Garden / Yard List 2021 (1 Viewer)

[birdmeister]

Amazing image quality BM from a cellphone!...what phone and optic spec do you have? 👍

The phone is a Google Pixel on its last legs battery-wise (sigh...), but the scope is what makes the shot. It's a Kowa TSN, I think around 65mm for plenty of light. I can't complain about it one bit!

 

[Richard Prior]

Phones with cameras inside them, what will they think of next?
My trusty Box Brownie was to hand to immortalise today's addition, one that I had resigned myself to not seeing this spring (as happened last year). It's easily the latest date for my first sighting of the year here, 2017/8/9 first dates range from 21 April to 5 May. Still only 8°C at its warmest today so I hope it finds enough to eat!

76 Common Redstart

 

[KenM]

As a species Richard...they don’t come much better!

Jammy Bugger...👍

 

[Richard Prior]

As a species Richard...they don’t come much better!

Jammy Bugger...👍

I agree, it was seeing a male Redstart in the garden when I was 8 years old that got me hooked on birds ( that and our primary school class teacher that took the class out for nature walks ( all 30 plus of us!))👍

 

[birdmeister]

And one more today with a

91. Common Nighthawk

winging its way north. It seems likely that I'll break 100 at some point this year, a mark I only beat last year. Would be nice to do it again, especially considering that I'm in the yard much less this year.

 

[birdmeister]

A decent migration morning was not quite as busy as I expected, but still pleasant enough. It gave me four new additions too, a good boost in my quest for 100. Here are the totals for species actively migrating:

Chimney Swift - 3
92. Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 1
Common Loon/Great Northern Diver - 1
Double-crested Cormorant - 1
Great Blue Heron - 2
Eastern Kingbird - 12 (good count)
Blue Jay - 130
93. Bank Swallow/Sand Martin - 5
Barn Swallow - 7
swallow sp. - 2
Cedar Waxwing - 66
Purple Finch - 1 (late)
94. Pine Siskin - 1 (late)
American Goldfinch - 6
finch sp. - 5
sparrow sp. - 1
Bobolink - 2
warbler sp. - 3
Indigo Bunting - 1
passerine sp. - 14
bird sp. - 2 (so far away I couldn't tell if swallows or shorebirds)


Plus I heard a

95. Pileated Woodpecker

sound off in the distance several times. One of the highlights early on was having a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak in the yard! I've recorded them as flyovers a few times before, but this is a new one in the yard. My usual "quality" photos are below.

I should add, the Evening Grosbeak pic thrown in at the end is NOT from the yard, but rather the visitor center at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary where I was yesterday. It was my first time seeing this rare species perched! My vote is Evening Grosbeak over Hawfinch, but I'd take the latter too!

 

[kuzeycem]

After my lifer White Wagtail that I saw in 2011, today was the second time I had a Turkish tick in my home patch. But this time it was a much more exciting and enigmatic species - River Warbler! I've been fantasizing about finding one ever since I read about their numbers being unusually high this year in Israel and today was the day. It was of course very skulking and only allowed brief views and very poor photographs but nevertheless I'm more than happy.
Otherwise very nice May morning with a record 39 species. Also passed the 100 mark today.
eBird here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S88253453

16 May
99. Masked Shrike
100. Rosy Starling
101. Squacco Heron (new species-#122)
102. River Warbler (new species-#123)

 

[Richard Prior]

Brilliant K! I’m also hoping that River Warbler will come a bit further west this year as well!

 

[MikeInPA]

Migration is strange this year, we've had NW winds for a couple of weeks when the main push of birds normally arrive. This year the majority of the species are here but just in low numbers. By now I've normally got American Redstarts and Chestnut-sided hopping all over my waterfall. I've only seen a couple of Redstarts and still haven't see a Chestnut-sided in the yard. Wether they're still to come or they been filtering through is anybodies guess. In normal years Blackpoll Warblers usually are the last to arrive. Still haven't seen one or reported so maybe there's still a load of birds to come.

