How big is your GARDEN/YARD LIST? (1 Viewer)

We live on 25 acres on sort of a mountain (at 2,900 ft). The property is mostly open field, with lots of edge habitat and quite a lot of pine woods with lots of serviceberry mixed in in places, and some fir. It seems to be very good for birds, and we've lived here about 15 years (since I was 6 months old...). The property list stands at 128, with many additions the last few years when I really started going out often. There have been 2 additions this year: Blue Jay and Golden Eagle. I do count flyovers And I must admit that I count it if it's pretty close, even if it's not quite within the limits and I'm not quite in the property... But I think all but maybe one or two have now been seen within the property limits.

I haven't seen several of these birds; my dad saw them while I was too little to care. But they still count for the property checklist, of course!


Great Blue Heron
Tundra Swan
Snow Goose
Canada Goose
Mallard
Common Merganser
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Northern Goshawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
Golden Eagle
American Kestrel
Merlin
California Quail
Gray Partridge
Ring-necked Pheasant
Killdeer
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Band-tailed Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Great Horned Owl
Northern Pygmy-Owl
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Common Nighthawk
Vaux's Swift
White-throated Swift
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Anna's Hummingbird
Calliope Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Red-naped Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Western Wood-Pewee
Willow Flycatcher
Hammond's Flycatcher
Dusky Flycatcher
Pacific-slope/Cordilleran Flycatcher (I think it's Cordilleran by song, but the range of these isn't quite sure yet)
Western Kingbird
Eastern Kingbird
Horned Lark
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
American Pipit
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Bohemian Waxwing
Cedar Waxwing
Bewick's Wren
Winter Wren
House Wren
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Western Bluebird
Mountain Bluebird
Townsend's Solitaire
Swainson's Thrush
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Varied Thrush
Black-capped Chickadee
Mountain Chickadee
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Pygmy Nuthatch
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Northern Shrike
Steller's Jay
Blue Jay
Black-billed Magpie
Clark's Nutcracker
American Crow
Common Raven
European Starling
House Sparrow
Cassin's Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch
Pine Grosbeak
Cassin's Finch
House Finch
Red Crossbill
Common Redpoll
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
Evening Grosbeak
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Townsend's Warbler
American Redstart
MacGillivray's Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Western Tanager
Spotted Towhee
American Tree Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Brewer's Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Black-headed Grosbeak
Lazuli Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Brewer's Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Bullock's Oriole


Michael

A Huddersfield garden at 180m asl, 0.3 acres, lot of trees around

42 if I count fly-overs (*), 30 without.

Grey Heron - going for the goldfish
Mallard (*) - regular
Sparrowhawk - murdered a Blackbird
Kestrel (*) - rare
Common Gull (*) - rare
Herring Gull (*) - rare
Lesser Black Backed Gull (*) - occasional
Black-headed Gull (*) - occasional
Feral Pigeon - rare
Wood Pigeon - regular
Collared Dove - regular
Tawny Owl (*) - twice
Swift (*) - regular summer
Great Spotted Woodpecker - once
Swallow (*) - regular summer
House Martin (*) - regular summer
Wren - occasional
Dunnock - regular
Robin - regular
Black Redstart (!!)
Blackbird - regular
Fieldfare (*) - occasional winter
Redwing (*) - occasional winter
Song Thrush - regular
Mistle Thrush - occasional
Blackcap - once
Long-tailed Tit - occasional
Marsh Tit - once
Coal Tit - regular winter
Great Tit - regular
Blue Tit - regular
Jay - occasional
Magpie - regular
Jackdaw - regular
Rook - regular
Crow - regular
Starling - occasional
Chaffinch - regular
Greenfinch - regular
Linnet - once
Bullfinch - occasional

Must admit i've got bloody lists for just about everything,
but i ain't got a garden list...
I suppose we must have 20+ species that have visited our
little plot over the 5 years we have been here.
We feed the birds with scraps etc, have 2 seed feeders,
2 nut feeders, a fatball feeder and a water dish.
I've just put up a nest box on the side of the shed,
Brian (the cat) sits on top of it most of the time...so i reckon
i'm gonna have to move it!...
We sat out yesterday afternoon and watched a Collared Dove
sat on her nest at the top of a Damson tree...
she seemed a tad surprised that we had clocked her!!
The House Martins built a nest in the eves at the front
of the house 2 years ago...the Sparrows took that over.
But the Martins used it for roosting last year...
hope to see them back soon too!!!
There are some mice under the shed and we have bats
flying around the house (outside in the summer.
Not bad for a new build really...I'm happy we are here anyway!

