[Birdtalk] The new yard list

[Mark Stackhouse]

One of the disadvantages of having many years of experience as a  
birder is that "life" birds become fewer and farther between. Unless  
you travel to ever more distant and exotic locations, the pleasure of  
seeing many birds you've never seen before is an increasingly rare  
occurrence. Last year I added three new species to my life list. So  
far this year, I've had one "lifer."

Though there are certainly many, many ways that birding gives  
enjoyment to birders that don't involve lists, it seems to me that  
most birders compensate for ever decreasing numbers of life birds by  
playing other "listing games."  We keep yard lists, county lists,  
state lists,  country lists, month lists, year lists and more. Even  
starlings can be counted once a year for those who keep a year list.  
For my own part, I get great pleasure vicariously by watching the  
people I guide get life birds.

Last weekend we moved into a new house in San Blas. Thus I've started  
a whole new yard list, and the occasion caused me to reflect upon the  
nature of the yard list. The excitement of seeing each new bird this  
week made me realize that unless one is in the habit of frequently  
moving, the chance to start a new yard list is a rare event - thus  
giving each new bird more of a "life" bird feel. Yard lists are an  
intimate portrait of the birds that share our most personal space.  
Yard birds are indeed special.

My new house is on the opposite side of town from my old one. Yes,  
I've left the Yellow-crowned Night-Heron rookery, and the yearly  
invasion of their errant fledglings. But the new house is on the edge  
of town (below the historic fort on the hill for those who've been to  
San Blas), with ample woodland, fields and palm-shaded pastures across  
the street. Besides being larger and much more comfortable on the  
inside, we have a much larger yard filled with fruit trees. We have 4  
banana plants, 5 papayas, a mango, a jaka (jack-fruit0, a guava, a  
guanabana, a nanchi and a few others we haven't figured out yet. There  
are 11 nopal cactus plants and a host of other shrubs. We joked that  
our pet ducks and rabbits were convinced that we had eaten them and  
that they'd gone to heaven when they entered the new yard.

The new yard list began as we were moving in. The first morning I  
noted about 5 Rufous-backed Robins in the mango tree along with Great- 
tailed Grackles (our "starlings"), Sinaloa Crows, and White-winged  
Doves. A pair of Scrub Euphonias stopped by for a visit. A large flock  
of chattering Mexican Parrotlets flew past. The second morning, a pair  
of Stripe-headed Sparrows sang from the top of a bush across the  
street while a Yellow-breasted Chat called from inside the bush. A  
White-collared Seedeater popped up nearby. Bronzed Cowbirds foraged in  
the street along with the grackles, and were soon joined by some  
Groove-billed Anis. A Short-tailed Hawk and Osprey soared overhead. A  
couple of Mangrove Swallows joined the dozens of Barn Swallows on the  
wires along the street, competing for "perching rights" with Great  
Kiskadees, Social Flycatchers, and Tropical Kingbirds.

A few birds from the old yard list quickly found their way onto the  
new one. Great Egrets, Brown Pelicans, and Magnificent Frigatebirds  
passed by overhead. A Yellow-crowned Night-Heron stopped by on the  
roof on its way to hunt crabs in the evening. Blue-gray Gnatcatchers,  
Yellow Warblers, Streak-backed Orioles and Yellow-winged Caciques  
forage daily in the fruit trees. In the afternoon, the raucous calls  
of Rufous-bellied Chachalacas reach the house from the slopes below  
the fort, contrasting with the mournful cry of the Collared Forest- 
Falcon in the same place. As darkness falls, these are replaced by the  
whoops of a pair of Mottled Owls duetting, with one bird (the male?)  
giving single low hoots, to be joined by the other giving a rapid  
series of shorter notes. The new neighborhood is much quieter,  
allowing me to hear more calls.

In the first week here, I've recorded 49 species on the new yard list,  
in spite of spending most of the week away from the house guiding  
visiting birders from Boise and Calgary. I'm still adding new birds  
every day. This trend will surely continue for some time, especially  
as more and more migrants from up north arrive over the coming weeks.  
I have yet to see a hummingbird, something that I hope to change soon,  
as I'll be hanging my hummingbird feeders today (they just emerged  
from the contents of a box).

Adding new birds to the yard list takes away some of the pain from the  
hassle of moving, and unpacking all those boxes.

If you're planning a trip to San Blas, please feel free to send me a  
note - I'd be happy to have you visit. We can sit outside and enjoy a  
cold drink while adding to my yard list. ;-)

Mark Stackhouse
mark at westwings.com
011-52-323-285-1243 (San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico)

Here's the list from the first week in the new house:

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Rufous-bellied Chachalaca
Brown Pelican
Neotropic Cormorant
Magnificent Frigatebird
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Cattle Egret
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
White-faced Ibis
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Short-tailed Hawk
Collared Forest-Falcon
Killdeer
Rock Pigeon
Red-billed Pigeon
White-winged Dove
Inca Dove
Ruddy Ground-Dove
Mexican Parrotlet
Groove-billed Ani
Mottled Owl
Golden-cheeked Woodpecker
Gila Woodpecker
Great Kiskadee
Social Flycatcher
Tropical Kingbird
Warbling Vireo
Sinaloa Crow
Mangrove Swallow
Barn Swallow
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Rufous-backed Robin
Northern Mockingbird
Yellow Warbler
MacGillivray's Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
White-collared Seedeater
Stripe-headed Sparrow
Great-tailed Grackle
Bronzed Cowbird
Streak-backed Oriole
Yellow-winged Cacique
Scrub Euphonia
House Sparrow
  
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