June 28th, 2012

So Al Woodhouse and I decided to have a friendly competition to see who could see more species of birds on his outdoor centre property in 2012.  With the calendar year half over, I thought I’d publish my list.  I saw an osprey yesterday, so that brings my total to 98.  Al is at 105 or something.  He saw more species of migrating spring birds on their way to the boreal forest than I did.  Maybe I can get them coming back through in the fall.  I certainly saw more than 98 species, but sometimes didn’t get a good enough look, or didn’t know what they were when I did see them.  Warbling vireo? Orange crowned warbler? Hermit Thrush?  Anyway, here is my list in order of sighting.

  1. Hairy woodpecker
  2. Downy woodpecker
  3. Goldfinch
  4. Chickadee
  5. Junco
  6. Crow
  7. Blue jay
  8. Robin
  9. Canada goose
  10. Tree sparrow
  11. Mourning dove
  12. House finch
  13. Red-tailed hawk
  14. Peregrine falcon (!)
  15. Cardinal
  16. White-breasted nuthatch
  17. Red-breasted nuthatch
  18. Mallard
  19. Ring-billed gull
  20. Pileated woodpecker
  21. Golden-crowned kinglet
  22. Sharp-shinned hawk
  23. Pine siskin
  24. Coopers hawk
  25. Eastern towhee
  26. Redpoll
  27. Herring gull
  28. Turkey vulture
  29. Red-winged blackbird
  30. Grackle
  31. House sparrow
  32. Great blue heron
  33. Tundra swan
  34. Killdeer
  35. Great egret
  36. Northern pintail
  37. Green-winged teal
  38. Blue-winged teal
  39. Chipping sparrow
  40. American woodcock
  41. Screech owl
  42. Song sparrow
  43. Kingfisher
  44. Northern flicker
  45. Cedar waxwing
  46. Eastern phoebe
  47. Bufflehead
  48. Ring-necked duck
  49. Hooded merganser
  50. Pied-billed grebe
  51. Widgeon
  52. Lesser scaup
  53. Lesser black-backed gull
  54. Cowbird
  55. Red-bellied woodpecker
  56. Tree swallow
  57. Double-breasted cormorant
  58. Blackburnian warbler
  59. Meadowlark
  60. Pine warbler
  61. Wood duck
  62. Yellow-bellied sapsucker
  63. Swamp sparrow
  64. White-throated sparrow
  65. Northern shoveller
  66. Broad-winged hawk
  67. Nashville warbler
  68. Ruby-crowned kinglet
  69. Great-crested flycatcher
  70. Kingbird
  71. Yellow warbler
  72. Black and white warbler
  73. Palm warbler
  74. Swainson’s thrush (probably)
  75. Rose-breasted grosbeak
  76. White-crowned sparrow
  77. Yellow-rumped warbler
  78. Black-throated green warbler
  79. Green heron
  80. Northern oriole
  81. Marsh wren
  82. Wilson’s warbler (or warbler sp.)
  83. Catbird
  84. Brown thrasher
  85. Common yellowthroat
  86. Red-eyed vireo
  87. Alder flycatcher
  88. House wren
  89. Ruby-throated hummingbird
  90. Wood thrush
  91. Eastern wood peewee
  92. Barn swallow
  93. Indigo Bunting
  94. Willow flycatcher
  95. Great-horned owl
  96. Merlin
  97. Black-billed Cuckoo
  98. Osprey