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.
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).






































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