• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

My North American List (1 Viewer)

Bluetail

Senior Moment
My North American List - updated 7 Oct 2005

I've been wondering lately just how many North American birds I've seen so I've finally succumbed to making a list. Considering I've only been across the pond three times and that none of the visits were birding trips I have to admit to being moderately pleased. I've seen most of the species I particularly wanted to and quite a few I didn't expect. Could do with a few more warblers, though.

I've cheated a bit by including North American species that I've only seen in the UK and not actually in America (asterisked on the list below). On the other hand, where species are resident on both sides of the Atlantic, I've only listed them here if I have seen them in North America.

Common Loon
Red-necked Grebe
Horned Grebe
Eared Grebe
* Pied-billed Grebe
Western Grebe
Brown Pelican
Great Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Anhinga
Northern Gannet
American Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Green Heron
Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Wood Stork
Mute Swan
Trumpeter Swan
Canada Goose
Mallard
Black Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Blue-winged Teal
Green-winged Teal
* Canvasback
* Ring-necked Duck
* Lesser Scaup
Common Eider
Harlequin Duck
Long-tailed Duck
Black Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Surf Scoter
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Bald Eagle
Osprey
American Kestrel
Ring-necked Pheasant
Wild Turkey
American Coot
* Sora
* American Golden Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
* Greater Yellowlegs
* Lesser Yellowlegs
Spotted Sandpiper
* Upland Sandpiper
Ruddy Turnstone
Purple Sandpiper
Dunlin
* Pectoral Sandpiper
* White-rumped Sandpiper
* Baird’s Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
* Least Sandpiper
* Long-billed Dowitcher
* Buff-breasted Sandpiper
* Wilson’s Phalarope
Bonaparte’s Gull
* Franklin’s Gull
Laughing Gull
Mew Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Californian Gull
Herring Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Caspian Tern
Foster’s Tern
Black Tern
Pigeon Guillemot
* Ancient Murrelet
Cassin’s Auklet
Mourning Dove
Collared Dove
Feral Pigeon
Common Nighthawk
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker (both red- and yellow-shafted)
Pileated Woodpecker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Red-eyed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
* Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Steller’s Jay
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Tree Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Tufted Titmouse
Black-capped Chickadee
Carolina Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Winter Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Varied Thrush
American Robin
Wood Thrush
* Swainson’s Thrush
* Gray-cheeked Thrush
Hermit Thrush
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
* American Pipit
Cedar Waxwing
Tennessee Warbler
Blue-winged Warbler
* Golden-winged Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Townsend’s Warbler
Palm Warbler
* Blackpoll Warbler
Black and White Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Spotted Towhee
Eastern Towhee
Field Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco (both Slate-coloured & Oregon)
Eastern Meadowlark
Bobolink
Brown-headed Cowbird
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Baltimore Oriole
Evening Grosbeak
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

185 species

Note the lack of empidonax flycatchers. It's not that I haven't seen them; I just didn't feel up to IDing them!

Jason
 
Last edited:
Jason,
Pretty impressive list for just three trips. Took me several years to get to that level! And you're forgiven for the lack of empidonax flycatchers, they are a chore and unless, like me, you're really trying to do all you can to build up that list, they are barely worth the effort. Pretty birds, but difficult to separate!
 
I've been to America twice, got over 100 lifers each time, so my American list (which includes Mexico I should mention) is over 200, but I haven't yet totted up a full American list (including things I've seen both there and here), probably 250-ish.

Now if I do it on Jason's basis, including birds that occur in America that I've only seen over here - it'll probably lengthen considerably! After all, things like Lapwing and Fieldfare are on the American list, so they would have to go down too. Methinks it's cheating to include birds like that ;)

Michael
 
Michael Frankis said:
After all, things like Lapwing and Fieldfare are on the American list, so they would have to go down too. Methinks it's cheating to include birds like that

Quite! But like I said (though I didn't put it very well) I did exclude our regulars that also occur regularly in the States unless I've seen them there. After all, some of them may end up being split as different species (you mentioned Black-billed Magpie recently).

Incidentally, maybe someone can help with one of my mystery birds. Late October '98, Washington state, up some inlet on the Bremerton side of Puget Sound (can't remember exactly where). Saw a small auk whirr by, not particularly close to the water. I immediately thought "Ancient Murrelet!" because the size and pale grey back were exactly like the Lundy bird. But that was all I got on it. Any views on what else it might have been?

Jason
 
I had a baptism of fire Sea-watching off La Jolla. 1000s of Shearewaters, Petrels and auks. I was sticking comparison with what was familiar... The ones that reminded me of Sooties..were Sooties..and the smaller ones were slender-billed! The ones that reminded me of greats were pink-footed and I saw a ringer for Cory's which I believe was a Streaked!

