Every year we keep a list of the birds that we see and hear in our yard. Flyovers count. As do birds we only hear (day or night). It’s a fun addition to our birding routine. And one that anyone can do from the place where they live.
In 2018 we tallied 40 species. It seemed like a lot for our suburban Norwalk location. In 2021, possibly due to being home more because of Covid, we winged past that total with 51 species. This past Wednesday morning at 7AM I heard and recorded a Killdeer flying over our backyard. It’s 2022 yardbird number 65 !!
Invariably, our lists are front loaded with birds in January. May is also always a big month. But every time we have a new bird in October or November, it’s a special treat. I’d recommend everyone trying to make their own annual yardbird lists. Fun times birding from the comfort of your home.
Adam Fasciolo
Norwalk, CT
Excellent recommendation Adam. And if you make your yard a “Personal Location” on eBird and report your yard birds, you have a ready-made record by year. I cheat a little and include birds on the open space abutting my yard, because it’s an eBird Hotspot, giving me 148 lifetime and 67 for the current year.
Chris
Chris Wood
COA Vice President
COA Workshop Committee Chair
Woodbury, CT
203 558-0654
On Nov 25, 2022, at 9:08 AM, Adam Fasciolo via CTBirds ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org wrote:
Every year we keep a list of the birds that we see and hear in our yard. Flyovers count. As do birds we only hear (day or night). It’s a fun addition to our birding routine. And one that anyone can do from the place where they live.
In 2018 we tallied 40 species. It seemed like a lot for our suburban Norwalk location. In 2021, possibly due to being home more because of Covid, we winged past that total with 51 species. This past Wednesday morning at 7AM I heard and recorded a Killdeer flying over our backyard. It’s 2022 yardbird number 65 !!
Invariably, our lists are front loaded with birds in January. May is also always a big month. But every time we have a new bird in October or November, it’s a special treat. I’d recommend everyone trying to make their own annual yardbird lists. Fun times birding from the comfort of your home.
Adam Fasciolo
Norwalk, CT
CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing birders together statewide. Please support COA: https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/
CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For list rules and subscription information visit: https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/
Impressive. My yard bird life list is 101.
This year - 30 so far, Nothing unusual. Best bird - Raven.
My yearly list is not likely to grow. The great Warbler flights of the
1980s are a thing of the past. Now I'm lucky if I get one Yellow-Rumped
although I did get a Black-Throated Blue at my feeder for two days in
October a couple of years ago.
Paul Plotnick
Stamford
On Fri, Nov 25, 2022 at 10:18 AM C Wood via CTBirds <
ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> wrote:
Excellent recommendation Adam. And if you make your yard a “Personal
Location” on eBird and report your yard birds, you have a ready-made record
by year. I cheat a little and include birds on the open space abutting my
yard, because it’s an eBird Hotspot, giving me 148 lifetime and 67 for the
current year.
Chris
Chris Wood
COA Vice President
COA Workshop Committee Chair
Woodbury, CT
203 558-0654
On Nov 25, 2022, at 9:08 AM, Adam Fasciolo via CTBirds <
ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> wrote:
Every year we keep a list of the birds that we see and hear in our yard.
Flyovers count. As do birds we only hear (day or night). It’s a fun
addition to our birding routine. And one that anyone can do from the place
where they live.
In 2018 we tallied 40 species. It seemed like a lot for our suburban
Norwalk location. In 2021, possibly due to being home more because of
Covid, we winged past that total with 51 species. This past Wednesday
morning at 7AM I heard and recorded a Killdeer flying over our backyard.
It’s 2022 yardbird number 65 !!
Invariably, our lists are front loaded with birds in January. May is
also always a big month. But every time we have a new bird in October or
November, it’s a special treat. I’d recommend everyone trying to make their
own annual yardbird lists. Fun times birding from the comfort of your home.
Adam Fasciolo
Norwalk, CT
CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing
birders together statewide. Please support COA:
https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/
CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For
list rules and subscription information visit:
https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/
CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing
birders together statewide. Please support COA:
https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/
CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For
list rules and subscription information visit:
https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/
Back in the 80's we all kept dream lists - that was really fun! Haven't added anything in a long while now...
Angela Dimmitt
New Milford
-----Original Message-----
From: Adam Fasciolo via CTBirds ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org
To: ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org
Sent: Fri, Nov 25, 2022 9:08 am
Subject: [CT Birds] Counting Yardbirds
Every year we keep a list of the birds that we see and hear in our yard. Flyovers count. As do birds we only hear (day or night). It’s a fun addition to our birding routine. And one that anyone can do from the place where they live.
In 2018 we tallied 40 species. It seemed like a lot for our suburban Norwalk location. In 2021, possibly due to being home more because of Covid, we winged past that total with 51 species. This past Wednesday morning at 7AM I heard and recorded a Killdeer flying over our backyard. It’s 2022 yardbird number 65 !!
