46 replies to this topic

[paulkienitz]

We all look for the rarer and more interesting birds, and just try to look around the common birds that are there every day, right?  The totally common ones are often just distractions that make it harder to spot the rarer ones.  But which are common and which are rare depends on where you are...

Imagine how awesome it would be to see a mallard if it were rare.  I mean, it's quite a bird.  Even a rock dove (urban pigeon) might seem special if it were hard to find.

What are your birds that are so common you just kind of ignore them? Here's my list, for the eastern S.F. Bay Area:

All environments: rock dove, american crow, turkey vulture, house finch.

Urbanized areas: house sparrow, brewer's blackbird, western gull.

More natural areas: western scrub jay, lesser goldfinch, chestnut-backed chickadee, oak titmouse, anna's hummingbird, dark-eyed junco (oregon), california towhee, mourning dove, american robin, wild turkey, common raven, acorn woodpecker (depending on trees).

By fresh water: canada goose, mallard, american coot, double-crested cormorant, red-winged blackbird (no yellow spot), cliff swallow.

By salt water: western gull (vast numbers), brown pelican, great egret, snowy egret, western grebe, black-crowned night heron.  (There are lots of wading shorebirds, but they're too mixed and varied to single any out here.)

 

Of course, it's always an iffy judgment call to decide where to cut off the list, for birds that are almost routinely common, such as starlings.

I'd like to hear what you have all over that I never see, and vice versa.

[spyonabird]

I will kinda follow your format and list what I see as "common"

All environments: Mourning Dove, House Finch, Black Vulture

My Suburban backyard: American Robin, Northern Cardinal, Ruby Throated Hummingbird, American Goldfinch, Eastern Bluebird, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Coopers hawk, Northern Mockingbird

More natural areas: Blue Jay, Carolina chickadee, Tufted Ttitmouse, Carolina Wren, Downy Woodpecker, Red-tailed Hawk

By fresh water: canada goose, mallard,  Red-winged Blackbird, Great Blue Heron
By salt water: - not close enough to the ocean...

 

[cwj2323]

My answer won't be as organized. 

We live in a rural area surrounded by cropland and only two other homes within site of ours.  There is a creek about a half mile from here with a lot of trees lining one side. 

We commonly see house sparrows and house finches around the feeder.  Common grackles just about everywhere.  

The birds that are so numerous that they distract are Red-winged black birds.  They've been noisy enough to block the songs of other birds.   We also have quite a number of dickcissels that are still singing.  They have really thrived this year. 

Probably the biggest population by the creek is the tree sparrow.  We have barn swallows, but nothing like those tree swallows by the creek.  We need to get those birds to nest here, so they can put a dent in the bug population.

I am eagerly awaiting winter, when our Dark-eyed Juncos come back.  Last year, I was not able to count them at times because there were so many.  They actually outnumbered the house sparrows.  

[paulkienitz]

Thanks.  A lot of birds you guys mention are here too, though less common -- downies, red-tails, great blue herons, etc -- but others I've never seen in my life.  For instance, I've never once had a definite sighting of a cooper's.  And cardinals?  There is no such bird, they're mythical. 

[SmoothPebble]

Suburbs of Atlanta

Backyard, at least once a day allowing for migration

American Goldfinch, American Robin, Barn Swallow, Bluejay, Brown Thrasher, Brown-headed Cowbird, Brown-headed nuthatch, Caroline Chickadee, Caroline Wren, Chipping Sparrow, Common Grackle, Dark-eyed Junco (slate), Downy Woodpecker, Eastern Bluebird, Eastern Towhee, European Starling, House Finch, Mourning Dove, Northern Cardinal, Northern Mockingbird, Pine Warbler, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Red Winged Blackbird, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Song Sparrow, Tufted Titmouse, White-throated Sparrow, Yellow-rumped Wabler

Lake, two stone throws away

In addition to many of the backyard birds, Belted Kingfisher, Canada Goose (also see them fly over from my backyard), Great Blue Heron, Green Heron [Edit:  forgot Mallard]

Nearest coast, panhandle of Florida

Black-bellied Plover, Brown Pelican, Laughing Gull, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Willet

[creeker]

paulkienitz:

Thanks.  A lot of birds you guys mention are here too, though less common -- downies, red-tails, great blue herons, etc -- but others I've never seen in my life.  For instance, I've never once had a definite sighting of a cooper's.  And cardinals?  There is no such bird, they're mythical. 

