2012 Bird List

I'm not really a big fan of lists in general since most lists I do are of all the errands and minutiae I have to attend to on my days off.  When it comes to birding I don't keep many lists either other than maintaining a journal in which I check off species that I see.  Earlier in the year I decided to start a yearly bird list along with the date (when applicable) of when I had my first sighting.

Its a modest list as I've seen ones by professionals that I could only dream of.  (According to this list from Bird Life International, there are something like 192 species to be found here, so clearly I have a long way to go.) Still, considering the number of days I worked this years and all the extra shifts, my year list is bigger than what I thought it would be when I began in back in January.  (I never seemed able to get out for a hike nearly as often as I would have liked.)  My list contains not only the usual suspects but also a few species I hadn't seen before and a few we don't get here that often, at least according the birding guides in my possession.  (The Orange-Crowned Warbler and White-Crowned Sparrow were a couple nice bonuses.)  There were a few around the house I saw this year that I don't recall seeing last year hence my wanting to keep yearly lists so I can compare year to year.  The only thing I wish I had done was to record where I made my sightings.

Here then, is my 2012 birding list, along with the date of first sighting.  The first few over-winter and I see them on a regular basis around the house here so I didn't bother with dates for them.  And, yes, there may be a few mistakes in the list, but still, not too shabby for a first attempt.

1.  Common Raven

2.  Black-billed Magpie

3.  Evening Grosbeak

4.  Pine Grosbeak

5. Common Redpoll

6. Bohemian Waxwing

7.  Black-capped Chickadee

8.  House Sparrow

9.  Downy Woodpecker - March 27

10.  Slate-Colored Junco - April 5 (these guys are year-round residents but for some reason I didn't sight any at the backyard feeder until mid-spring)

11.  Herring Gull - April 10

12.  Canada Goose - April 15

13.  Chipping Sparrow - April 18

14.  Rock Dove - April 20

15.  Tree Swallow - April 20

16.  Red-winged Blackbird - April 21

17.  American Robin - April 24

18.  Brewer's Blackbird - May 9

19.  Orange-Crowned Warbler - May 9 (first-time sighting)

20.  Bonaparte's Gull - May 12

21.  White-Crowned Sparrow -  May 12 (first-time sighting)

22.  Northern Flicker - May 18

23.  Hairy Woodpecker - May 18

24.  Purple Finch - May 19

25.  Lincoln's Sparrow - May 27

26.  Bufflehead - May 27

27.  Solitary Sandpiper - May 27 (first-time sighting)

28.  Brown-headed Cowbird - May 27 (first-time sighting)

29.  Clay-coloured Sparrow - June 14

30.  Blue Jay - June 16 (Why it took so long I have no idea seeing as they do over-winter)

31.  Common Goldeneye - June 16

32.  Mallard - June 16

33. Eastern Kingbird - July 29 (first-time sighting)

34. Barn Swallow - July 29

35. Grey Catbird - September 20

36. Greater Yellowlegs (possibly a Lesser Yellowlegs) - October 6 (first-time sighting)