Thursday, October 1, 2009

News from the backyard…

In the midst of a busy schedule, I am trying to catch up on blog posts and decided to write one on the backyard. It is the time of the year when things begin to pick up in the garden and last Friday, a change in the weather brought in some new visitors. Interestingly, I only birded the yard for 1 hour and in that time, picked up 22 species of birds before leaving for a New York State Ornithological Association Meeting in Montezuma NY – more on that in another post.

The backyard list included:
  1. American Robin (4)
  2. Gray Catbird (9)
  3. Northern Mockingbird (1)
  4. Dark-eyed Junco (1)
  5. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (1)
  6. Winter Wren (2)
  7. Bluejay (5)
  8. House Sparrow (several)
  9. Downy woodpecker (1)
  10. Veery (1)
  11. Hermit Thrush (1)
  12. Swainson’s Thrush (1)
  13. Brown Thrasher (1)
  14. Red-eyed Vireo (1)
  15. White-throated Sparrow (2)
  16. Mourning Dove (3)
  17. Scarlet Tanager (2)
  18. Baltimore Oriole (1)
  19. Northern Cardinal (1)
  20. Common Yellowthroat (2)
  21. Northern Flicker (1)
  22. Yellow-billed Cuckoo (1)
I have started getting my feeders out and plan on making some adjustments to the feeding stations to welcome the fall arrivals. Last year, the autumn highlights included two Yellow-breasted Chats, Purple Finch, Pine Siskins and Fox Sparrows. I am hoping that they return along with new species.

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10 comments:

Dawn Fine said...

Nice backyard birds! I am also trying to catch up on blog reading..i seem to almost catch up...miss a few days reading and get far behind again...
oh well...

BIRDINGDUDE said...

Thank you Dawn for visiting and leaving a comment. I know exactly what you mean :)

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

Twenty-two species in an hour in your backyard is terrific!

What's that berried shrub in your Vireo photo?

Appalachian Lady said...

Nice photos--I have seen an American Redstart for several days, first the female and then the male yesterday. He peeked thru the window while I was on the computer!

Pat said...

What a great back yard you have. Hard to work with those visitors around!

BIRDINGDUDE said...

@Lynne - Hi Lynne, I am going to send you a note on the berry type.

BIRDINGDUDE said...

@Appalachian Lady - Thank you for visiting and leaving a comment. I love Redstarts. Had two of them hanging around leading up to the Friday when I the 22 species, but either they were a no show that day or I missed them when I left.

BIRDINGDUDE said...

@Pat - Hi Pat, thank you for visiting and leaving a comment. I love working outdoors in the backyard. I have learned how to manage my time and not get too distracted - though there are those days when I hear a call that gets me excited, I have to pause and investigate :)

eileeninmd said...

You are seeing some great birds in your backyard. I am hoping to see some new bird show up in my yard. Your ;list is pretty impressive.

BIRDINGDUDE said...

@eileeninmd - Hi thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. It took a lot of work and patience to get the garden to where it is - there so much more to do yet though.