This winter, both the NH Audubon Society Winter Bird Survey, and the Cornell / Audubon Back Yard Bird Count were on the same weekend. This pleased me as I had a record number of species to report (for me) and I could use that for both counts. There were also sparrows that I wasn't confident of the identification, and some I couldn't even guess or find in a book to my satisfaction. Without further ado, here is my list for this year:
- Blue Jay - 2
- Crow - 2
- Goldfinch - 16
- Chickadee - 2
- Cardinal - 3 (1M & 2F
- Purple Finch - 12 (Cornell tells me that is an unusually high number, but I am positive they were purple, not house finches)
- WB Nuthatch - 1 (too bad I didn't see both of them that are usually around)
- Pine Siskin - 4
- Junco - 2 (a really low number as far as I am concerned)
- Starling - 1 (first one I have seen in NH and was thumbing thru my bird book when I looked up saw the bird on the railing, looked down and I was on that page in the book - funny how that worked out)
- Tufted Titmouse - 2 (usually have 3)
- Downey Woodpecker -1 male
- Mourning Dove - 4
- Pileated Woodpecker - 1 (seen pounding on a dead tree in the empty lot/swamp next door. Was super excited to see it!)
- Sparrows of indeterminate species - around 20
I reported today on the Cornell BYBC site, and will mail in my list to the NH Audubon on Monday
You have a list that I can only envy. Pileated, indeed! Well done! We didn't participate this year.
Posted by: Cop Car | February 22, 2015 at 11:58 AM
Too bad you didn't get to participate! I did figure out that the birds I listed as Purple Finches were actually house finches (as you had told me CC). I had earlier seen some true purple finch females (identified by the white stripe above the eye - unfortunately, I don't know how many, so couldn't count them in my final report), but the pictures I had of the flock, were all of house finches.
Posted by: bogie | February 28, 2015 at 07:22 PM
Still a good list and you got to at least see the purples even if you didn't quite get them in the count. Well done!
P.S. I don't dare try to ID male purple finches. The females are much the easier to nail down.
Posted by: Cop Car | March 01, 2015 at 11:24 AM