I had a crack at the Petrels.... but waved a big white flag at the auks(lets)! There were so many of them and I didn't have and familiar reference
 
Last edited:
I don't think I'd dare try seawatching unless I was with a guide. Fortunately my Cassin's Auklets were simming just off the seafront in Seattle. Saw these all-grey Little-Auk-like thingies and wondered what the hell they were; I'd never even registered the species' existence. I did succumb to the field guide on that occasion!

Jason
 
That's pretty impressive for you/sad for me considering I live here and my life list currently only has 60 more birds.

As far as your mystery Seattle bird, it could possibly have been an Ancient Murrelet, they're supposed to be around in winter. I was in Washington this Apr-Sept, so I never saw any of them. I did see plenty of Common Murres, Pigeon Guillemots and a few Cassin's Auklets. Those, Marbled Murrelet and Rhinocerous Auklet seem to be your only choices for Alcids. I'm scopeless though, so I'm afraid I can't advise you on particulars of their flight or anything, most times I just have to let anything out of range go unidentified.
 
Many thanks, Strix. It's reasssuring to know that Ancient Murrelet isn't out of the question. I feel fairly sure it was this species. It was definitely a smaller bird than Common Murre (more like the Cassin's Auklets in size), so I guess it's a choice between Ancient and Marbled. The grey back did look to be on the pale side (just like the Ancient Murrelet I saw in the UK). From the few pictures I have seen I imagine that a winter Marbled Murrelet would be a rather darker bird.

It flew up from just behind a long row of moored boats. I was a bit surprised, but then UK auks will often come quite close to shore so I suppose I shouldn't have been.

Jason
 
Marbled is the commoner up Vancouver Island way, Jason, but I've seen lots of Ancients there over the years. Never was much good at i.d. as they whirred by, though. Waited till I caught one sitting down on the water and checked for back contrast and white scaps...
 
Jason,

Your list made me think about my own North American list. I've also been 3 times, twice to the Prairie Provinces of Canada and once to Arizona. So after reading your list I compiled mine and here it is -

Great Northern Diver
Pied-billed Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Slavonian Grebe
Black-necked Grebe
Western Grebe
American White Pelican
Great Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
Green Heron
Snowy Egret
Great Egret
Great Blue Heron
Tundra Swan
Snow Goose
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
American Wigeon
Gadwall
Green-winged Teal
Mallard
Pintail
Blue-winged Teal
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Redhead
Canvasback
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Greater Scaup
Bufflehead
Barrow’s Goldeneye
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Goosander
Ruddy Duck
California Condor
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Northern Goshawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Harris’s Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Swainson’s Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Ferruginous Hawk
Golden Eagle
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
Spruce Grouse
Ruffed Grouse
Sharp-tailed Grouse
Gambel’s Quail
Grey Partridge
Common Pheasant
Wild Turkey
Sandhill Crane
Sora Rail
Purple Gallinule
American Coot
American Avocet
American Golden Plover
Grey Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer Plover
Piping Plover
Red Knot
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Baird’s Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Dunlin
Stilt Sandpiper
Marbled Godwit
Long-billed Curlew
Wilson’s Snipe
Long-billed Dowitcher
Short-billed Dowitcher
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Solitary Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper
Ruddy Turnstone
Wilson’s Phalarope
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
California Gull
Franklin’s Gull
Bonaparte’s Gull
Caspian Tern
Common Tern
Forster’s Tern
Black Tern
Rock Pigeon
American Mourning Dove
White-winged Dove
Inca Dove
Greater Roadrunner
Great Horned Owl
Common Nighthawk
Lesser Nighthawk
Chimney Swift
White-throated Swift
Broad-billed Hummingbird
Blue-throated Hummingbird
Anna’s Humminbird
Costa’s Hummingbird
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
White-eared Hummingbird
Magnificent Hummingbird
Elegant Trogon
Belted Kingfisher
Acorn Woodpecke
Lewis’s Woodpecker
Gila Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Black-backed Woodpecker
Arizona Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Gilded Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Black Phoebe
Say’s Phoebe
Eastern Kingbird
Western Kingbird
Cassin’s Kingbird
Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Eastern Wood-pewee
Western Wood-pewee
Cordilleran Flycatcher
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
Hammond’s Flycatcher
Dusky Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Buff-breasted Flycatcher
Vermilion Flycatcher
Dusky-capped Flycatcher
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Brown-crested Flyctacher
Horned Lark
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Purple Martin
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Sand Martin
American Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Buff-bellied Pipit
Phainopepla
Cedar Waxwing
Sedge Wren
Bewick’s Wren
House Wren
Cactus Wren
Rock Wren
Canyon Wren
Northern Mockingbird
Grey Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Curve-billed Thrasher
Crissal Thrasher
Eastern Bluebird
Mountain Bluebird
Veery
Swainson’s Thrush
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Verdin
Bridled Titmouse
Juniper Titmouse
Black-capped Chickadee
Mountain Chickadee
Boreal Chickadee
Pygmy Nuthatch
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Loggerhead Shrike
Common Starling
Blue Jay
Western Scrub-Jay
Mexican Jay
Grey Jay
Pinyon Jay
American Magpie
Clark’s Nutcracker
American Crow
Chihahuan Raven
Northern Raven
House Sparrow
American Goldfinch
Lesser Goldfinch
Pine Siskin
Purple Finch
House Finch
Common Crossbill
Two-barred Crossbill
Evening Grosbeak
McCown’s Longspur
Chestnut-collared Longspur
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Harris’s Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Chestnut-collared Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Savannah Sparrow
LeConte’s Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Black-throated Sparrow
Black-chinned Sparrow
American Tree Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-coloured Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Rufous-sided Towhee
Canyon Towhee
Abert’s Towhee
Black-striped Sparrow
Pyrrhuloxia
Northern Cardinal
Black-headed Grosbeak
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Varied Bunting
Hepatic Tanager
Summer Tanager
Western Tanager
Black & White Warbler
Lucy’s Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Pine Warbler
Townsend’s Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Grey Warbler
Palm Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Connecticut Warbler
Mourning Warbler
MacGillivray’s Warbler
Wilson’s Warbler
Canada Warbler
Painted Redstart
Hutton’s Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Plumbeous Vireo
Cassin’s Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Bullock’s Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
Hooded Oriole
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Western Meadowlark
Great-tailed Grackle
Common Grackle
Rusty Blackbird
Brewer’s Blackbird
Bronzed Cowbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Bobolink
 
