Outdoor Calling

a little site about the big outdoors

The Ark of Backyard Birds

Since 2020, I’ve been cataloguing all the species of birds I’ve seen in my Maine yard. Maybe this is a form of collecting or saving all the birds that visit, a Backyard Ark of Birds. Or maybe I just really like birds.

  • Black-capped Chickadee (October 31, 2021)
  • American Robin (August 2, 2021)
  • Tufted Titmouse (December 28, 2021)
  • Northern Cardinal (May 16, 2022)
  • Northern Cardinal (December 25, 2021)
  • Downy Woodpecker (May 14, 2021)
  • Hairy Woodpecker (May 14, 2022)
  • Mourning Dove (January 22, 2022)
  • American Goldfinch
  • Turkey Vultures (April 5, 2022)
  • Pileated Woodpecker (November 5, 2021)
  • Blue Jay (April 27, 2021)
  • Song Sparrow (March 13, 2022)
  • Ruby-throated Hummingbird
  • Great Blue Heron (May 5, 2022)
  • Rose-breasted Grosbeak (May 24, 2021)
  • Baltimore Oriole
  • White-throated Sparrow (May 4, 2021)
  • Pine Siskin (February 5, 2022)
  • Wild Turkeys (December 10, 2021)
  • Yellow-rumped Warbler (May 1, 2021)
  • American Redstart (August 1, 2021)
  • Brown Creeper (March 13, 2022)
  • Palm Warbler
  • Ovenbird (May 16, 2022)
  • Northern Saw-whet Owl (May 10, 2021)
  • Red-eyed Vireo (August 29, 2021)

Backyard bird visitors. These are all the species of birds I’ve seen in or above my property, since I officially started tallying them up on eBird in May 2020. Also, see my Life List (aka All the Birds).

Mallards
Turkey Vulture
Broad-winged Hawk
Black-capped Chickadee
American Goldfinch
Chipping Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Northern Cardinal
Brown-headed cowbird in yard
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
White-breasted Nuthatch
Mourning Dove
Hairy Woodpecker
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Red-bellied Woodpecker
American Robin
Tufted Titmouse
Tufted Titmouse
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Canada geese
Dark-eyed Junco
Song Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Pileated Woodpecker
Blue Jay
White-throated Sparrow
Pine Siskin
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Magnolia Warbler
American Redstart
Brown Creeper
Wild Turkey
Swainson’s Thrush
Ovenbird
Baltimore Oriole

The Yard Birds

In the order I logged them on eBird, and the first time identified in (or flying over) our yard. The order is interesting, because I know I’ve seen many of these birds long before, but it took logging them on May 2, 2020, to show the number.

  1. Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) | May 2, 2020
  2. Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) | May 2, 2020
  3. Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus) | May 2, 2020
  4. Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) | May 2, 2020
  5. American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) | May 2, 2020
  6. Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) | May 2, 2020
  7. Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) | May 2, 2020
  8. Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) | May 3, 2020
  9. Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) | May 3, 2020
  10. Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) | May 3, 2020
  11. Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) | May 3, 2020
  12. White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) | May 3, 2020
  13. Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) | May 3, 2020
  14. Hairy Woodpecker (Dryobates villosus) | May 3, 2020
  15. American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) | May 3, 2020
  16. Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) | May 6, 2020
  17. Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) | May 7, 2020
  18. American Robin (Turdus migratorius) | May 8, 2020
  19. Common Raven (Corvus corax) | May 8, 2020
  20. Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) | May 8, 2020
  21. Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) | May 10, 2020
  22. Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) | May 15, 2020
  23. Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) | May 24, 2020
  24. Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) | March 19, 2021
  25. Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca) | March 27, 2021
  26. Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) | March 27, 2021
  27. Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) | March 27, 2021
  28. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) | April 13, 2021
  29. Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis Phoebe) | April 13, 2021
  30. Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) | April 24, 2021
  31. Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) | April 25, 2021
  32. Palm Warbler (Setophaga palmarum) | April 27, 2021
  33. House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) |April 27, 2021
  34. Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) | April 30, 2021
  35. Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus) | April 30, 2021
  36. Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) | May 1, 2021
  37. White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) | May 2, 2021
  38. Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) | May 2, 2021
  39. European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) | May 6, 2021
  40. Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus) | May 6, 2021
  41. Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) | May 6, 2021
  42. Pine Warbler (Setophaga pinus) | May 6, 2021
  43. Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus) | May 9, 2021
  44. American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla) | July 22, 2021
  45. Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) | July 24, 2021
  46. Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia) | August 1, 2021
  47. Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia) | August 5, 2021
  48. Chestnut-sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica) | August 6, 2021
  49. Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus) | August 29, 2021
  50. Black-throated Green Warbler (Setophaga virens) | October 3, 2021
  51. Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) | December 15, 2021
  52. Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) | March 13, 2022
  53. Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) | April 5, 2022
  54. Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) | April 5, 2022
  55. Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula) | May 15, 2022
  56. Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) | May 16, 2022
  57. Swainson’s Thrush (Catharus ustulatus) | May 16, 2022
  58. Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) | May 16, 2022
  59. House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) | May 30, 2022
  60. Northern Parula (Setophaga americana) | September 14, 2022
  61. Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) | September 7, 2022
  62. Magnolia Warbler (Setophaga magnolia) | September 10, 2022
  63. Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens) | September 26, 2022
  64. Tennessee Warbler (Leiothlypis peregrina) | September 26, 2022
  65. Blue-headed Vireo (Vireo solitarius) | October 7, 2022
  66. American Tree Sparrow (Spizelloides arborea) | December 24, 2022

To Learn More:

Want to learn more about birds? I recommend The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds, its Merlin ID app, and (if you want to go deep) Birds of the World. Also, Audubon, the American Bird Conservancy, and any number of field guides are excellent resources.

I’ve also shared some thoughts and suggestions about Ethical Birding and Nature Photography.

All photos copyright Alicia MacLeay / Click on an image to see it full size