2009: The Heineman-Fleck House Yard List

2009 was the first full year I’ve been thorough in keeping track of my yard birds. We always looked idly out and enjoyed them, especially since Lissa built me a pond a while back for my birthday. But in 2009, I kept lists. Sometimes it was an hour on a summer evening sitting at the patio table. Sometimes it was a few minutes with a warm cup of coffee on a cold morning, sitting on the back stoop. Sometimes it was jotted notes of the birds I saw when I looked up from my work in my home office, which looks out on the pond and the feeders. I try to get at least one set of observations a week, though as you’ll see below I averaged nearly three.

roadrunner

That’s Speedy, the roadrunner that took up residence in fall 2008 and was around through last August. Sadly, we haven’t seem him around lately. He was great fun. I’d see the yard birds take flight, up to the telephone wires, and immediately start looking for Speedy on the prowl. The coolest thing was the day I saw him get an unsuspecting sparrow. Snapped the little bird’s neck and swallowed it whole after picking off the feathers (and a few gratuitous whacks on the ground to make sure it was dead.)

Herein, then, the Heineman-Fleck family home 2009 yard list:

The number is the percentage of lists submitted each month to eBird in which the named bird appears.

43 species of birds identified, 153 observations submitted.

Species Name
Jan
2009
Feb
2009
Mar
2009
Apr
2009
May
2009
Jun
2009
Jul
2009
Aug
2009
Sep
2009
Oct
2009
Nov
2009
Dec
2009
Sharp-shinned Hawk
7
Cooper’s Hawk
6
6
6
8
Accipiter sp.
7
Rock Pigeon
12
27
25
33
25
33
17
35
6
8
17
20
Eurasian Collared-Dove
8
6
18
19
23
6
47
White-winged Dove
62
73
100
100
100
100
83
76
69
100
89
93
Mourning Dove
25
18
25
67
75
100
89
59
69
38
56
53
Inca Dove
50
8
28
24
19
46
33
33
Budgerigar
6
Greater Roadrunner
25
25
17
17
6
6
Common Nighthawk
8
6
6
Black-chinned Hummingbird
33
50
58
33
29
50
Calliope Hummingbird
6
19
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
6
Rufous Hummingbird
39
41
Red-naped Sapsucker
6
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
6
9
8
6
6
6
8
6
13
Northern Flicker
6
6
15
17
33
Olive-sided Flycatcher
6
Western Scrub-Jay
31
22
American Crow
8
11
47
Cliff Swallow
25
17
6
12
Mountain Chickadee
6
7
Bushtit
9
6
6
6
8
6
7
Brown Creeper
6
Bewick’s Wren
27
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
25
6
6
American Robin
31
45
75
83
75
50
17
19
8
33
60
European Starling
6
9
8
6
7
Yellow-rumped Warbler
9
23
17
7
Western Tanager
6
Green-tailed Towhee
25
Spotted Towhee
13
Chipping Sparrow
17
12
White-crowned Sparrow
17
25
15
11
Dark-eyed Junco
44
36
50
23
94
113
Black-headed Grosbeak
50
6
Great-tailed Grackle
6
Bullock’s Oriole
8
House Finch
50
73
75
83
100
92
83
76
75
85
83
87
Lesser Goldfinch
25
36
25
33
25
42
39
53
19
15
17
13
American Goldfinch
12
House Sparrow
44
55
75
83
100
100
83
53
50
85
83
87

2 Comments

  1. That’s almost as much as I used to get in Western WA, but then I didn’t have a hummingbird feeder, either. and I didn’t do ‘spp’ ;o)

    Other than the jealous quibbling, I’m envious. Nowhere near that many out here.

    Best,

    D

Comments are closed.