It's Not About the Numbers...

Really, it’s not about the numbers, it’s about the birds.  But the numbers are fun, too!

This year was a great year for us for birds and keeping track of the numbers of them.  We had 114 kinds of birds on our property list in 2014.  That beat our old record of 103 (in 2010) by 11!  We had 8 completely new birds on the property this year.  Last year I posted our list and explained more about it.  To read it, you can click here.

Since 2008, our list has been kept in a little spiral-bound notebook.  

This year I also kept the list on a spreadsheet on my laptop.  (I know, high tech, huh?).  I’ve recently entered all the past year dates from the notebook into my computer as well.  (and printed it out on paper... I'm not ready to completely rely on my computer!)

My computer spreadsheet, paper print-out, and old-fashioned notebook!

 It’s been quite interesting to compare years and remember wonderful days full of warblers arriving in the spring or exciting days when birds appeared that we never thought we’d see here. Such as three Sandhill Cranes on May 1st.

 Our list has grown over the years as we've become better birders.  (I say "we" because this includes my family members who also add birds to the list when they see them).  We've gotten better at identifying birds.  The list has also grown as we learn more about where to look for certain birds.  And it has grown as we have simply spent more time looking for birds.  Of course, some of it is just 'luck'!

Of the 8 new species, I'd say the Sandhill Cranes were in the 'luck' category.  It was a warm spring day, and my husband and I were both outside where we could hear them coming from a long way off.  I had time to run in the house and get my camera to document their fly-over.  

The other 7 new ones included:  American Black Ducks (very likely they've been in our swamp before, so they would fall into the category of better identifying skills).  We had a Black and White Warbler on May 1st.  (Probably from the category of spending more time looking).  Then a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher on May 6th. (looking, identifying, and luck!)
He was a real cutie!

In May, of course, comes the flurry of migration and many beautiful warblers.  Our Chestnut-sided Warblers arrived on May 9th and started vying for nesting territory in our woods.

Just a couple of days later, I noticed a bird building a nest down by the swamp.  It was another first on the property list -- a Yellow-throated Vireo.

The very next day, I added another new one to the property list-- a Wilson's Warbler (which we've seen other places but never here before).

Lots more warblers came thru in May, either to nest here or just pass thru.  The last to come was another new one for us -- several Blackpoll Warblers on May 26th.  Learning from new birding friends was the key to seeing these tiny warblers (I was out hanging up laundry but heard their high-pitched calls and had just learned they were late-migrants so went looking for them).

Some birds on the list are "heard only" birds like Great-horned Owls.  I do try my best to see all the birds I can (after all that's a big part of the fun).  Cuckoos are some that can be hard to see, though we hear them calling often in the summer months.  This Black-billed Cuckoo posed nicely for me on June 4th. 

As summer waned, I started to watch for fall migrants.  One warbler I missed during spring migration made sure I saw it on September 1st by visiting our bird feeder area.  Here's a fall Prairie Warbler on the feeder pole - photo taken from the kitchen window!

 This fall I also decided to try to learn more sparrow id's.  That helped me to get the next new bird -- a Lincoln's Sparrow on October 1st.   (Its picture is in my post about sparrows.)  We had quite a good fall for rarities, too, adding Pine Siskin, Evening Grosbeak, Killdeer (not rare but not usually here on November 19th!) Ring-necked Pheasant, and Rusty Blackbird.  (See this post)

Pine Siskin and American Goldfinch

The final bird of the year (unless something unexpected appears this afternoon!) was #114,  a Common Redpoll on December 18th.

I was glad I had my camera handy, because it appeared briefly and didn't return.  

I came up with a total number of 139 different species on my spreadsheet of birds from 2008 til 2014, so we probably could have a year with more than 114 sightings.  It would take good id'ing, lots of time watching, and lots of luck.  

We really should have had 115 on the list this year.  Why?  Because somehow we missed writing down Wood Thrush!  I realized this when I computerized the lists of previous years and it didn't show up on the 2014 column.  Am I going to add it now? No, because the thing about keeping lists of the birds you see is that you have to be completely honest about it.   What good would it do to make up a bird sighting or list a bird if you are not sure of its identity?  As I said in the beginning, it's about the birds, not the numbers.  It's about the enjoyment and thrill of seeing each bird, whether it be a trio of Sandhill Cranes or hearing the song of a Wood Thrush.  Maybe next year I'll be better organized and not miss writing any down.... sounds like a good New Years resolution!