Dave.

At the moment we're on 14 species, having just moved into a new-build house with a bare patch of soil as a back garden. We're slowly getting it into shape (see my Garden Diary thread) and we are trying to encourage the birds. So far the most frequent visitors are the Goldfinches.

In order of appearance in the garden:
Wren
Blackbird
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Robin
Dunnock
Collared Dove
Mistle Thrush
Starling
Chaffinch
Willow Tit
Magpie

The Willow Tit visited for about a week, and then was never seen again. I haven't seen the Chaffinch recently either. Over the past couple of weeks, I heard a new call and managed to see a Linnet on the telegraph wires over on the adjoining estate of bungalows. One day we saw about 5 and then over this past weekend there was a flock of at least 12 - then they flew off into the distance. They haven't ventured into the garden yet, as far as we know, although I'm sure they can see all the activity at the feeders.

I have seen one House Sparrow over in the established gardens, but again it didn't seem to want to come into the garden.

I have seen a Kestrel fly over and tonight I saw a Sparrowhawk. Other flyovers include Carrion Crow, Rook, Jackdaw, Grey Heron, Wood Pigeon.

We live in a regular sized yard in a typical residential area of Saint Joseph, Missouri. I suppose that our yard is about 60 feet X 120 feet. We have a small plastic pond in the backyard, a small bed of strawberries, one short row of black raspberries, some wild flowers. I have planted a lot of different species of trees (the birds have also helped in this area by sowing of few seeds themselves). We also have a couple of brush piles in which the birds can seek cover when threatened or for roosting. This is my list of our 133 yard birds. I do count heard birds and flyovers!

DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT (flyover)
GREAT BLUE HERON (flyover)
GREAT EGRET (flyover)
Green Heron (flyover)
CANADA GOOSE (flyover)
ROSS' GOOSE (flyover)
SNOW GOOSE (flyover)
GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE (flyover)
MALLARD (flyover)
WOOD DUCK
TURKEY VULTURE (flyover)
MISSISSIPPI KITE (flyover)
NORTHERN GOSHAWK (flyover)
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK
COOPER'S HAWK
RED-TAILED HAWK
BROAD-WINGED HAWK (flyover)
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (flyover)
FERRUGINOUS HAWK (flyover)
BALD EAGLE (flyover)
NORTHERN HARRIER (flyover)
AMERICAN KESTREL
NORTHERN BOBWHITE
WILD TURKEY
KILLDEER
AMERICAN WOODCOCK (one time only!)
RING-BILLED GULL (flyover)
FRANKLIN'S GULL (flyover)
BLACK TERN (flyover)
ROCK DOVE
WHITE-WINGED DOVE
MOURNING DOVE
YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO
BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO
EASTERN SCREECH-OWL
GREAT HORNED OWL
BARRED OWL
COMMON NIGHTHAWK
CHIMNEY SWIFT
RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD
NORTHERN FLICKER(YEL.SH.)
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER (one time only!)
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER
HAIRY WOODPECKER
DOWNY WOODPECKER
EASTERN KINGBIRD (one time only!)
EASTERN PHOEBE
ALDER FLYCATCHER
LEAST FLYCATCHER
EASTERN WOOD-PEWEE
OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER
TREE SWALLOW (flyover)
ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW (flyover)
BARN SWALLOW (flyover)
PURPLE MARTIN (flyover)
BLUE JAY
AMERICAN CROW
BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE
TUFTED TITMOUSE
WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH
RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH
BROWN CREEPER
HOUSE WREN
WINTER WREN
BEWICK'S WREN
CAROLINA WREN
NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD
GRAY CATBIRD
BROWN THRASHER
AMERICAN ROBIN
WOOD THRUSH
HERMIT THRUSH
SWAINSON'S THRUSH
GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH
GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET
RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET
CEDAR WAXWING
EUROPEAN STARLING
BELL'S VIREO
BLUE-HEADED VIREO
RED-EYED VIREO
PHILADELPHIA VIREO
BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER
PROTHONOTARY WARBLER (one time only!)
TENNESSEE WARBLER
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER
NASHVILLE WARBLER
NORTHERN PARULA
YELLOW WARBLER
MAGNOLIA WARBLER
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER(Myrtle)
BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER
BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER (one time only!)
CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER (one time only!)
BLACKPOLL WARBLER
PALM WARBLER
OVENBIRD
KENTUCKY WARBLER
COMMON YELLOWTHROAT
WILSON'S WARBLER
AMERICAN REDSTART
HOUSE SPARROW
RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD
ORCHARD ORIOLE
BALTIMORE ORIOLE
BREWER'S BLACKBIRD
RUSTY BLACKBIRD
GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE
COMMON GRACKLE
BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD
SCARLET TANAGER (one time only!)
NORTHERN CARDINAL
ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK
INDIGO BUNTING
PURPLE FINCH
HOUSE FINCH
COMMON REDPOLL
PINE SISKIN
AMERICAN GOLDFINCH
EASTERN TOWHEE
DARK-EYED JUNCO(Slate-colored)
AMERICAN TREE SPARROW
CHIPPING SPARROW
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
FIELD SPARROW
HARRIS' SPARROW
WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW
WHITE-THROATED SPARROW
FOX SPARROW
LINCOLN'S SPARROW
SWAMP SPARROW
SONG SPARROW


