Even though the Great Backyard Bird Count is still accepting check list submissions until March 1st, it is already a huge success. They already have 2,994 species recorded (at this posting) and over 23 million birds counted across the globe. So far bird watchers have submitted 114,050 check lists!
My list for the first day of the GBBC included 24 species, all observed from my yard in Northern California. Here are a few of the birds I counted in my yard on Friday, February 15th.
No yard list this time of year would be complete without the Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis).
I spotted two Eurasian Collard-Doves (Streptopelia decaocto)…
and a male Nuttall’s Woodpecker (Picides nuttallii).
I only saw one Purple Finch and there were only a few House Finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) around.
My resident White-breasted Nuthatches (Sitta carolinensis) were present…
and the Red-breasted Nuthatches (Sitta canadensis) that arrived back in September.
The Pine Siskins (Spinus pinus) have been here in large numbers, but not for this count…
and the Evening Grosbeaks(Coccothraustes vespertinus) never disappoint. This is the male…
and the equally gorgeous female Evening Grosbeak.
This is my Friday list for all the birds seen in or over my yard between 7am and 9am for the 16th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count:
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Mourning Dove – 12
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Anna’s Hummingbird – 1
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Lesser Goldfinch – 4
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American Robin – 7
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Western Bluebird – 2
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Spotted Towhee – 2
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Acorn Woodpecker – 2
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Northern Flicker – 1
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Red-shouldered Hawk – 1 (fly over)
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Oak Titmouse – 2
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Western Scrub-Jay – 7
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Ruby-crowned Kinglet – 1
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Evening Grosbeak – 38
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Dark-eyed Junco – 12
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California Quail – 7
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Pine Siskin – 8
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Red-breasted Nuthatch – 2
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White-breasted Nuthatch – 2
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House Finch – 2
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Purple Finch – 1
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Eurasian Collard-Dove – 2
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Hermit Thrush – 1
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Turkey Vuture – 7
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Tundra Swan – 30 (fly over)
For more great birding fun, catch Wild Bird Wednesday and The Bird D’pot.
Larry Jordan
Larry Jordan is an avid birder and amateur photographer living on the Pacific Flyway near the Central Valley of Northern California. He is a board member of his local Audubon Society and is a bird and wildlife conservationist. Larry contributes to several wildlife conservation organizations and is a BirdLife International "Species Champion." He is also Habitat Manager for the Burrowing Owl Conservation Network, an organization dedicated to the protection and restoration of the Western Burrowing Owl population in the United States. Larry has been blogging about birds since September of 2007 at TheBirdersReport.com
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