I'm fairly new at serious birdwatching but I've quickly become addicted.  We've had feeders off and on for years but I really started watching what specific birds used the feeders this spring.  Well, to be honest, it started out as an excuse to sit on the front porch every afternoon to enjoy the peace and quiet but then I really got interested.  Then I had to buy a field guide to ID the ones I didn't know and THEN I had to have a camera.  At that point I was hooked.

So anyway, since I didn't have plans for the 4th of July weekend (sad isn't it?) I decided to see how many species I could see.  Except for the bird walk I took at LeFluer's Bluff State Park in Jackson, MS on Saturday morning, all the rest of the time was spent on our property, in the neighborhood, or just around town.  In just those three days, I saw 49 different species, 9 of which were first timers ( in bold below).  The following is a list of what I saw:

canada geese, mallard (f), anhinga, great blue heron, great egret, snowy egret, little blue heron, green heron, yellow-crowned night heron (saw both an adult and a juvie), cattle egret, black vulture, turkey vulture, red-shouldered hawk, red-tailed hawk, kildeer, mourning dove, yellow-billed cuckoo, chimney swift, ruby-throated hummingbird (m/f), belted kingfisher (m), red-headed woodpecker, red-bellied woodpecker (m/j/and a nest hole), downy woodpecker, northern flicker, pileated woodpecker (one at the nest and one in the nest hole), white-eyed vireo, blue jay, american crow, barn swallow, carolina chickadee, tufted titmouse, white-breastwed nuthatch, carolina wren, blue gray gnatcatcher, american robin, northern mockingbird, brown thrasher, prothonotary warbler, louisiana waterthrush, summer tanager (m/f), eastern towhee (m), northern cardinal (m/f/j), red-winged blackbird (m/f), indigo bunting (m/f), brown-headed cowbird, house finch (m/f), house sparrow, orchard oriole (m/f), and eastern bluebird (m/f/and juvie looking out of the nest box).

I also heard a fish crow but didn't see it so I didn't count it.