Looks like I have 24 flyovers, so if those were not counted I would only have 109 birds in the yard (133-24=109).

Katy Penland said:

Seeing a post by MikeDale in another forum about a new yard tick set me to looking for a list just for yards/gardens. Didn't find one so... how big is yours?

I have 107. How about you?

Click to expand...

Bloody hell - that's bigger than my life list! (which sits nicely on 99 - since December last year).

Garden list is 20 (back garden) and i can add a few wildfowl to that, if i add the front. As i live in a flat at the back and the water is at the front, i don't usually include stuff at the front. Maybe i should, as this would add a further 12.

In 3.5 years on a 1/2 acre lot I have had a total of 73 species so far. There could be more flyovers and heard froms, as these were done from memory from my local woods list. I normally only keep track of those that have been attracted to my property (47).

30 have visited the feeders
starling
common grackle
red-winged blackbird
brown-headed cowbird
black-capped chickadee
blue jay
american crow
mourning dove
american goldfinch
house finch
common redpoll
pine siskin
purple finch
evening grosbeak
northern cardinal
rose-breasted grosbeak
sharp-shinned hawk
cooper's hawk
ruby-throated humming bird
white-breasted nuthatch
red-breasted nuthatch
dark-eyed junco
american tree sparrow
song sparrow
fox sparrow
white-throated sparrow
white-crowned sparrow
yellow-rumped warbler (myrtle)
downy woodpecker
hairy woodpecker


17 have landed in the property but not at the feeders
brown creeper
eastern phoebe
great-crested flycatcher
grey catbird
baltimore oriole
chipping sparrow
tree swallow
barn swallow
scarlet tanager
american robin
red-eyed verio
american redstart
cedar waxwing
pileated woodpecker
yellow-shafted flicker
yellow-bellied sapsucker
house wren

26 seen or heard (positive ID) from the property
eastern wood peewee
ruffed grouse
ring-billed gull
red-tailed hawk
turkey vulture
osprey
northern harrier
great blue heron
belted kingfisher
great-horned owl
killdeer
woodcock
indigo bunting
ruby-crowned kinglet
wood thrush
veery
warbling verio
ovenbird
yellow warbler
mourning warbler
black-and-white warbler
black-throated green warbler
golden-winged warbler
canada goose
mallard
wood duck

Been at the same address for 4 years now and my list is 59 heres the list


Actually In the Garden (or below the line of the house)

Bullfinch
Lesser Redpoll
Chaffinch
Brambling
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Siskin
Starling
House Sparrow
Crow
Jay
Magpie
Coal Tit
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Nuthatch
Long-tailed Tit
Chiffchaff
Willow Warbler
Goldcrest
Blackcap
Fieldfare
Song Thrush
Redwing
Mistle Thrush
Blackbird
Wren
Dunnock
Robin
Grey Wagtail
Green Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
Stock Pigeon
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
Sparrowhawk
Canada Goose
Lesser Black-backed

Flyovers

Black-headed Gull
Herring Gull
Common Gull
Mallard
Buzzard
Kestrel
Peregrine
Sandwich Tern
Common Tern
Feral Pigeon
Tawny Owl
Swift
Sky Lark
Sand Martin
Swallow
House Martin
Pied Wagtail
Jackdaw
Rook
Grey Heron
Cormorant

Highights been:

All 3 Woodpeckers
Canda Goose in the pond which is only 5ftx6ft

rezMole said:

Bloody hell - that's bigger than my life list! (which sits nicely on 99 - since December last year).

Click to expand...

LOL, Rez!