David, that's a very impressive list. So many mouth-watering birds. I envy you the warblers and vireos especially. Glad to see you underwent the empidonax purgatory!

Jason
 
Bluetail said:
David, that's a very impressive list. So many mouth-watering birds. I envy you the warblers and vireos especially. Glad to see you underwent the empidonax purgatory!

Jason

My first visit was to Canada in the Spring so they were all singing! In Arizona I was with a local expert but even he had to leave one or two silent ones as Pacific Slope/Cordilleran.

I don't know when I'll go back but I need to get some seabirds on that list. Mainly American birds which I have seen here but not in North America include Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, Royal Tern, Surf Scoter and Harlequin.
 
David, again, your 3 visit list makes somebody who actually lives here look bad. Although I haven't been to the southwest yet. Lots of Hummers! I'm curious as to where you picked up the Great Cormorant, don't they stick to the eastern US?
 
That's pretty good going Jason. I've managed 325 in six visits (three to Connecticut, one each to Oregon, Illinois and South Carolina. My warbler list is pretty good, but Cape May always eludes me. My daughter lives in Chicago, so I need a family visit in May or September as the city's lake-side parks are fantastic hot-spots for migrants. Last time we had to leave on Apr 27th. On May 1st, Montrose, a tiny park where I did most of my birding, had over 100 species, including 26 different warblers!
 
From Bluetail's list, these all are birds that arecommon enough anywhere here in the middle of the country:

Bank Swallow
Tree Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Tufted Titmouse
Black-capped Chickadee
Carolina Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Winter Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Varied Thrush
American Robin
Wood Thrush

Hermit Thrush
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
* American Pipit
Cedar Waxwing
Tennessee Warbler
... Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak

I've never attempted to sort the Chickadees, and there are hybrids. Carolina Wren is most common in winter.
 
Strix said:
David, again, your 3 visit list makes somebody who actually lives here look bad. Although I haven't been to the southwest yet. Lots of Hummers! I'm curious as to where you picked up the Great Cormorant, don't they stick to the eastern US?

I think I probably included that one as it is so common over here, I think the only Cormorant I've seen in North America is Double-crested.

David
 
Wow!

David and Jason,

I just sort of sat here with my mouth open reading your impressive lists. Those numbers are amazing!

I have been birding pretty regularly over the past fifteen years or so here in the USA. So I have a pretty good size list, but to have gotten all those birds in just three trips is truly amazing!

Good Job!
 
Hi Jason,
Just like David, your thread made me count my US list.
I have not listed them but having been four times I ended up with 496. The places were Pelee, Michigan, Texas, Florida, California and Arizona.
 
Warning! This thread is more than 20 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top