Garden / Yard List 2015 (1 Viewer)

[KenM]

An extremely "sobering" day today! Having had to wait in for the electrician, my am appointment turned into a pm...and I'm still waiting :smoke:

However the upside was 6 hours "birding"....yes 6 hours, and with it came (I believe a "day record") 22 species in...and 18 species out, I think the maths are straightforward.

Compared to 30 years ago!...the pluses were RNParakeet, Legret, Common Buzzard and Firecrest, with the minuses...House Sparrow, Marsh Tit, ( Reed/Yellow Bunting) on a good day.

The "sobering" bit was....40 species in 6 hours, that's half my this years "aspired total" (currently one short). :eek!:

 

[Larry Lade]

Legret? Is that Little Egret?

 

[KenM]

Legret? Is that Little Egret?

Yes, that's my abbreviation or being lazy...take your pick

 

[halftwo]

Three more Goosanders this morning.

No chance of Little Egret here (I say to tempt fate!)

 

[KenM]

Three more Goosanders this morning.

No chance of Little Egret here (I say to tempt fate!)

Well.....there have been two drake Goosanders less than a mile from my abode on a local lake during the week!.........:eek!:

 

[lazza]

Well, with my first fly-over Pink-footed Geese of the autumn earlier this week, my garden list (which includes birds seen from the garden as well as those that actually decide to call in) to 45... a new year record for me

But I still think there is some mileage to raise the bar higher still, as so far I have had no visits (that I have witnessed) from the local Great-spotted Woodpecker, and no sightings of any Jays since last December. So two of the "less-frequent-but-common" species have still to make an appearance.

The addition of three new species to the garden list this year have certainly helped, with fly-over sightings of Little Egret and Red Kite, and the appearance of a few Redwing on our rowan trees in the Spring being nice to see. If only I'd been at home when two mute swan flew over the estate a couple of days ago, this might have taken the garden list higher still!

A quick update:

The garden list keeps growing, and with the 4 species below, I've now reached a phenomenal total of 49 species for the year, 5 more than my last two years' counting.

46. Nuthatch
47. Canada Goose
48. Whooper Swan
49. Golden Plover

And other than the Canada geese, these are all garden lifers.

And I reckon I have a chance to hit 50 by year-end, as the GSW seems to be around in the area, and I've seen one a couple of times in the last week on trees just up the road (but frustratingly about 10ft around the bend, making them not visible from the garden!)

I'm also pleased to report that the nuthatch has also become a frequent visitor, having been heard a few times over the last month, and then making a couple of fleeting appearances, before becoming a daily visitor to the feeders in the last week or so.

 

[RyanI]

Its been a bit slow here this month, the couple really good days of seawatching I was on the dunes watching so missed the chance to add quite a few more birds. 7 species behind this time last year and don't think I will reach my 150 target!

138 Long-eared Owl
139 Little Auk
140 Black Redstart
141 Velvet Scoter
142 Whooper Swan

 

[KenM]

A quick update:

The garden list keeps growing, and with the 4 species below, I've now reached a phenomenal total of 49 species for the year, 5 more than my last two years' counting.

46. Nuthatch
47. Canada Goose
48. Whooper Swan
49. Golden Plover

And other than the Canada geese, these are all garden lifers.

And I reckon I have a chance to hit 50 by year-end, as the GSW seems to be around in the area, and I've seen one a couple of times in the last week on trees just up the road (but frustratingly about 10ft around the bend, making them not visible from the garden!)

I'm also pleased to report that the nuthatch has also become a frequent visitor, having been heard a few times over the last month, and then making a couple of fleeting appearances, before becoming a daily visitor to the feeders in the last week or so.

I suspect only a matter of time for the appearance of Great Spot!...mine are hooked on peanuts, particularly the female...perhaps the protein is good for ovulation?

 

[Jos Stratford]

7 species behind this time last year and don't think I will reach my 150 target

Me too, 7 species behind this time last year and only seven days of the year left

...think my total won't move anymore

 

[halftwo]

I'm down a few on last year, & have missed the usual geese & swans during their passage, for instance.

Another adventure in the offing, Jos?

 

[BrendaA]

My first year writing a list. I thought had about 30 species at the most ,very pleased with 46!

 

[joannec]

I'm down a few on last year, & have missed the usual geese & swans during their passage, for instance.

