Life in the Back Yard: Part Two--Birds
I've seen 122 bird species in Wayne County Indiana so far. Here I'll report only on the 41 species I've seen so far on our property. Click on the link for more information on a species.
Mourning dove: Mourning doves are very common in Tucson so I was surprised that it took me a while to see one here. They are not uncommon here, but the don't reach the density that they have in suburban Tucson. Now that I've had a seed feeder out for a while, they come by sometimes to peck around on the ground for fallen seed.
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| Ruby-throated hummingbird |
Turkey vulture: Turkey vultures are quite common here as well as black vultures.
Cooper's hawk: This is another species that is common but less common than in Tucson. Tucson apparently has one of the highest densities of Cooper's hawks of anywhere in the world. However, they are seep pretty regularly here too.
Red-shouldered hawk: Red-shouldered hawk is fairly common here. I haven't gotten a good look at one in the back yard, but I have heard them and seen them flying past.
Yellow-bellied sapsucker: The only sapsucker around here. The yellow-bellied sapsucker is similar to the red-naped sapsucker of the West.
Red-bellied woodpecker: This woodpecker is the Indiana equivalent of Arizona's Gila woodpecker (genus Melanerpes). It is common in the East, South, and Midwest; uncommon in the plains states and peters out when it reaches the Rockies. The red-bellied woodpecker is as fun to watch and listen to as the Gila.
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| Downy woodpecker |
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| Eastern wood-pewee |
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| Blue jay |
Blue jay: Several jay species are found across the continental US, including three in southern Arizona. Most of them are blue, but the only one that's called "blue jay" is here in the east half of the continent. Jays are known for being social and making a racket!
American crow: Crows, ravens, jays, magpies are all in the Corvid family. All these birds are known to be smart, social, and noisy. American crow is the most widespread crow in North America. Another crow species, the fish crow, is concentrated in the south and up the southern Atlantic seaboard, but has sometimes been seen our part of the Midwest, so I'll have to keep an eye out for that.
Carolina chickadee: There are two chickadee species in the East: black-capped and Carolina. We've got Carolina chickadees around here. Black-capped are generally farther north and east.
Tufted titmouse: Chickadees, titmouses, and nuthatches are small, fast-moving birds that I haven't gotten good photos of yet. The tufted titmouse is an elegant little bird with a gray back, wings, crown, and crest, white underneath, a little russet color on the flanks, and a black forehead. It is found in most of the eastern and midwestern US.
Ruby-crowned kinglet: These small, fast birds are around during fall, winter, and spring--just like in Tucson. Ruby-crowned kinglets forage in a frenetic manner, making them hard to follow. But they are unmistakable once you learn the field marks that separate them from Hutton's vireo and golden-crowned kinglet.
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| White-breasted nuthatch (photo taken in AZ) |
Blue-gray gnatcatcher: Any identification difficulties separating one gnatcatcher from another is solved here in Indiana. There is only one kind, the blue-gray gnatcatcher!
Carolina wren: This is one of those birds that you don't really have to look for once you know its song. Carolina wren announces it presence with a rapid, repeated, three-note song (song available if you follow the link). The first time I hear one I didn't know what it was, and I looked and looked for it. I finally saw it perched in a tree.
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| Gray catbird (Photo taken in Colorado) |
Gray catbird: Gray catbirds area another species that is rare in the Southwest, but pretty common here. Both sexes are a handsome gray with a black cap. They make a variety of songs and calls, one of which sounds a little big like the mewing of a cat.
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| Brown thrasher |
Brown thrasher: There are several thrasher species in North America but this is the only one found around here. It is a bright brown bird, if the color brown can be said to be bright. Brown thrasher has a lively song.
Wood thrush: I haven't seen this one in the yard yet but I have heard it sing from the forest south and east of the house. This is another one that's rare in the Southwest and west of the Rockies. The Wood thrush, like many other thrushes, has an amazing song.
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| American robin |
American robin: American robins are super abundant here, nesting in forests and suburban trees, foraging on lawns, and grouping together in large flocks after the nesting season. Sometimes large flocks fly over, so it's good to know what they look like in flight. I've had 15 of them on the backyard lawn at one time. In Tucson I only saw them in the mountains and occasionally in the Tucson Basin in the winter.
Cedar waxwing: Beautiful birds. Cedar waxwings are around most of the year but thin out in the winter. The opposite is true in Tucson, where flocks show up sometimes in the winter but are gone most of the year.
House sparrow: Introduced from Eurasia, these little birds are ubiquitous in many parts of the Western Hemisphere. House sparrows don't come to my backyard feeders as often as house finches and other birds, but they are definitely around the neighborhood. 
House finch
House finch: House finches are native to the western US. They thrive here after being introduced in the 1930s.
American goldfinch: Much more golden--at least in spring and summer breeding plumage--than the lesser goldfinches in the West, American goldfinches come to seed feeders year around here. When there are no feeders, they hang on flower and grass seedheads and pluck out the seeds.
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| Chipping sparrow |
White-throated sparrow: White-throated sparrow is closely related to the white-crowned sparrow, which is common in Arizona in the winter. White-throated sparrow occasionally shows up in Arizona, while some white-crowned sparrow are found here in winter.
Song sparrow: Song sparrow has an energetic song that sounds a little bit like R2D2 to me. It is found all across North America except for far north arctic regions and some desert areas. In southern Arizona it is usually only found in wetlands. Its song has different dialects in different regions.
Baltimore oriole: Related to the Bullock's oriole in the West, Baltimore oriole is a bright orange bird that sings from high perches.
Brown-headed cowbird: Male brown-headed cowbirds are black with brown heads, giving them their name. Females are gray-brown all over and are nest parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other birds.
Common grackle: Grackles are big and loud, whether they be the great-tailed grackles of the West, the boat-tailed grackles of the South, or the common grackles of the East and Midwest.
Tennessee warbler: On a day in late September this and the next three warblers pass through the back yard in a winter mixed-species feeding flock. Before that the only warbler I had seen was a yellow-rumped warbler. I got some blurry photos of them but they were good enough for clinching the IDs. It is especially difficult to identify some of the warblers at this time of year due to their relatively dull fall plumage. Like many of the North American wood warblers, Tennessee warbler only migrates through this area, so you have to catch it in spring or fall as they pass through local forests and wood lots.
Nashville warbler: This is another warbler seen only in migration, but it is seen across the country rather than only in the East or West. Nashville warbler is similar to some of the other warblers that have gray hoods, except unlike the others it has a yellow throat.
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| Blackpoll warbler in fall plumage |
Cape May warbler: This was a life bird a couple weeks ago at a local park. It was nice to have a Cape May warbler show up again in the back yard.
Blackpoll warbler: I had only seen a blackpoll warbler once, and that was years ago. So it was a great surprise to find one in the back yard.
Yellow-rumped warbler: Yellow-rumped warblers are here, and in southern Arizona, in the winter. However, the predominant subspecies here is the "Myrtle" yellow-rumped warbler and in Arizona the "Audubon's" yellow-rumped warbler. That's a mouthfull.
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| Northern cardinal |
Northern cardinal: This is the bird after which this blog is named! Northern cardinals are found in the East, Midwest, and eastern Mexico. The southern part of their range in the US bends west into southern New Mexico and southern Arizona. Cornell's All About Birds website says, "The male Northern Cardinal is perhaps responsible for getting more people to open up a field guide than any other bird."
Rose-breasted grosbeak: These spectacular birds came to my feeder in May, when they were migtrating through, but haven't been seen since. Some rose-breasted grosbeaks apparently nest around here, but many more of them are seen in spring and fall migration.
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