Re: [cobirds] Re: Yard list questions: How many of CO's 520 species have been seen (or heard) from a yard?

Length: About 30 years

Style: casual but attentive

# of species: 145

Birds of interest: Lewis's woodpecker, Lawrence's goldfinch, Mississippi kite, Virginia rail

Most memorable sighting: 4 species of hummers (calliope, rufous, black-chinned, and broad-tailed) in one tree all at the same tune, a sage thrasher jumping up repeatedly to snatch rose hips of a wild rose bush

Location: southern Weld County

Lauren Hyde

Keenesburg

On Mar 11, 2024, at 12:01 PM, 'Dan Stringer' via Colorado Birds <cobirds@googlegroups.com> wrote:

I liked your post, Thomas, and I love the notables on your yard list. My answers to your questions are:

How long: 

14 years.

Style: 

Casual but attentive. When the same bear started returning to my feeders daily, I took them down for my neighbor's sake and the bear's safety. Lower numbers and variety since then, still highly interesting.

How many species: 90

Rarest, or favorite species: 

American Three-toed Woodpecker. Surprising, lower than 7000' and this far east (just west of Larkspur), but I've since seen them and documented breeding in nearby Sandstone Ranch where I do surveys. Steep, forested foothills behind my neighborhood have brought many species down that are typically at higher elevations.

Most memorable experience: A male American Goshawk in winter, pursuing a squirrel up, down, and around the trees. It was unsuccessful, in close quarters the squirrel looked to be far more in it's element.

Location/habitat: At base of foothills, 6850', ponderosa pine / gambel oak.

Dan Stringer

Larkspur, CO

On Monday, March 11, 2024 at 10:40:41 AM UTC-6 Thomas Heinrich wrote:

Hi all,

Every now and then one of us will share the excitement of adding a rarity or new species to a yard list, report yard list totals, or comment on local trends. And some of the lists, and variety of species, are really impressive (e.g. David Suddjian's, Gary Lefko's). 

Yellow Grosbeak, Pyrrhuloxia, Streak-backed Oriole, Long-billed Thrasher, Costa's Hummingbird, Laurence's Goldfinch, and even Anhinga come to mind as rarities that have shown up in or been observed from yards. (Perhaps the recent Brambling, too?)

As a pretty obsessive yard lister (i.e. binocs always on, camera ready when outdoors, much of the time indoors too), I often wonder about others' experience with yard-listing. 

How long have you been keeping your list?

What's your style of yard listing: casual, mainly feeder watching, moderate, dedicated, obsessed?

How many species?

Rarest, or favorite species?

Most memorable experience?

Location/habitat: urban, suburban, rural, etc?

And the big question: if we tallied up all our yard lists, how close to Colorado's 520 species could we get?

It seems likely that certain families would be less well-represented; shorebirds, waterfowl, and gulls, for example. But with neighborhoods lining bodies of water such as Boyd Lake, Lake Loveland, Marston Reservoir, Jackson Lake, and MacIntosh Lake (in Boulder), among many others, many of those species theoretically could have been counted on a yard list. Maybe some lucky person living on the shores of Boyd Lake has Long-tailed Jaeger, Slaty-backed Gull, and Garganey on their yard list!

Wishing all good health, good birding, and an exciting Spring migration!

--Thomas Heinrich

My answers to the questions above:

15 years

Dedicated to obsessive 

152 species

Wood Thrush, Yellow-throated Warbler, N Cardinal, Common Redpoll, Bohemian Waxwing

Watching spring raptor migration from the roof-top, 35 Broad-winged Hawks among 130 raptors of 10 species on one high-flow day (4/18/2020)

Interface between suburban and open space, base of foothills, el. 5600'

--

Thomas Heinrich
Boulder, CO
TEHei...@gmail.com
www.pbase.com/birdercellist

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