Invariably, our lists are front loaded with birds in January. May is also always a big month. But every time we have a new bird in October or November, it’s a special treat. I’d recommend everyone trying to make their own annual yardbird lists. Fun times birding from the comfort of your home.
Adam Fasciolo
Norwalk, CT
CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing birders together statewide. Please support COA: https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/
CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For list rules and subscription information visit: https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/
Indeed. It's good fun. You can use the Yard Birds function in eBird (under
"Explore") to see how your yard ranks within the county, state, or the
entire US. I have lived in Salisbury for a little over a year and am
sitting at 84 species. As the years go by, it gets tougher and tougher to
add new species. At my former northern Virginia home, it took me nearly 18
years to make it to 146. At times a year or two would go by without a new
species. At our new digs, I am still in the rapid (relatively) accumulation
phase, but given my location, it is likely to taper off dramatically at any
moment!
Best to all, George Wallace
Salisbury, CT
On Fri, Nov 25, 2022 at 10:18 AM C Wood via CTBirds <
ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> wrote:
Excellent recommendation Adam. And if you make your yard a “Personal
Location” on eBird and report your yard birds, you have a ready-made record
by year. I cheat a little and include birds on the open space abutting my
yard, because it’s an eBird Hotspot, giving me 148 lifetime and 67 for the
current year.
Chris
Chris Wood
COA Vice President
COA Workshop Committee Chair
Woodbury, CT
203 558-0654
On Nov 25, 2022, at 9:08 AM, Adam Fasciolo via CTBirds <
ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> wrote:
Every year we keep a list of the birds that we see and hear in our yard.
Flyovers count. As do birds we only hear (day or night). It’s a fun
addition to our birding routine. And one that anyone can do from the place
where they live.
In 2018 we tallied 40 species. It seemed like a lot for our suburban
Norwalk location. In 2021, possibly due to being home more because of
Covid, we winged past that total with 51 species. This past Wednesday
morning at 7AM I heard and recorded a Killdeer flying over our backyard.
It’s 2022 yardbird number 65 !!
Invariably, our lists are front loaded with birds in January. May is
also always a big month. But every time we have a new bird in October or
November, it’s a special treat. I’d recommend everyone trying to make their
own annual yardbird lists. Fun times birding from the comfort of your home.
Adam Fasciolo
Norwalk, CT
CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing
birders together statewide. Please support COA:
https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/
CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For
list rules and subscription information visit:
https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/
CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing
birders together statewide. Please support COA:
https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/
CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For
list rules and subscription information visit:
https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/
Yard list birding is definitely fun and quite motivating towards improving
your backyard habitat. We moved to CT in August 2020, and our small urban
New Haven yard’s list stands at 123 species.
I also second the use of eBird for record keeping, for the fun of tracking
the not-new-but-rare yard birds. For example we just had an American Tree
Sparrow come through on Nov. 14, and I was curious about the dates of the
other sightings. With the “View All” button next to ATSP on my yard list,
it shows me our other sightings were Dec. 20, 2020; Jan 7, 2022; Feb 1,
2022. So this last sighting was only the fourth for the yard list and we
somehow missed one for 2021.
Hopefully with our habitat improvements since 2020, our annual yard list
will be larger AND more consistent from year to year.
Good birding,
Andy McGann
New Haven, CT
(Formerly of PA, VA, DE, and DC)
On Fri, Nov 25, 2022 at 1:36 PM George Wallace via CTBirds <
ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> wrote:
Indeed. It's good fun. You can use the Yard Birds function in eBird (under
"Explore") to see how your yard ranks within the county, state, or the
entire US. I have lived in Salisbury for a little over a year and am
sitting at 84 species. As the years go by, it gets tougher and tougher to
add new species. At my former northern Virginia home, it took me nearly 18
years to make it to 146. At times a year or two would go by without a new
species. At our new digs, I am still in the rapid (relatively) accumulation
phase, but given my location, it is likely to taper off dramatically at any
moment!
Best to all, George Wallace
Salisbury, CT
On Fri, Nov 25, 2022 at 10:18 AM C Wood via CTBirds <
ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> wrote:
Excellent recommendation Adam. And if you make your yard a “Personal
Location” on eBird and report your yard birds, you have a ready-made
record
by year. I cheat a little and include birds on the open space abutting
my
yard, because it’s an eBird Hotspot, giving me 148 lifetime and 67 for
the
current year.
Chris
Chris Wood
COA Vice President
COA Workshop Committee Chair
Woodbury, CT
203 558-0654
On Nov 25, 2022, at 9:08 AM, Adam Fasciolo via CTBirds <
ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> wrote:
Every year we keep a list of the birds that we see and hear in our
yard.