Paul, Cardinals you wont see, but Cooper's Hawks are common around your area. It's been about 18 months since I've been up there, but the last time I was I saw some. Cooper's are usually not as obvious as Red-taileds with all the soaring and telephone pole sitting, and Red-shouldered with all the calling. Cooper's generally kind of slip in and out of the shadows. They're super stealthy. You will see one soon, with all the birding you've been doing. Cooper's nest near my place here, so I see them daily. I have witnessed some awesome chase scenes involving them and the Mourning Doves. As for the super common birds, We get a lot of the same ones here as you do. Instead of Chestnut-backed Chickadee we get Mountain Chickadee (in the mountains, of course). In addition to Red-winged Blackbird we get tons of Tri-colored. Great-tailed Grackle is abundant near freshwater. Bushtits are all over the place. Western and Cassin's Kingbirds are yard birds for me, as is Black Phoebe. Eurasian collared-Dove is getting more common by the day. Western Bluebird is abundant in the mountains, along with Allen's Hummingbird. There is a flock of 50 Red-crowned Parrots here, and a flock of 300 in the next town west of here. Get just an inch into the backcountry and Northern Flicker is abundant, along with Violet-green Swallow. About a half mile from my place is a lake full of nesting Great and Snowy Egrets, Great Blue Herons, and Black-crowned Night Herons. Just tons of them! Bunch of Wood Ducks bred there this year too. These are just a few off the top of my head.

[ginspin16]

in my neighborhood--

northern mockingbirds, rock pigeons, house sparrows, house finches, ravens, brewers blackbirds, mourning doves, collared doves, blackchinned hummingbirds

 

in southern california in general, the birds i have too many pictures of--

black phoebes, redtailed hawks,  california gulls, brown pelicans, great blue herons, great egrets, snowy egrets, coots, mallards, california towhees, acorn woodpeckers, redwinged blackbirds, blackcrowned nightherons, annas hummingbirds, whitecrowned sparrows

[paulkienitz]

It's weird what you'll see and what you won't.  There are massively abundant birds I've never seen, and when I was in Hawaii, I saw seven Nenes, which are supposed to be super endangered, like under a thousand left even after some recovery.

[dklucius]

mine is more seasonal with just a few year around visiters such as Magpies and scrub jays. In early spring to late summer i get lots of bullocks orioles and western tanagers black headed grosbeaks and evening grosbeaks. several nesting pairs of Lewis's woodpeckers and bunch of house finches and cassin's finches and mourning doves. and late fall to early spring i get tons of juncos and pine siskins and a mix of woodpeckers  and towhees and white crowned sparrows with lots of eurasian doves. get migrants or vagrants coming thu for a few hours or a few days such as red naped sapsuckers and red crossbills and flickers and lazuli buntings and some hummingbirds with an occasional grey jay scattered robins and bluebirds and a few steller jays in winter.

never get cardinals or bluejays or warblers or phoebes and never see a flycatcher here. there are a few lakes and resevoirs around that get the ducks and geese and water birds but not here at home. I do see hawks or falcons and several kinds of eagles that fly over once in awhile.

In total i have confirmed 58 different species of birds either in my backyard or flying over but many of them just a few times. i am in the foothills with mostly pinyon and juniper and oak brush with some old pastures and farm fields. but it is only miles in any direction to be in forests or canyons or deserts or irragated farms and ranches and many birds are just moving thru here to higher or lower elevations.

[creeker]

paulkienitz:

It's weird what you'll see and what you won't.  There are massively abundant birds I've never seen, and when I was in Hawaii, I saw seven Nenes, which are supposed to be super endangered, like under a thousand left even after some recovery.

Yeah, I see California Gnatcatcher all the time. Except when my birder buddy came from Alabama and it wouldn't show!

[DayPlover]

There are some birds I never get tired of seeing over and over again.

I'd have to say my most common birds would be the House Sparrow and the American Robin.

I see
House finches
Mourning Doves
Killdeer
American Crows
Blue jays
Downy Woodpeckers
Red-tailed Hawks
Mallards
Black-capped Chickadees
Tufted Titmice (?)
Red-winged Blackbirds
Chipping Sparrows
Great Blue Herons
Canada Geese
and Song Sparrows
just about everywhere, except really dense urban areas.

