I’ve been jotting down and recording all the species of birds I’ve seen in or flying over my Maine yard since March 2020. We’ve had feeders and noticed the birds for much longer than that, but this marked the official Yard Bird start. Maybe it’s a form of collecting, saving all the birds that live in, visit, pass through, or fly over this space. A Backyard Ark of Birds in a changing planet.
Or maybe I just like birds and lists.
See All the Yard Birds>>
A gallery of each yard bird species, always in progress.
The Yard Birds (Kennebec County, Maine)
- American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) | 27 July 27, 2025
- Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) | 15 June 15, 2025
- Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) | January 5, 2025
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula) | October 4, 2024
- Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) | September 18, 2024
- Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea) | May 9, 2024
- Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) | April 24, 2024
- Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) | March 21, 2024
- Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) | March 21, 2024
- Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) | August 13, 2023
- Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) | June 18, 2023
- White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) | May 14, 2023
- American Tree Sparrow (Spizelloides arborea) | December 24, 2022
- Blue-headed Vireo (Vireo solitarius) | October 7, 2022
- Tennessee Warbler (Leiothlypis peregrina) | September 26, 2022
- Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens) | September 26, 2022
- Magnolia Warbler (Setophaga magnolia) | September 10, 2022
- Northern Parula (Setophaga americana) | September 14, 2022
- House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) | May 30, 2022
- Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) | May 16, 2022
- Swainson’s Thrush (Catharus ustulatus) | May 16, 2022
- Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) | May 16, 2022
- Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula) | May 15, 2022
- Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) | April 5, 2022
- Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) | April 5, 2022
- Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) | March 13, 2022
- Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) | December 15, 2021
- Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) | December 10, 2021
- Black-throated Green Warbler (Setophaga virens) | October 3, 2021
- Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus) | August 29, 2021
- Chestnut-sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica) | August 6, 2021
- Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia) | August 5, 2021
- Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia) | August 1, 2021
- Ring-billed Gull (Larus argentatus) | July 24, 2021
- American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla) | July 22, 2021
- Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus) | May 9, 2021
- Pine Warbler (Setophaga pinus) | May 6, 2021
- Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus) | May 6, 2021
- European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) | May 6, 2021
- Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) | May 1, 2021
- Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) | April 30, 2021
- House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) |April 27, 2021
- Palm Warbler (Setophaga palmarum) | April 27, 2021
- Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) | April 25, 2021
- Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis Phoebe) | April 13, 2021
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) | April 13, 2021
- Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) | March 27, 2021
- Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca) | March 27, 2021
- Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) | March 19, 2021
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) | May 24, 2020
- Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) | May 15, 2020
- Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) | May 10, 2020
- Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) | May 8, 2020
- Common Raven (Corvus corax) | May 8, 2020
- Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) | May 6, 2020
- Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) | May 3, 2020
- Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) | May 3, 2020
- Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) | May 3, 2020
- Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus) | May 2, 2020
- White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) | April 28, 2020
- Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) | April 26, 2020
- Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) | April 25, 2020
- Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) | April 25, 2020
- Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) | April 21, 2020
- Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus) | April 19, 2020
- Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) | April 11, 2020
- American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) | April 11, 2020
- Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) | April 11, 2020
- Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) | April 11, 2020
- American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) | April 11, 2020
- Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) | April 11, 2020
- Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus) | April 10, 2020
- Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) | April 3, 2020
- White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) | April 3, 2020
- Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) | April 3, 2020
- Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubes | April 3, 2020
- American Robin (Turdus migratorius) | March 31, 2020
- Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) | March 31, 2020
- Hairy Woodpecker (Dryobates villosus) | March 31, 2020
- Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) | March 30, 2020
To Learn More:
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