This has been fun to see what's shown up in yards. I do this daily by participating in the e-bird yard tallies, but I've noticed that many of these fantastic lists people have been sending in, are not included! I'd like to recommend that people go to eBird, click "explore", go down to "yard birds" then click "add a yard". Put in the location name you use for your yard. Then at the top where it says "region", click that and enter Colorado. It's fascinating to watch what different people have seen. You can even follow a bit of migration patterns by seeing who has seen what, where. There are rules to follow -- any bird you see while in your yard. Don't cheat! I've often seen a bird while outside the yard and had to see if I could still see or hear it when I'd crossed over my property line back into my own yard. If no, it doesn't go on the list. Of course if some of these wonderful yards that you've all posted here are included in eBird's yard list, my ranking will go way down! But that's ok.
My own stats: How long have you been keeping your list? Have lived here 60 years but only birded a lot here for 25. Then discovered during the pandemic that exploring my own yard daily was really as exciting as driving around chasing birds in different places. What's your style of yard listing: I'd have to say obsessed -- a minimum of 3 trips around the property every day, often more. How many species? 139 Rarest, or favorite species? The Bobwhite was unexpected (escaped?) and the Snipe that blew in after a storm and let me walk right up to it. Northern Parula and Chestnut-sided are the rare warblers. The 200 Bohemian Waxwings were definitely exciting, but I actually prefer the Cedars and love seeing them. Just yesterday had a pair of Hooded Mergansers in the Creek. But I actually love being able to show people my Eastern Screech Owls. Many people got a lifer seeing them peek out of their holes. Birders always welcome. Most memorable experience? Maybe it was watching a Bushtit hung up on a twig 20' up and hanging by its tail. Other Bushtits tried to free it but couldn't, so a Chickadee finally came over and snipped off the twig, freeing the Bushtit. Location/habitat: suburban. Lucky enough to have 2.5 acres with big trees and a bit of creek. And I let it go completely wild. Other location in foothills above Westcliffe: species: 105 The Saw-whet was pretty special, and a 5-woodpecker day (can't compete with Duane!). but nothing could beat the 3,000 Sandhills flying over in one day. -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate. * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/membership/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAA-Db7eF8BnRxAANcugKYTpiXQV71piqK7FNtJZRxrVhONBueA%40mail.gmail.com.
