[Balcony Birder]

View from a Balcony
(Northeast United States, Delaware, New Castle County)

In 2003 I had the opportunity to bird from my balcony for a year.
The result was 78 species. In 2004 I didn't/couldn't put forth the
same effort. In 2005 my goal is to reach about 60-65 species.
I'm hoping that's a safe number of regulars.

The birds are listed below in this fashion:
alphabetically, North American common name first,
followed by fam/sp name, date (MM,DD,YY).

1. Cardinal, Northern, Cardinalis cardinalis, 3/25/05
2. Catbird, Grey, Dumetella carolinensis, 5/2/05
3. Chickadee, Carolina, Poecile carolinensis, 4/7/05
4. Cowbird, Brown-headed, Molothrus ater, 4/13/005
5. Crow, American, Corvus brachyrhynchos, 3/22/05
6. Crow, Fish, Corvus ossifragus, 4/8/05
7. Dove, Mourning, Zenaida macroura, 3/25/05
8. Dove, Rock, Columba livia, 3/26/05
9. Finch, House, Carpodacus mexicanus, 4/15/05
10. Flicker, Northern, Colaptes auratus, 4/23/05
11. Goose, Canada, Branta canadensis, 3/26/05
12. Hawk, Cooper's, Accipiter cooperii, 3/23/05
13. Heron, Great Blue, Ardia herodias, 4/28/05
14. Jay, Blue, Cyanocitta cristata, 3/25/05
15. Junco, Dark-eyed, Junco hyemalis, 3/22/05
16. Mockingbird, Northern, Mimus polyglottos, 3/26/05
17. Nuthatch, White-breasted, Sitta carolinensis, 3/26/05
18. Phoebe, Eastern, Sayornis phoebe, 4/6/05
19. Robin, American, Turdus migratorius, 3/22/05
20. Sparrow, House, Passer domesticus, 3/22/05
21. Sparrow, Song, Melospiza melodia, 3/26/05
22. Sparrow, White-throated, Zonotrichia albicollis, 3/25/05
23. Starling, European, Sturnus vulgaris, 3/22/05
24. Thrasher, Brown, Toxostoma rufum, 4/28/05
    
25. Titmouse, Tufted, Baeolophus bicolor, 3/26/05
26. Vulture, Turkey, Cathartes aura, 3/26/05
27. Vulture, Black, Coragyps atratus, 5/1/05
    
28. Woodpecker, Red-bellied, Melanerpes carolinus, 4/8/05
29. Woodpecker, Pileated, Dryocopus pileatus, 3/25/05
30. Wren, Carolina, Thryothorus ludovicianus, 4/23/05
31. Wren, House, Troglodytes aedon, 5/2/05
32. Yellowthroat, Common, Geothlypis trichas, 5/2/05
    

Comments
5/3/04 - The Juncos have disappeared, as expected, but the WT
Sparrow is still singing his heart out. The House Wren has stopped
by on the balcony two days in a row. Seeing the Brown Thrasher
was a first from this balcony.

4/28/05 - Unidentified Duck. Maybe one of these years I'll work
on what they look like when they're flying. :o(
4/8/05 - 37 Fish Crow heading WNW between 6:30 and 7:05 a.m.
At about 1pm the Pileated was calling. After about 15 min. it
received a distant answer and a duet began, followed shortly by
the nearby's drumming. I can see how having a Pileated set up
housekeeping in the area could negatively impact my sleep. The
excitement caused by my wild speculations has been dampened
by the dawning pragmatic realities of this possible eventuality. :-/
3/25/05 - The Pileated sure is nice. Usually only hear them a few
times a year, so it was great to have it stop by and visit for a while.
(Saw it again around the 28th and heard one a couple of days ago.
That's just about a year's worth of Pileated in two weeks.)
3/23/05 - 5+ min. look at a juv. in a drizzle - sweet! touch of red
at neck/side of head - very few streaks. (another note on 3/26/05 -
I guess it would be more correct to say that it was a 1st. year bird,
1st yr bird, 1st yr bird, 1st yr bird, 1st yr, 1st yr, 1st yr, 1st, 1st.)
3/22/05 - Not much to crow about, but you have to start
somewhere.