Garden list is 20 (back garden) and i can add a few wildfowl to that, if i add the front. As i live in a flat at the back and the water is at the front, i don't usually include stuff at the front. Maybe i should, as this would add a further 12.

Click to expand...

I sure would! I mean, why not? You just have a "moving" front yard/garden where most of ours are stationary. Your list, your rules for inclusion. Most Yank birders I know who keep such lists include anything they see from as well as on their property, but it's whatever you're comfortable doing.

Should we include mammals and other critters we see in our yard/garden as well? That could be interesting! I'd love to see a vole, although we do have a resident Botta's Pocket Gopher who's becoming quite un-shy about sticking his whiskered snout and most of his body above ground.

Holy cow, Tim, that goose takes up the whole pond! What a great bird, though!

Here is my yard list after living at this location for almost 2 1/2 years. I include anything that I see from the yard, but don't add a bird if I only hear it. (Otherwise I could add Grey-necked Wood-rail).

Little Chachalaca
Muscovy Duck
White-bellied Piculet
Blood-colored Woodpecker
Lineated Woodpecker
Green-tailed Jacamar
Ringed Kingfisher
Green Kingfisher
Little Cuckoo
Greater Ani
Smooth-billed Ani
Blue-and-Yellow Macaw
Red-bellied Macaw
Red-shouldered Macaw
Brown-throated Parakeet
Blue-headed Parrot
Yellow-crowned Parrot
Orange-winged Parrot
Blue-tailed Emerald
Glittering-throated Emerald
Plain-bellied Emerald
Great Horned Owl
Pale-vented Pigeon
Common Ground-Dove
Ruddy Ground-Dove
White-tipped Dove
Whimbrel
Spotted Sandpiper
Semipalmated Plover
Southern Lapwing
Black Skimmer
Laughing Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Common Tern
Least Tern
Yellow-billed Tern
Large-billed Tern
Osprey
Snail Kite
Rufous Crab-Hawk
Black-collared Hawk
Grey-lined Hawk
Roadside Hawk
Crested Caracara
Yellow-headed Caracara
Laughing Falcon
Bat Falcon
Neotropic Cormorant
Tricolored Heron
Little Blue Heron
Snowy Egret
Great Egret
Cattle Egret
Striated Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Magnificent Frigatebird
Spotted Tody-Flycatcher
Common Tody-Flycatcher
Mouse-colored Tyrannulet
Yellow-bellied Elaenia
Plain-crested Elaenia
Pale-tipped Inezia
Yellow-breasted Flycatcher
Pied Water-Tyrant
Short-crested Flycatcher
Tropical Kingbird
Fork-tailed Flycatcher
Boat-billed Flycatcher
Rusty-margined Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
White-winged Becard
Cinereous Becard
Black-crested Antshrike
Barred Antshrike
Silvered Antbird
Yellow-chinned Spinetail
Point-tailed Palmcreeper
Straight-billed Woodcreeper
Ashy-headed Greenlet
Pale-breasted Thrush
Black-capped Donacobius
House Wren
Tropical Gnatcatcher
White-winged Swallow
Brown-chested Martin
Grey-breasted Martin
Barn Swallow
Red-capped Cardinal
Yellow Warbler
Bananaquit
Hooded Tanager
White-lined Tanager
Silver-beaked Tanager
Blue-grey Tanager
Palm Tanager
Purple-throated Euphonia
Violaceous Euphonia
Turquoise Tanager
Burnished-buff Tanager
Blue-black Grassquit
Variable Seedeater
Ruddy-breasted Seedeater
Chestnut-bellied Seedeater
Greyish Saltator
Crested Oropendola
Yellow-rumped Cacique
Yellow Oriole
Yellow-hooded Blackbird
Red-breasted Blackbird
Shiny Cowbird
Giant Cowbird

Very small village plot in the Highlands of Scotland over a 4 year period - 62 on the garden list, 22 of which have fed in the garden.

166 species in my parents garden. 20 acres in Kenya, bordering the coast.

I only count birds which have actually been in the garden, its a tiny garden, so the list isnt too bad:

House Sparrow
Dunnock
Wren
Robin
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Coal Tit
Chaffinch
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Pied Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Blackbird
Starling
Song Thrush
Mistle Thrush
Fieldfare
Merlin (!!)
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove

and a Zebra Finch

OK then, here's a list of 35 birds seen since 11th March in or from our garden in central France:

Barn Swallow
Blackbird
Blackcap
Blue Tit
Carrion Crow
Chaffinch
Chiffchaff
Collared Dove
Common Buzzard
Dunnock
Goldfinch
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Great Tit
Greenfinch
Grey Heron
Hoopoe
House Sparrow
Jackdaw
Jay
Kestrel
Long-tailed Tit
Magpie
Marsh Tit
Nuthatch
Redstart
Robin
Rook
Serin
Short-toed Treecreeper
Siskin
Song Thrush
Sparrowhawk
Starling
Wood Pigeon
Wren

30 of them have actually visited the garden. My favourite has to be the Hoopoe, seen only once but which may yet return before the summer's over.

