Here’s a list of the birds
that have stopped by the house
My office is on the second floor. When I’m working on the computer, out of the corner of my eye to my left is a window that looks out toward the bird feeders. One drab, rainy, mild March day in 1998? 1999?, a flash of orange caught my eye. It was a Baltimore Oriole. I’d never seen one before. That patch of bright orange, especially because of the gray day, literally jumped out from the green pine trees.
That day turned out to be midly unproductive as, for some reason, lots of birds stopped by our bird feeders on their way... somewhere. Seemed like every time Joann and I finished identifying a bird and went back to our respective work, a different bird would show up. We started keeping track of the birds by writing their family names in pencil on the kitchen door itself. This door not only had a window that faced the bird feeders, but it also had space to easily jot down a list of names. Time to finally make that list a bit more permanent, especially because the list is in pencil and the door really should be cleaned at some point. (But not necessarily now!) Here’s that list, plus some.
- M = Male
- F = Female
- Baltimore Oriole — M
- Red-Wing Blackbird — M F
- Downey Woodpecker — M
- Hairy Woodpecker — M
- Blue Jay — M F
- Goldfinch — M F
- Cardinal — M F
- Ruby-Throated Hummingbird — M
- Junco — ?
- Mourning Dove — ?
- Rufous-Sided Towhee — M
- Rose-Breasted Grosbeak — M F
- Chickadee — ?
- Tufted Titmouse — ?
- Robin — M
- Red-Tailed Hawk — ?
- Cowbird — M F
- Common Grackle — M
- Common Nighthawk — ?
- Indigo Bunting — M
- Evening Grosbeak — M
Since that March day:
- Kestral — M
- Purple Finch — ?
- Broad-Winged Hawk — ?
- Chipping Sparrow — ?
- Ruffed Grouse — ?
- Common Redpoll — M F
- Pileated Woodpecker — ?
- Crow — M F
- Raven — M F
- Red-Bellied Woodpecker — F (11/14/08)
- Turkey — M F (See pictures here.)
- Turkey Vulture — Juvenile
- Evening Grosbeak — M F