In deep forests, you can always hear Wood Thrush and Carolina Wrens.
And, surprisingly, Eastern Bluebirds are quite common, at least around my relatives' houses.

AND CARDINALS ARE REAL! My friend's friend's cousin saw one in the woods one time!

[Harrier]

Yeah, I was on this ghost hunting show, and we detected the paranormal presence of a cardinal. It was spooky.

 Super-common? Canada Geese, American Robin, Chimney swift (summer), Starling, House Sparrow, Northern Cardinal (sorry guys), Common Grackle, Red-winged Blackbird, Chipping Sparrow, Black-capped Chickadee, and Mourning Dove. 

[spyonabird]

Proof the elusive cardinal exists!

 

Attached Files

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[DayPlover]

As much as I'd love to believe that's authentic, that HAS to be photoshopped.
It's too nice of a picture.

[creeker]

spyonabird:

Proof the elusive cardinal exists!

I don't doubt they exist, just not in Lafayette, Ca.

[paulkienitz]

How do I know that YOU exist?

[spyonabird]

I think therefore I am....   Descartes  

 and as far the photoshopping... I have to confess.  I left the mythical bird red, but made the background B/W.

[Lutya]

The ones that I have seen near daily, since I started birding 4 months ago:

In my backyard:

American Crow

American Goldfinch

American Robin

Black-capped Chickadee

Blue Jay

Chipping Sparrow

Downy Woodpecker

Grey Catbird

Hairy Woodpecker

Mourning Dove

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Tufted Titmouse

 

 

Within a couple miles of my house:
Canada Goose

House Sparrow

Mallard

Red-tailed Hawk

Red-winged Blackbird

 

[Aveschapines]

I see the following every day around my house this time of year:

• Rufous-Collared Sparrows
• Black Vultures
• Rufous-Collared Robins
• House Sparrows
• Great-Tailed Grackles
  
• Lesser Goldfinches
• Various Pigeons
• Magnificent Hummingbirds
• White-Eared Hummingbirds
• Eastern Blue Birds

 During the US winter, I also see the following every day:

• Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds (since I got my feeder)
  
• Yellow Warblers
• Wilson's Warblers
• Townsend's Warblers

 Helen

[roundywaves]

This is a list of birds I see almost every day(when I go out), when they are here.  But the only ones that drive me nuts/ distract me or that I ignore, kind of, are house sparrows, European Starlings, and in the spring before they disperse, the red-winged blackbirds are crazy!!  One other time I remember being annoyed by a bird, was an indigo bunting that sang the same song all day for about a month. I don't have them nesting in my yard any more, so I really enjoy it when I see one.  They are so beautiful!!  I guess there are also a few that eventually get in the way, but I think it changes each year.  This year was the year of the gray catbird.  I believe we have at least 8 pair nesting in the neighborhood.  I wonder if they displaced the northern mockingbirds we had last year, or if the mockingbirds just found a different place to live.

 In my yard most of the winter:  white-breasted nuthatch, black-capped chickadee, tufted titmouse, northern cardinal, blue jay, American tree sparrow, hairy woodpecker, downy woodpecker, dark-eyed junco, mourning dove, American goldfinch, American Crow

In my neighborhood in the spring:  song sparrow, red-winged blackbird, American Crow, brownheaded cowbird,  yellow warbler, common yellowthroat, American Robin, bobolink, eastern bluebird, eastern kingbird, gray catbird, tree swallow, Canada goose, red-bellied woodpecker, Least flycatcher, eastern phoebe, mourning dove, American goldfinch, chipping sparrow, northern cardinal, eastern towhee, common grackle, house sparrow, ovenbird, European starling, warbling vireo, brown thrasher, house finch

This Summer in my neighborhood and yard:  downy woodpecker, gray catbird, American Robin, ruby-throated hummingbird, red-eyed vireo, yellow-throated vireo, song sparrow, house wren, cedar waxwing, American crow, house sparrow, eastern wood-pewee, chipping sparrow, Northern Cardinal

We have a turkey family in our neighborhood.  When they roost near our home, we see them often, when they are roosting in another area, we don't see them for awhile.