June 1 - 7

Seeing a good number of butterflies - especially the yellow (Eastern Tiger) Swallowtail.  Have also heard the chickadees, the song sparrow, and what I think is a chipping sparrow. 

Common birds: house sparrow (7 days), cardinal (pair 5 days), red-wing blackbird (pair 3 days, female +1 day, male + 2 days), robin (5 days), starling (6 days), mallard duck (2 days), Canada goose, grackle (2 days), goldfinch (2 days), turkey vulture (2 days), blue jay, mourning dove, great blue heron

Spring visitors: hairy woodpecker, brown-headed cowbird (female, 2 days), baltimore oriole

Pt. 2

May 18 - 24 tags.

Pt. 2

Tags for May 11-17.

Pt. 2

Tags for May 4-10.

Pt. 2

Adding tags for Apr. 27 to May 3.

April 20 - 26

As well as the birds, a chipmunk was looking for birdseed on Friday.

Common birds: house sparrow (6 days), cardinal (pair 3 days, male +3 days), downy woodpecker (male), red-wing blackbird (1-2 males, 5 days), mourning dove (5 days), chickadee (2-3, 2 days), junco (5 days)), swan (3 days), cormorant, robin (4 days), Canada goose, starling (4 days), crow (3 days), grackle (2 days), blue jay, Turkey vulture (2 days), goldfinch (pair)

Spring visitors: song sparrow (1-2, 4 days), ruby-crowned kinglet (2 days)

Pt. 2

Adding post tags.

March 30 - April 5

Crazy weather -- Good Friday was beautiful, enough to eat lunch outside.  Easter Sunday, a light snow.  With the weather on Friday came a few season's firsts: The red-breasted nuthatch, song sparrow, golden crowned kinglet, hairy woodpecker, cowbird, and brown creeper.

Common birds: cardinal (pair, 6 days, male +1), mallard duck (2-3 days), Canada goose (3 days), robin (6 days), junco (6 days), house sparrow (6 days), starling (6 days), mourning dove (5 days), goldfinch, blue jay (4 days), chickadee (3 days), downy woodpecker (female, 2 days), common crow, grackle, red-wing blackbird (2-3 days), red-breasted nuthatch (2 days), great blue heron, house finch

Spring visitors: song sparrow (2 days), golden-crowned kinglet, hairy woodpecker, brown-headed cowbird (1-2 days), brown creeper

March 16 - 22

Welcome to spring, and a busy week of birding!  I've had one or two 'whatsits'.  Well, one.  I'm pretty sure the second was a merlin, seen perched on Sunday evening.  It was certainly a bird of prey, small (blue jay or slightly bigger size), dark back, streaking on white front (streaking appeared more vertical than horizontal).  Its wingbeats when it flew off were rapid, flight steady. 

The first 'whatsit' was Friday.  Also perched on top of the big evergreen tree, briefly.  It had some red on the back of its head/nape, and was roughly blue jay sized, but woodpecker shaped, with a long straight bill.  I think it wasn't big enough to be a pileated woodpecker.  A flicker, maybe, we do get them fairly regularly and I have seen one up there before.  But even though it was hard to be sure in the lighting conditions, it seemed to have more red.  Its flight was steady, quick, and dipped up and down a little. It may have been a red-bellied woodpecker (not to be confused with red-breasted sapsucker, which is a Western bird).  The range is possible, though I don't remember seeing one before. 

Some of my hawks were definitely red-tailed.  One day there were 3 flying up behind our house.  Another day I saw two, en route from work to home, not in the same place as each other.  Saturday, also out and about, there were 2 birds, one was probably a red-tail, the other was something different, maybe a turkey vulture?  I wasn't able to really pay attention to it. 

Common birds: blue jay (3 days), common crow, cardinal (pair, 5 days), swan, Canada goose (several, 4 days), red-tailed (likely) hawk (1-3, flying, different locations, 4 days), junco (several, 5 days), robin (1-several, 5 days), chickadee (1-2, 5 days), starling (several, 2 days), grackle, house sparrow (several, 5 days), downy woodpecker (male, 2 days), house finch (pair 2 days, 2 males in one of those days), mourning dove (2), goldfinch (1-2)

Spring visitors: red-wing blackbird (male, 1-3, 2 days), merlin (a small falcon)

Whatsit: woodpecker ID??

February 2-8

No birds recorded from January 26 to February 1st.

Common birds: red-tailed hawk (3 days, perched and in flight), chickadee (2 days)1, blue jay, cardinal (pair, 2 days), juncos (8+)

November 11-16

Since my last post I haven't been as good at recording daily sightings.  Still, there have been some interesting ones.  I'm going to post them in week by week.  My previous post was dated November 10, so starting with the 11th to the 16th.

Common birds:  house sparrow (2 days), chickadee, cardinal (male), downy woodpecker, blue jay
Fall visitors: junco (2 days),  white throated sparrow (2 days)

November 2

Saw a small bird of prey again, two times today perched in the tall tree. 

Common birds: chickadee (3+), red-breasted nuthatch (2), house sparrow, blue jay, robin, red-tailed hawk (perched)

Fall visitors: junco, small bird of prey (merlin? perched, twice)

October 23

Really cool - saw both the red-tailed hawk, and then a smaller bird of prey (one of those I've been trying to identify), perched in a tall evergreen.  The smaller is dark grey on its back, with heavy markings.  I'm almost sure it was a peregrine falcon. 

Also I know I saw a wren, small, dark, with a darker front than some I have seen.  Winter wren is my best guess. 

Common birds: downy woodpecker (male, female?), chickadee (3+), house sparrow, blue jay, cardinal (pair), red-breasted nuthatch, goldfinch, red-tailed hawk (perched)

Fall visitors: junco, winter wren (ID?), smaller bird of prey (perched)

October 22

There was a little finch on our seed feeder, basically house finch, but the wrong colour.  I know what we typically get are house finches, which are a brighter, redder colour.  This was more, berry, or purple, and the amount of colour all over it, I really think it was a purple finch, which is possible in our area.  It's also possible I've seen them and called them house finches before, the colour can vary, but I'm more sure this time.

Common birds: chickadee, downy woodpecker (pair), cardinal (male), blue jay, starling, house sparrow, red-breasted nuthatch, red-tailed hawk (perched, twice)

Fall visitors: white throated sparrow (1+), ruby crowned kinglet (ID? likely), golden crowned kinglet (2), common flicker, purple finch (ID?)

October 18

Common birds: turkey vulture (2), chickadee (3+), house sparrow, cardinal (pair), blue jay, robin

Fall visitors: golden crowned kinglet (2+)

October 2

I've just started trying to add whether a bird like the hawk is perched or flying when I see it.

Common birds: downy woodpecker, chickadee, house sparrow, blue jay, red-tailed hawk (perched)

Fall visitors: white throated sparrow (3+), red-eyed vireo, yellow bellied sapsucker

July 11

Common birds: blue jay, cardinal (male), grackle, starling, house sparrow, mourning dove, house finch

June 15

Common birds: house sparrow, cardinal, blue jay, grackle, starling, mourning dove

May 27 - June 6

After the spring migration, my keeping track has been patchy.  This post includes birds seen between May 27 and June 6, in addition to those already posted.

Common birds: house finch (pair), robin, starling, grackle, cardinal (pair), house sparrow, Canada goose?, blue jay?, tern?

Spring visitors: redwing blackbird (pair)

May 28

Common birds: robin, house sparrow, grackle, starling, blue jay, mallard duck?

Spring visitors: redwing blackbird (male, female?), warbler (in spruce tree)?