whip-poor-will (heard only)
Where is our little, humble, ever busy, Ruby-Throated Hummingbird? They are at my feeder ALL summer, and I love them!
Here in Smyrna, GA, our favorite visitors are the woodpeckers and nuthatches. We currently have a resident family of redheads, whose startling beauty stops me in my tracks every time I see them.
We see daily this time of year:
Redheaded woodpecker
Red-bellied woodpecker
Downy woodpecker
White-breasted nuthatch
Brown-headed nuthatch
Eastern bluebird
Northern cardinal
Rufous-sided towhee
Mockingbird
Brown thrasher
Robin
Chickadee
Titmouse
House finch
Mourning dove
Blue jay
Carolina Wren
Rubythroated hummingbird
I would like to see how to identify the blue gray gnat catcher, phoebe, eastern king bird,parula warbler, red shoulder, red tailed sharp shinned hawk. I believe I have all of these at our school campus.
We alos have the mourning dove, ground dove, rock pigeon, tufted titmouse, cardinal, blue jay, red-wing blackbird, great blue heron, anhinga, osprey, sand hill crane, egret, cattle egret, ibis, turkey vulture
We live on the high plains near Great Falls, MT.
Some of our most common birds:
Western Meadowlark
Horned Lark
Savannah Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Long-billed Curlew
Kestrel
Short-eared owl
Northern Harrier
Cliff Swallow
Swainson’s Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk (winter)
Sharp-tailed Grouse
Ring-necked Pheasant
Great Horned Owl
Osprey
Canada Goose
In the yard:
Goldfinch
House Finch
Brewers Blackbird
Red-wing Blackbird
Pine Siskin (winter)
Common Redpoll (winter)
Tree Swallow
Mourning Dove
Robin
Say’s Phoebe
Eastern Kingbird
Western Kingbird
In interior Alaska, in the boreal forest with fields across the road near Delta Junction, summer bird identification is the difficulty. In the winter I can easily tell a Black-capped Chickadee from a Boreal or a Red-Breasted Nuthatch and a Downy Woodpecker from a Hairy. It’s those summer birds that look so much alike that are hard to identify as they flit through my birch and spruce, picking bugs from the top, running on the floor or sitting somewhere near making an odd call. So, my list would include:
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Myrtle Warbler
Townsend’s Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Wilson’s Warbler
Swainson’s Thrush
Hermit Thrush
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Varied Thrush
American Robin
American Tree Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
Western Wood-Pewee
Hammond’s Flycatcher
Violet-green Swallow
Tree Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Northern Goshawk
American Kestrel
Merlin
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
Spruce Grouse
Ruffed Grouse
Sharp-tailed Grouse
Rufous Hummingbird (an oddity in late summer)
Boreal Owl
Short-eared Owl
Great Gray Owl
Great Horned Owl
Northern Hawk Owl
I echo the birds listed by James McVoy as I also live in Southeastern PA. But also add vireos to the list.
The Carolina wren is one of my favorite birds. As a West Coast to North Carolina transplant, this creature is a real treat in every way. The bird exhibits a true curiosity and tenacity I’ve not really observed in most others – she just has an enormous vigor for life.
Other favorites… some specific to our new home in the NC Piedmont.
Mockingbird
Black-capped or Carolina Chickadee
Brown thrasher
Barred owl (remarkably common in NC yards)
Carolina chickadee
California favorites…
Black phoebe (a handsome bird!)
Scrub jay
My central FL summer backyard bird list:
Northern Cardinal
Mockingbird
Blue Jay
Brown Thrasher
Tufted Titmouse
Blue Grey Gnatcatcher
Morning Dove
House Finch
Common Grackle
White Ibis
Red Shoulder Hawk
Red Bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Northern Parula Warbler
Carolina Wren
Red Wing Blackbird
American Crow
Ruby Throat Hummingbird
Great Crested Flycatcher
frequent vulture & Osprey sightings
occasionally hear an owl, don’t know which, and if I go to our pond at the end of the street there are often mallard ducks, egrets, great blue herons, blue green bitterns, etc.
Mourning dove
white dove
I wish I had seen this blog entry back in June. Drat! I was very pleased to see the vast georgraphy of the country represented at your roundtable. There are a large number of us birders in the south (east, central, and west), and we get more species in winter than in summer. What fun! Especially since the weather can be absolutely terrific in winter. So you *must* consider winter plumages in your ID tool.
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