Backyard BirdRace/The Daily Bucket Combo - April Tally

Welcome back Backyard BirdRacers!

The Daily Kos Backyard BirdRace is a birding “competition” where, over the course of one year, participants strive to identify the most bird species - by sight and/or by sound - from their yards.

I will be your substitute host for this month’s tally while OceanDiver goes off on a tropical adventure.

In January, we introduced the new and revised version of the Backyard BirdRace.

This time around, we each watch for birds in our yard — however you want to define that —  and keep a list of them to share here each month in the BirdRace diary. We’ll each be keeping track of our own bird lists this time. eBird is a very easy way to do that. Or you can write them down in a notebook.

We hope to generate some conversation amongst us comparing and contrasting who we see, and perhaps find some insights into the world of birds as they intersect with our lives.

The “race” aspect is a form of gentle humorous encouragement to keep watching throughout the year…. perhaps you will see more birds than you thought, or than you saw last year or a decade ago, or your fellow regional kossacks, or other birdracers who live in the same kind of setting as yourself. It’s all a discovery, and meant to be fun.

So if you’d like to participate, please list the birds you’ve seen, naming your general locale and type of setting. Pointing out who are the new birds since last month will be useful information too.

Here’s my report for this edition:

Locale: Northeast corner of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state

Setting: My yard consists of a very wooded 6 acres (Western Redcedar, Douglas Fir, Big-leaf Maples, and Alders) descending down a steep high bluff to a pebbly beach on Discovery Bay. There is an intermittent stream/ seasonal wetland down the center of the property.  I have a number of bird feeders and native shrubs to attract birds who happen by.

Here’s my list in chronological order with the new birds below the line:

1 Anna's Hummingbird - Calypte anna 02 Jan 2 Glaucous-winged Gull - Larus glaucescens 02 Jan 3 Bald Eagle - Haliaeetus leucocephalus 02 Jan 4 Red-breasted Sapsucker - Sphyrapicus ruber 02 Jan 5 Downy Woodpecker - Dryobates pubescens 02 Jan 6 Hairy Woodpecker - Dryobates villosus 02 Jan 7 Pileated Woodpecker - Dryocopus pileatus 02 Jan 8 Northern Flicker - Colaptes auratus 02 Jan 9 Common Raven - Corvus corax 02 Jan 10 Chestnut-backed Chickadee - Poecile rufescens 02 Jan 11 Red-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta canadensis 02 Jan 12 Brown Creeper - Certhia americana 02 Jan 13 Dark-eyed Junco - Junco hyemalis 02 Jan 14 Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia 02 Jan 15 Spotted Towhee - Pipilo maculatus 02 Jan 16 Common Merganser - Mergus merganser 13 Jan 17 Pacific Wren - Troglodytes pacificus 13 Jan 18 Red-breasted Merganser - Mergus serrator 16 Jan 19 Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus 17 Jan 20 Horned Grebe - Podiceps auritus 21 Jan 21 Bufflehead - Bucephala albeola 27 Jan 22 Common Goldeneye - Bucephala clangula 27 Jan 23 Hooded Merganser - Lophodytes cucullatus 27 Jan 24 Herring Gull - Larus argentatus 27 Jan 25 Double-crested Cormorant - Phalacrocorax auritus 27 Jan 26 Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias 27 Jan 27 Northwestern Crow - Corvus caurinus 27 Jan 28 Sharp-shinned Hawk - Accipiter striatus 30 Jan 29 Barred Owl - Strix varia 01 Feb 30 Pine Siskin - Spinus pinus 07 Feb 31 Golden-crowned Kinglet - Regulus satrapa 12 Feb 32 Purple Finch - Haemorhous purpureus 05 Mar

____________________ new since last report_______________________

33    Rufous Hummingbird - Selasphorus rufus    16 Mar 34    American Robin - Turdus migratorius        16 Mar 35    Rhinoceros Auklet - Cerorhinca monocerata    18 Mar 36    Band-tailed Pigeon - Patagioenas fasciata    19 Mar 37    Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos    01 Apr 38    Western Grebe - Aechmophorus occidentalis    01 Apr 39    Mew Gull - Larus canus    01 Apr 40    Belted Kingfisher - Megaceryle alcyon    01 Apr​​​​​​

Total cumulative birds for me so far this year: 40

Band-tailed Pigeons are back

Notable observations in the past month include a large group (raft?) of Red-breasted mergansers (probably 50 or so) swimming through the view of Discovery Bay offered by my spotting scope. I’d never seen them in such numbers.  I am also thrilled to see a couple of elegant Western grebes through the scope and relatively close in.  Up by the house, the Rufous and Anna’s hummingbirds are battling for access to the feeders.  Two Anna’s females will share the same feeder, but otherwise the hummingbirds here prefer to eat alone.  I’m always amazed when I visit other places and each of their feeders is hosting a bunch of hummers simultaneously.  That never happens in my yard.

Feel free to add a comment below about your bird observations this year so far.

🦠

I offered to post OceanDiver’s tally while she’s gone.  Here it is: 

Salish Sea island, Washington state

Mixed edge habitat, including a quiet bay overlook

What I've noted is the beginning of the seasonal shift, with fewer winter birds like ducks and more summer birds. Luckily I caught a couple of winter residents before they departed, a Green-winged teal and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. The teal was a real surprise, never seen it in this bay before, and they've been more abundant on the island in general this winter. I may have seen 3 Trumpeter swans flying over but can't be sure (not wearing glasses) so I'll have to wait until fall for a definitive sighting.

Newcomers are Rufous hummers and American goldfinch, the latter not yellow yet. A couple of pine siskins visited the feeder one day - their presence is pretty random and unpredictable. Have seen no swallows or warblers yet in my yard.

6 new birds, 47 total since January.

🦠

And of course as always, we welcome your notes about any aspect of nature in your area. This diary is also The Daily Bucket for today.

Here on the NE corner of the Olympic Peninsula, April showers have arrived after a long dry spell in March.  I am celebrating the rain, especially since I’m planning a “moss walk” with a nature group in a couple of weeks and I don’t want the mosses to get all dried out. 

Stair-step moss (Hylocomium splendens) in Fort Townsend State Park

Grass widow or Satin flower (Olsynium douglasii) at Kah Tai Prairie

Yesterday, we stopped by the Kah Tai Prairie in Port Townsend.  The Grass widows and the Desert parsley (Lomatium utriculatum) are both in bloom.

The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns. We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below.

What’s up in nature in your area? 🦠

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