I began birding 10 years ago in Englewood, NJ. I discovered the Great Backyard Bird Count online and walked down my street trying to count birds, only to discover I literally could not even ID a House Sparrow. For some reason that I still cannot explain or describe, I became hooked on birds, and I have never looked back. So I can actually say that a House Sparrow got me into bird watching!
We just moved to Ringwood, NJ, which is so wonderful already, and I’m thrilled. But I leave my Englewood yard with a very heavy heart and much sadness for all my “regular” yard birds, like Mr. and Mrs. Led-belly (who just recently had another successful nest this year, producing a probable female baby), Boyd and Betty the Robins, the Downy Woodpeckers, the 15 or so Blue Jays, the Cardinals, Grackles, Red-winged Blackbirds, and so many more. My yard has produced 85 species over the past 10 years that I am aware of. Who knows what else has flown through when I was not there? 85 species is pretty amazing for a small plot of land (50 feet by 150 feet) in a very suburban neighborhood directly across from Route 4. Some of the more unusual/exciting birds I’ve seen there are Monk Parakeet, Common Nighthawk, Bald Eagle, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Common Raven, Winter Wren, Golden- and Ruby-crowned Kinglets (both were life birds on the same day!), Hermit Thrush, Brown Thrasher, Clay-colored Sparrow, Field Sparrow, American Tree Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Indigo Bunting, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Pine Siskin, Purple Finch, and warblers of the following flavors: Tennessee, Blackpoll, Black-throated Green, Black & White, Pine, Palm, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Redstart, and Common Yellowthroat.
Below is a list complied from eBird (which I started using over 10 years ago from the day I began bird watching) of my complete yard list, including breeding birds and life birds in my yard. So far the Ringwood yard has been exceptional, producing my most-wanted yard bird – Pileated Woodpecker – just this morning, and we have other birds here I’ve never seen in Englewood, like Red-eyed Vireo and Great-crested Flycatcher. But there will always be a special place in my heart for my little beautiful yard in Englewood. My list is here:
YARD LIST (compiled from eBird)
Asterisk (*) at end of entry = yard or close surrounding area breeder.
Date at end of entry in bold = life bird.
Row #,Species,Count,Location,S/P,Date
1,Canada Goose,22,YARD LIST,US-NJ,24 Feb 2004
2,Mallard,2,YARD LIST,US-NJ,29 May 2006
3,Wild Turkey,6,YARD LIST,US-NJ,08 Aug 2010*
4,Great Blue Heron,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,15 Mar 2010
5,Great Egret,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,18 May 2005,
6,Black-crowned Night-Heron,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,16 Jul 2006
7,Black Vulture,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,31 Dec 2013
8,Turkey Vulture,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,10 Dec 2006
9,Osprey,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,08 Apr 2014
10,Sharp-shinned Hawk,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,17 Apr 2004
11,Cooper’s Hawk,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,31 Dec 2004
12,Bald Eagle,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,22 Nov 2008
13,Broad-winged Hawk,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,15 Sep 2010
14,Red-tailed Hawk,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,14 Nov 2004
15,Ring-billed Gull,20,YARD LIST,US-NJ,27 Feb 2004
16,Herring Gull,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,19 Mar 2011
17,Rock Pigeon,23,YARD LIST,US-NJ,22 Feb 2004
18,Mourning Dove,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,26 Feb 2004*
19,Common Nighthawk,2,YARD LIST,US-NJ,30 Aug 2013
20,Chimney Swift,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,17 Aug 2005
21,Belted Kingfisher,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,26 Oct 2010
22,Red-headed Woodpecker,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,27 Feb 2004
23,Red-bellied Woodpecker,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,08 Mar 2004*
24,Yellow-bellied Sapsucker,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,02 Oct 2005
25,Downy Woodpecker,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,25 Apr 2004*
26,Hairy Woodpecker,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,15 Jan 2005*
27,Northern Flicker,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,24 Apr 2004*
28,Monk Parakeet,10,YARD LIST,US-NJ,27 Oct 2008
29,Eastern Phoebe,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,21 Oct 2006
30,Blue Jay,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,25 Feb 2004*
31,American Crow,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,26 Feb 2004
32,Fish Crow,2,YARD LIST,US-NJ,09 Apr 2011
33,Common Raven,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,25 Apr 2013
34,Tree Swallow,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,21 May 2005
35,Barn Swallow,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,14 Jun 2009
36,Black-capped Chickadee,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,22 Feb 2004
37,Tufted Titmouse,2,YARD LIST,US-NJ,08 Mar 2004
38,Red-breasted Nuthatch,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,27 Oct 2007
39,White-breasted Nuthatch,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,22 Feb 2004
40,Brown Creeper,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,06 Nov 2011
41,House Wren,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,16 Jun 2007
42,Winter Wren,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,15 Oct 2009
43,Carolina Wren,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,01 Oct 2006*
44,Golden-crowned Kinglet,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,22 Oct 2005
45,Ruby-crowned Kinglet,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,22 Oct 2005 (NOTE: both Kinglets as life birds on same day!)
46,Hermit Thrush,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,05 Nov 2006
47,American Robin,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,01 Mar 2004*
48,Gray Catbird,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,01 May 2004*
49,Brown Thrasher,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,25 Sep 2007
50,Northern Mockingbird,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,10 Apr 2004
51,European Starling,7,YARD LIST,US-NJ,18 Feb 2004*
52,Cedar Waxwing,8,YARD LIST,US-NJ,10 Jun 2010
53,Black-and-white Warbler,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,22 May 2004
54,Tennessee Warbler,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,07 Oct 2011
55,Common Yellowthroat,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,29 Sep 2006
56,American Redstart,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,04 May 2010
57,Yellow Warbler,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,01 May 2012
58,Blackpoll Warbler,2,YARD LIST,US-NJ,17 May 2012
59,Palm Warbler,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,05 Nov 2005
60,Pine Warbler,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,28 Mar 2010
61,Yellow-rumped Warbler,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,21 Oct 2006
62,Black-throated Green Warbler,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,04 Oct 2009
63,Eastern Towhee,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,22 Apr 2004
64,American Tree Sparrow,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,01 Jan 2011
65,Chipping Sparrow,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,09 Apr 2004
66,Clay-colored Sparrow,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,21 Oct 2012
67,Field Sparrow,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,16 Oct 2012
68,Fox Sparrow,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,12 Nov 2005
69,Song Sparrow,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,22 Feb 2004
70,White-throated Sparrow,5,YARD LIST,US-NJ,21 Feb 2004
71,White-crowned Sparrow,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,30 Oct 2010
72,Dark-eyed Junco,20,YARD LIST,US-NJ,21 Feb 2004
73,Northern Cardinal,2,YARD LIST,US-NJ,18 Feb 2004*
74,Rose-breasted Grosbeak,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,23 Apr 2009
75,Indigo Bunting,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,06 Nov 2010
76,Red-winged Blackbird,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,29 Apr 2004*
77,Rusty Blackbird,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,26 Feb 2010
78,Common Grackle,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,17 Apr 2004*
79,Brown-headed Cowbird,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,29 Apr 2004*
80,Baltimore Oriole,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,04 Aug 2005*
81,House Finch,2,YARD LIST,US-NJ,18 Jul 2004*
82,Purple Finch,1,YARD LIST,US-NJ,23 Nov 2007
83,Pine Siskin,3,YARD LIST,US-NJ,18 Jan 2009
84,American Goldfinch,2,YARD LIST,US-NJ,11 Dec 2004*
85,House Sparrow,15,YARD LIST,US-NJ,22 Feb 2004*