Flyovers count. As do birds we only hear (day or night). It’s a fun
addition to our birding routine. And one that anyone can do from the
place
where they live.
In 2018 we tallied 40 species. It seemed like a lot for our suburban
Norwalk location. In 2021, possibly due to being home more because of
Covid, we winged past that total with 51 species. This past Wednesday
morning at 7AM I heard and recorded a Killdeer flying over our backyard.
It’s 2022 yardbird number 65 !!
Invariably, our lists are front loaded with birds in January. May is
also always a big month. But every time we have a new bird in October or
November, it’s a special treat. I’d recommend everyone trying to make
their
own annual yardbird lists. Fun times birding from the comfort of your
home.
Adam Fasciolo
Norwalk, CT
CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing
birders together statewide. Please support COA:
https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/
CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For
list rules and subscription information visit:
https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/
CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing
birders together statewide. Please support COA:
https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/
CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For
list rules and subscription information visit:
https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/
CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing
birders together statewide. Please support COA:
https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/
CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For
list rules and subscription information visit:
https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/
Counting yard birds. I have been lucky enough for 30 years I was able to count from a yard on Shippan Pt Stamford that faces LIS. With a yard list of 242. Highlights Western Grebe. Manx Shearwater. 34 Jaegers Parasitic and Pom. Razorbills and Murres. Sooty terns. Black-backed Oriole.
Patrick Dugan
Stamford
Sent from my iPhone
On Nov 26, 2022, at 9:03 AM, Andrew McGann via CTBirds ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org wrote:
Yard list birding is definitely fun and quite motivating towards improving
your backyard habitat. We moved to CT in August 2020, and our small urban
New Haven yard’s list stands at 123 species.
I also second the use of eBird for record keeping, for the fun of tracking
the not-new-but-rare yard birds. For example we just had an American Tree
Sparrow come through on Nov. 14, and I was curious about the dates of the
other sightings. With the “View All” button next to ATSP on my yard list,
it shows me our other sightings were Dec. 20, 2020; Jan 7, 2022; Feb 1,
2022. So this last sighting was only the fourth for the yard list and we
somehow missed one for 2021.
Hopefully with our habitat improvements since 2020, our annual yard list
will be larger AND more consistent from year to year.
Good birding,
Andy McGann
New Haven, CT
(Formerly of PA, VA, DE, and DC)
On Fri, Nov 25, 2022 at 1:36 PM George Wallace via CTBirds <
ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> wrote:
Indeed. It's good fun. You can use the Yard Birds function in eBird (under
"Explore") to see how your yard ranks within the county, state, or the
entire US. I have lived in Salisbury for a little over a year and am
sitting at 84 species. As the years go by, it gets tougher and tougher to
add new species. At my former northern Virginia home, it took me nearly 18
years to make it to 146. At times a year or two would go by without a new
species. At our new digs, I am still in the rapid (relatively) accumulation
phase, but given my location, it is likely to taper off dramatically at any
moment!
Best to all, George Wallace
Salisbury, CT
On Fri, Nov 25, 2022 at 10:18 AM C Wood via CTBirds <
ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> wrote:
Excellent recommendation Adam. And if you make your yard a “Personal
Location” on eBird and report your yard birds, you have a ready-made
record
by year. I cheat a little and include birds on the open space abutting
my
yard, because it’s an eBird Hotspot, giving me 148 lifetime and 67 for
the
current year.
Chris
Chris Wood
COA Vice President
COA Workshop Committee Chair
Woodbury, CT
203 558-0654
On Nov 25, 2022, at 9:08 AM, Adam Fasciolo via CTBirds <
ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> wrote:
Every year we keep a list of the birds that we see and hear in our
yard.
Flyovers count. As do birds we only hear (day or night). It’s a fun
addition to our birding routine. And one that anyone can do from the
place
where they live.
In 2018 we tallied 40 species. It seemed like a lot for our suburban
Norwalk location. In 2021, possibly due to being home more because of
Covid, we winged past that total with 51 species. This past Wednesday
morning at 7AM I heard and recorded a Killdeer flying over our backyard.
It’s 2022 yardbird number 65 !!
Invariably, our lists are front loaded with birds in January. May is
also always a big month. But every time we have a new bird in October or
November, it’s a special treat. I’d recommend everyone trying to make
their
own annual yardbird lists. Fun times birding from the comfort of your
home.
Adam Fasciolo
Norwalk, CT
CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing
birders together statewide. Please support COA:
https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/
CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For
list rules and subscription information visit:
https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/
CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing
birders together statewide. Please support COA:
https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/
CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For
list rules and subscription information visit:
https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/
CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing
birders together statewide. Please support COA:
https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/
CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For
list rules and subscription information visit:
https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/
CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing birders together statewide. Please support COA: https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/
CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For list rules and subscription information visit: https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/