I'm three down on last year and the same as 2013......could get one or two more but only if I'm lucky.

 

[Richard Prior]

With seven garden 'lifers' this year, I've not surprisingly overtaken last year's total, still teetering on 99 for 2015, compared with 91 at the same stage last December.

 

[Jos Stratford]

Mild weather not very conducive to big numbers of birds at my feeders ... was 9 C today, way above December norm.

Tally at my feeding station at present:

Great Spotted Woodpecker - 4 (still expecting winter influx)
Middle Spotted Woodpecker - 2
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker -1
White-backed Woodpecker - 4
Grey-headed Woodpecker - 3
Black Woodpecker - 2

Great Tit - 101
Blue Tit - 11
Marsh Tit - 17
Willow Tit - 4
Long-tailed Tit - mobile flock, c12

Nuthatch - 5
Treecreeper -1

Jay - 7


Catastrophic fall in Great Tit numbers apparent at my feeders - numbers are 30% lower this winter than last year, which themselves were consistently 30% lower than the year before!

 

[Nutcracker]

Great Tit - 101

Catastrophic fall in Great Tit numbers apparent at my feeders - numbers are 30% lower this winter than last year, which themselves were consistently 30% lower than the year before!

Still about 97 more than I've ever seen at one go in my garden!

 

[halftwo]

Jos, maybe it's all those woodies!

Brenda: great stuff - I bet you get more next year.

Richard: come on, let's have the 100!! What's your most likely?

A Peregrine here yesterday. Too late for Merlin now. Not much else to get for me now, barring a miracle.

 

[Richard Prior]

Richard: come on, let's have the 100!! What's your most likely?

A Peregrine here yesterday. Too late for Merlin now. Not much else to get for me now, barring a miracle.

Well, here too I think it's too late for southbound Merlin, Citril Finch, Cormorant and Hen Harrier (all of which were on my 'possibles' list compiled in October). So that leaves Tree Sparrow as most likely, not had a sniff of one up here this year, but they have turned up in December snow storms in the past.

 

[halftwo]

Well, here too I think it's too late for southbound Merlin, Citril Finch, Cormorant and Hen Harrier (all of which were on my 'possibles' list compiled in October). So that leaves Tree Sparrow as most likely, not had a sniff of one up here this year, but they have turned up in December snow storms in the past.

Hope you've got oodles of bird seed out there, Richard. My House Sparrow numbers are increasing as the winter draws on : 25+ now. I'm hoping it might draw in the local Tree Sparrows - though I did have one or two fly over earlier inthe year.

 

[Larry Lade]

Jos, great going on all those woodpeckers!

That is my favorite family of birds.

We have only had four (4) species in our yard this year, 1.Downy, 2.Hairy & 3.Red-bellied Woodpeckers and 4.Northern Flicker. I would expect to get 5.Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at some point. That will be all that I would probably get here in our yard! (There are two other species in our general area, but not in our yard. Those two are 6.Red-headed & 7.Pileated Woodpeckers. We have had the Red-headed Woodpecker ONE TIME and the Pileated Woodpecker NEVER in our yard.)
I have twice seen one western occurring species here in Missouri, Lewis's Woodpecker (but not in our yard).

Our official Missouri Bird Checklist has twelve (12) woodpecker species listed:

Lewis's Woodpecker-transient
1.Red-headed Woodpecker
...Golden-fronted Woodpecker-transient
2.Red-bellied Woodpecker
3.Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
4.Downy Woodpecker
5.Hairy Woodpecker
..*Red-cockaded Woodpecker-(formerly occurring in Missouri now extirpated)
[Black-backed Woodpecker]-(*no definitive state record)
6.Northern Flicker
7.Pileated Woodpecker
...Ivory-billed Woodpecker-(probably extinct)

*In a year's time one may reasonably expect to see all seven (7) species numbered above.
*Sometimes one may be able to see all seven in one day!

*We have lived at this location for over 40 years. During this time I have seen 6 of the 7 in our yard. The only exception is the Pileated Woodpecker.

 

[timsg80]

Nice to be back in Brisbane now!!
21. Laughing Kookaburra
22. Pacific Koel (heard only)

After seeing my first Pacific Koel in Melbourne last month, I've realised that I had been hearing all the time around Queensland without knowing what it was! One was calling this morning from somewhere in the distance.