Friday, February 13, 2009

The Chateau Papillon Bird List (to date)

Beth and I are both avid birders (and I quite interested in bird photography as well), and the natural setting and proximity to the wooded Fairfax Villa Park were big selling points for us when choosing our home.  Though we moved in late enough into November that we'd missed most of the Fall migration and its selection of transient bird life, and the winter weather has largely confined us to window-birding, so far the back yard bird selection has been promising indeed!

Off the top of my head, the following birds have either been in the yard itself (at a feeder or tree) or else in the immediate vicinity (such as the case with several hawks and a vulture or two overhead):
  • White-throated Sparrow
  • White-crowned Sparrow (a rarity for our area!)
  • Song Sparrow
  • Dark-eyed Junco (slatey-race)
  • Northern Cardinal
  • Downy Woodpecker
  • Red-bellied Woodpecker
  • Pileated Woodpecker (heard--not yet seen)
  • Northern Flicker
  • Tufted Titmouse
  • Carolina Chickadee
  • Carolina Wren
  • House Wren
  • Blue Jay
  • Common Grackle
  • American Crow
  • Fish Crow
  • Eastern Bluebird (a nice surprise!)
  • House Finch
  • American Goldfinch
  • Brown Creeper (uncommon--but we've seen several!)
  • White-breasted Nuthatch
  • Mourning Dove
  • Red-shouldered Hawk
  • Red-tailed Hawk
  • Cooper's Hawk (nearly made a lunch of a Mourning Dove)
  • Turkey Vulture
  • European Starling
  • American Robin
I'm hoping when we have a chance to work on landscaping--particularly with regard to the water feature(s) we want to put in--that we attract a Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, or one of the Night Herons or two from time to time as well.  And, of course, though I expect several more yard "regulars" such as the Northern Mockingbird and the Grey Catbird, I hope to entice in several migrants which we never really got in our yard at the rental house in Vienna.  I'm hoping our yard reaches a species list of close to 50-60 birds eventually; although I can't expect many of the water and shorebirds we see at some of our favorite area parks (like Huntley Meadows), I'm hoping to see Cedar Waxwings, several warblers, orioles, and tanagers along with quite a few more sparrows, so I think that's an achievable goal.

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