 

[kevinsl06]

I can't be complain about how my yard list is going this year!

 

[Richard Prior]

That’s a BIG list Kevin ( but everything’s bigger in Texas, right?).

 

[KenM]

Migration is strange this year, we've had NW winds for a couple of weeks when the main push of birds normally arrive. This year the majority of the species are here but just in low numbers. By now I've normally got American Redstarts and Chestnut-sided hopping all over my waterfall. I've only seen a couple of Redstarts and still haven't see a Chestnut-sided in the yard. Wether they're still to come or they been filtering through is anybodies guess. In normal years Blackpoll Warblers usually are the last to arrive. Still haven't seen one or reported so maybe there's still a load of birds to come.

Let’s hope so Mike!
I’ve not had a Willow Warbler yet, normally by this time 2-3 would have passed through 😮 also Chiffies again 8-9 by now...just had the 3!
It’s just the local Swifts that are in normal nos.for the present.👍

 

[KenM]

I can't be complain about how my yard list is going this year!
View attachment 1385902

You’re only seven short of my 38 year garden list!!!😮😮😮👍

 

[MikeInPA]

Let’s hope so Mike!
I’ve not had a Willow Warbler yet, normally by this time 2-3 would have passed through 😮 also Chiffies again 8-9 by now...just had the 3!
It’s just the local Swifts that are in normal nos.for the present.👍

I’m heading up to my friends house in a bit to photograph at his waterfall. He lives up in the hills with miles and miles of contiguous woodland. He gets stuff I don’t. His numbers are way down as well though he had a Kentucky the other day. I NEED Kentucky. Wish me luck.
🙂

 

[Warixenjalka]

Yesterday BirdLife Finland organized "Big Garden Watch". At 5AM I climbed on sauna's roof. At 8AM I climbed down (for morning coffee) and stayed on ground - and garden - till 1PM. Results were 44 species, 17 new ones and only one short from my garden year list before Sunday.
New species were:

#46. Black-throated Diver - 100+ migrating
#47. Eurasian Buzzard
#48. Common Crane
#49. Oystercatcher
#50. Caspian Tern
#51. Arctic Tern - new for garden
#52. Little Gull - not annual
#53. Lesser Black-backed Gull
#54. Eurasian Cuckoo - new for garden (but heard only)
#55. Common Swift
#56. Wryneck - (heard only)
#57. Barn Swallow
#58. Thrush Nightingale - (heard only)
#59. Lesser Whitethroat
#60. Garden Warbler - (heard only)
#61. Willow Warbler
#62. Watch it yourself from picks. Garden lifer, Finnish lifer, World lifer and even Universum lifer! 😵🥂🍻🤣

I should do my own "Big Garden Watch" in every month...

 

[ClarkWGriswold]

Walking back down the lane I could hear a Greenfinch singing away in the neighbours Oak. Of course by the time I got to the back garden it had stopped! Scanning the tree with my bins I did notice a couple of Swift in the background

41. Common Swift

 

[Richard Prior]

Re: Finland big garden watch lifer:
Definitely a ‘great one to spot’ from the garden Wari!

 

[KenM]

In all 38 years residence....I’ve never heard a sustained song like this...minute+ (Server couldn’t upload file) 😢No.79.....Cuckoo...am over the moon.

 

[Richard Prior]

In all 38 years residence....I’ve never heard a sustained song like this...minute+ (Server couldn’t upload file) 😢No.79.....Cuckoo...am over the moon.

Ooh I'm jealous! But I thought it was the cow that jumped over the moon?

 

[ClarkWGriswold]

In all 38 years residence....I’ve never heard a sustained song like this...minute+ (Server couldn’t upload file) 😢No.79.....Cuckoo...am over the moon.

Snap. Just having a soak in the bath and I can hear a Cuckoo.

42. Cuckoo