Yard list

[brett.l.walker]

Thomas, thanks for the fun questions re: yard lists. 

How long? 16 years

Style? Moderate

How many species? 96 (but we are undoubtedly missing several we just forgot to write down)

Location/habitat: suburban yard in Fruita, CO, but within 200 yds of a desert wash and ag fields and less than a mile from the Colorado River.

Rarest species? Rose-breasted Grosbeak (two different individual second-year males in back to back springs!)

Favorite species? Blue Grosbeaks, Lazuli Buntings, and Pinyon Jays

Favorite moment? I identified a flock of Snow Geese by sound calling overhead on a foggy fall night (they are uncommon in the Grand Valley), then they appeared out of the mist flying just low enough over the house to see them illuminated from below in the city lights!

We've seen a bunch more species in the wash nearby, but not from the yard yet (White-throated Sparrow, Wood Duck, White-winged Dove, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Loggerhead Shrike, Juniper Titmouse,  House Wren, Song Sparrow, Yellow-breasted Chat)

Brett Walker

Fruita, CO

[Peter Ruprecht]

CObirders,

Thanks for this fascinating discussion.

I'd like to mention my yard list, not the birds on it so much, but the physical list itself. For 18 years I kept it on paper in the kitchen where I could easily consult it (and reminisce about past sightings when there weren't any birds around.) Our house burned in the Marshall Fire and sadly I did not grab the list when rushing to escape. That was a real disappointment.

Imagine my delight when I was rummaging through old files in my google drive and found that I had made a copy of the list a few months prior to the fire, and then forgotten about it. We just moved back home and I wonder how long it'll take to add a new species to the list given that there are few trees and bushes left nearby. That next entry will be so satisfying!

In case you are wondering, we had seen 130 species from our small suburban yard that backs to a large open space. (I count birds I see from the yard, even if they're in the OS.) Over 18 years, we had 18 raptor species; having a pdog colony right over the back fence helps with that. Other fun finds were Field Sparrow, Bewick's Wren, Ash-throated Flycatcher, and flocks of migrating Sandhill Cranes every October.

Peter Ruprecht

Superior

[Peter Ruprecht]

I have appreciated the kind notes from several CObirders following my post.

I wanted to update that I just got my first post-fire addition to the yard list: a small flock of Western Bluebirds, absolutely gorgeous against a snowy backdrop!

(Not really about the yard list, but about yard birding and the fire - On our first visit back to the burned lot in January 2022, I only saw two birds, a raven and a dove (Common Raven and Eurasian Collared-Dove.) I'm not especially religious but I did like the post-disaster symbolism.)

Peter Ruprecht

Superior