May 25 - 31

Tracked a singing chestnut-sided warbler to a neighbour's birch tree one morning.  Also, have heard a couple of times a warbler-like noise, which I am pretty sure is an American redstart - I might even have seen it once or twice, I thought I saw a little black bird with orange bits, not big or orange enough to be the oriole, but it was so quick I ignored it until I was listening to bird songs on the computer and figured I was hearing it, which made it more likely I had seen it as well. 

Common birds: swan (2 days), turkey vulture, red-tailed hawk (2 days, flying), robin (6 days), goldfinch, cardinal (pair 2 days, male +1, female +1), mourning dove (2 days), house sparrow (6 days), starling (6 days), grackle (3 days), red-wing blackbird (male 3 days, female 4 days), chickadee (2 days)

Spring visitors: song sparrow, chestnut-sided warbler, American redstart??

Heard: red-breasted nuthatch, song sparrow, American redstart

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 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??

June 3

Common birds: gull, swan

June 2

Common birds: mourning dove, cardinal, gull, swan

May 21

I was in a hurry, but I had a brief look at a warbler in a fruit tree, which I have since looked up in the bird book and feel reasonably sure it was a cape may warbler, which is one I haven't seen before. 

I also wrote warbler with a ? next to it, which may have been referring to the cape may (likely, I think), or may have been another I didn't manage to ID. 

Common birds: starling, house sparrow, grackle, cardinal (male), gull, blue jay, robin, swan

Spring visitors: rose breasted grosbeak (male), blackburnian warbler, ruby throated hummingbird, cape may warbler?

May 13

Common birds: cardinal, downy woodpecker, robin, grackle, swan, gull, goldfinch

Spring visitors: redwing blackbird, baltimore oriole

May 7

Common birds: house sparrow, swan

May 6

Common birds: cardinal (pair), starling, house sparrow, swan

Spring visitors: redwing blackbird (male), ruby-crowned kinglet

Not sure: bird of prey (6th or 7th, ID??)

May 5

Well, other things take over, but I am going to finish this year's worth of birds!  I've also seen some interesting ones more recently in the current fall migration, so I'll note those too, but let's do the rest of the spring ones first?!

Common birds:  house sparrow, cardinal (pair), robin, mallard duck, swan

Spring visitors: brown-headed cowbird (male), ruby-crowned kinglet, black-throated green warbler

Heard: redwing blackbird

April 29

Common birds: swan, house sparrow, Canada goose, robin

Maybe: cormorant (?), swallow (?)

April 28

Common birds: robin, crow, red-wing blackbird, swan, cardinal (male)

April 22-24

Common birds (24th): swan, Canada goose

April 11

Common birds: robin, goldfinch, starling, cardinal (male), swan, Canada goose, mallard duck

Spring visitors: junco, kinglet (?), phoebe/flycatcher, cowbird (male?)

Heard: blue jay, chickadee

April 4

Common birds: cardinal (male), swan

Spring visitors: junco