My Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC)

House Finches in the Patio

This weekend I participated in a bird count for the first time. The Great Backyard Bird Count took place over four days: February 16-19. I limited my observations to the birds I could see in or flying over my 2500 square foot patio.

Here are my maximum counts – a total of 170 birds, 19 species.

Abert's Towhee - 2
Anna's Hummingbird - 3
Cactus Wren - 2
Cooper's Hawk- 2
Curve-billed Thrasher - 4
Gambel's Quail - 14
Gila Woodpecker - 4
Greater Roadrunner - 1
Great-tailed Grackle - 5
House Finch - 40
House Sparrow - 25
Lesser Goldfinch - 10
Mourning Dove - 45
Northern Cardinal - 2
Northern Mockingbird - 2
Phainopepla - 4
Red-tailed Hawk - 2
Vermilion Flycatcher - 1
White-crowned Sparrow - 2

I rated myself as Fair (the lowest possible) for bird identification ability/experience. I haven’t yet learned to distinguish the sparrows or to be certain of the finches. Habitat, location: suburban, yard. Snow: none.

I checked the Top Ten Lists and was happy to see that as of this morning Tucson, Arizona came in fourth in localities reporting the most species and seventh in localities submitting the most checklists. Arizona came in fourth in States/Provinces submitting the most checklists. Of the ten most frequently reported birds nationwide, the following were on my list: Northern Cardinal, Mourning Dove, House Finch and House Sparrow.

I knew that Clare of The House and Other Arctic Musings was participating. So just for fun, I checked the Nunavut counts. One specie: Common Raven, count 148 – from 5 checklists. Clare counted 67 in one location. John of A DC Birding Blog blew me away with his reports, including 1400 Canada Geese at Hains Point and the Tidal Basin. Bootstrap Analysis in Michigan had some interesting sightings, too. I'd love to hear about other results.

This was fun and I hope to do it again next year. Meanwhile, I need to learn more about finches and sparrows.