I've made an effort to keep a daily list of birds since shortly after we
moved in here, about 5 years ago. The format has evolved over time. Now, I
print an Excel sheet at the begining of each month with each day as a column
and a list of birds I've seen as the rows. I mark the number of birds of
each species I see (or estimate from sound) each evening. If I get a new
bird, I write it in and add it to the next month's sheet. I know there is
fancier bird software, but this works for me. I keep my filled it sheets
together in a binder so I can look back to previous years.

I get lazy and end up trying to fill in several days at a time. There are
periods when I do little more than a 5-minute walk around in the morning.
Still, as the records have piled up, consistent patterns have become clear.
Say, for example, one of the neighbors remarks, in early July, that she
hasn't seen hummingbirds lately and is wondering why they left. "Well," I
can say, "They don't breed here out in the wheat fields. According to my
records, they pass through my yard in May and early June on their way
uphill. I see them again, starting about mid-July, on their way downhill.
They'll be back in a week or two." Go on in that vein and you soon won't
have to worry about your pesky neighbors, as they will avoid you.

(Interesting trend this year: virtually no House Finches.)

Kelly Cassidy
Pullman, WA


> -----Original Message-----
> From: tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu
> [mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Rob
> Sandelin
> Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2006 7:10 PM
> To: Tweeters at u.washington.edu
> Subject: [Tweeters] Yard lists
>
> For 16 years I have tracked the birds in my wooded neighborhood. Its
> kind of a list I suppose, although I also do counts on random
> intervals, like today I counted 11 Spotted Towhees on my loop walk.
> For awhile I was doing a monthly list but this falls apart when I get
> busy or travel.
> After several years it is interesting to see the patterns and changes.
> The first 4 years I was here I saw no Steller's Jays. Now they are
> common. Flickers showed up two years ago and are still around this
> year. Its fun to record first arrival dates and departures and then
> wonder about what kept them from their usual dates.
>
>
> Rob Sandelin
> Naturalist, Writer
> The Environmental Science School
> http://www.nonprofitpages.com/nica/SVE.htm