Have Just added a new one to my garden list Willow Warbler singing his little head off as I type this. That takes me up to a total of 51 birds. Full list posted in previous post the big 50.. :bounce:

Hello everybody,

I don’t normally keep lists, but I saw this thread and remembered a wonderful morning (very) casually birding on the 27th of March this year. As usual after waking, my partner and I pulled back the bedroom curtains and sat watching the garden activity whilst drinking a cup of tea. We saw so much going on we sat there for over an hour just wondering what was going to happen next. The list below was spotted in an hour and a quarter without either of us even getting out of bed! This is not quite, utterly true, see note of conversation below.

List seen on 27/3/05
House Sparrow, male and female (regular visitors)
Dunnock (regular visitors)
Robin (regular visitors)
Blackbird, male and female (regular visitors)
Great Tit (regular visitors)
Blue Tit (regular visitors)
Long Tailed Tit (regular visitors until early April)
Carrion Crow (regular visitors)
Jay (seen a few times per year)
Wood Pigeon (regular visitors)
Collared Dove (regular visitors)
Bullfinch, male and female (first time we’ve seen them in the garden)
Blackcap, female (first time we’ve seen one in the garden)
Wren (regular visitors)
Chaffinch (used to be regular, now quite rare)
Kestrel, female (didn't land, flies over fairly regularly and perches in sight just beyond our boundary)

I did get out of bed briefly to get a better look at the Wren until the following conversation ensued:
Duncan’s partner: You’re doing it again.
Duncan: Doing what?
Duncan’s partner: Standing at the window
Duncan: So?
Duncan’s partner: You’re standing at the window wearing nothing but a pair of binoculars. Get back into bed before somebody reports you.
Duncan: Oh, ok. It was a wren you know.

15 species landed in the garden plus one overfly, without even getting out of bed. Never come close since.

Duncan.

About 165 in over or from, but I am in Shetland.

Highlights include Snowy Owl, White-tailed Eagle, Red-necked Phalarope, Long-billed Dowitcher, Bee-eater, Short-toed Lark, Yellow-browed Warbler, Barred Warbler, Hawfinch, Arctic Redpoll and Common Yellowthroat (yes, on the eastern side of the Atlantic).

Dear Annoyed and Resentful,

abagguley said:

Now I resent America and Scotland.
Even more annoyed of England.

Click to expand...

:clap: LOL, I sure hope you're feeling better with the addition of so many more lists from around the world! If not, please feel better knowing what a big laugh your posts gave me when I first read them. :bounce:

Seriously, though, I wonder how much of the bigger lists is people having the opportunity to spend more time watching their yards/gardens. I don't work outside the home, so I can keep pretty good track of what comes and goes here throughout the day, particularly very early morning when the non-seed eaters come in for a drink or bath, sometimes here only for a few seconds and not seen again until the next morning. Or the migrants who are here just for a day or so at odd hours before disappearing again until seen on their return trip months later. And of course the odd fly-overs, like the Common Nighthawks, who are here only for a few days each year, flying high in the late dusk sky and gone again until the following year.

Hey, Baggsy, here's some more comfort for you: This year, we've not had nearly the warblers we'd normally have and literally 1/10 of the hummingbirds compared to previous years. This spring is running a bit dry so far.

Late comer to this post, but the yard list currently sits at 57 for two years.

Katy Penland said:

Seriously, though, I wonder how much of the bigger lists is people having the opportunity to spend more time watching their yards/gardens.

Click to expand...

I think there's something in that. I don't think it can account for all of the differences, as the lists seem to be whole orders of magnitude apart, but in the month since my first post, I've worked from home a lot more than usual, and I've added Starling, Carrion Crow, Great Spotted Wooodpecker & Jackdaw to the list - the latter 2 turning up within a couple of hours of each other yesterday. These birds can't have suddenly appeared in the garden after I've lived here for 10 years, I'm just spending more time looking out of the window & noticing stuff.

Katy Penland said:

Hey, Baggsy,

Click to expand...

...that's Mr Baggsy to you.

Cheers,

Adrian