[Birdtalk] 100 as of today (finally)

[Mark Stackhouse]

Well, today I saw my 100th species in the yard of my new house here in  
San Blas - 5 months and 12 days after we moved in. It was nothing too  
spectacular, a Common Ground-Dove, though it's a rather (un)common  
ground-dove here in town. I had already counted Ruddy Ground-Dove and  
Inca Dove in my first weeks in the house. A much more exciting bird  
was the 99th - a Plain-capped Starthroat, that checked out all the  
flowers yesterday afternoon.

The past few months have been slow in terms of new yard birds - I  
ended last year with 87 species, but only added 6 more in January,  
then 4 in February, and only had one in all of March until yesterday.  
Then two new ones in two days. Maybe another tomorrow?

Also yesterday, I had a new bird feeding on the bananas at my feeder -  
a Yellow-breasted Chat. The bananas put out have attracted an amazing  
variety of birds. So far, I've seen the following species eating the  
bananas I put out for the birds:

White-winged Dove
Golden-cheeked Woodpecker
Gila Woodpecker
Rufous-backed Robin
Yellow-breasted Chat
Great-tailed Grackle
Black-vented Oriole
Orchard Oriole
Hooded Oriole
Streak-backed Oriole
Bullock's Oriole
Yellow-winged Cacique

We've had 8 species of hummingbirds in the yard, but only the  
migrants, Ruby-throated, Black-chinned, Rufous, and Allen's have gone  
to the feeder; the locals don't seem to know what to do with it. I  
still have hope that they'll figure it out someday.

The leaky water pipe that creates a little "spring" under some bushes  
continues to be very popular with many birds - and sometimes attracts  
a surprise or two. A pair of White-collared Seedeaters comes daily,  
and yesterday I managed to finally get some decent photos of a male  
Painted Bunting bathing. when my mother visited in January and  
February - it was watching a male Painted Bunting bathe just a few  
feet away from where she sat that was the birding highlight of her  
trip. Now I can send her a picture.

I enjoy sitting outside with my camera and binocs, enjoying my morning  
coffee, checking out the news about your latest snowstorm (sorry) on  
the internet, and watching the show that the birds put on every  
day . . .

The full list is below.

I'll be back to enjoy Utah spring in about six weeks - see you then!

Mark Stackhouse


The San Blas yard list Oct. 18, 2008 to March 30, 2009:

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Rufous-bellied Chachalaca
Brown Pelican
Neotropic Cormorant
Magnificent Frigatebird
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
White-faced Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill
Wood Stork
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Crane Hawk
Gray Hawk
Common Black-Hawk
Short-tailed Hawk
Zone-tailed Hawk
Collared Forest-Falcon
Crested Caracara
Laughing Falcon
American Kestrel
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Caspian Tern
Royal Tern
Rock Pigeon
Red-billed Pigeon
White-winged Dove
Inca Dove
Common Ground-Dove
Ruddy Ground-Dove
Mexican Parrotlet
Squirrel Cuckoo
Groove-billed Ani
Barn Owl
Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl
Mottled Owl
Lesser Nighthawk
Common Pauraque
Broad-billed Hummingbird
Cinnamon Hummingbird
Plain-capped Starthroat
Lucifer Hummingbird
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Allen’s Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Golden-cheeked Woodpecker
Gila Woodpecker
Lineated Woodpecker
Great Kiskadee
Social Flycatcher
Tropical Kingbird
Thick-billed Kingbird
Masked Tityra
Warbling Vireo
Black-throated Magpie-Jay
Sinaloa Crow
Gray-breasted Martin
Mangrove Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Sinaloa Wren
Happy Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Rufous-backed Robin
Northern Mockingbird
Orange-crowned Warbler
Tropical Parula
Yellow Warbler
American Redstart
Louisiana Waterthrush
MacGillivray's Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Blue-black Grassquit
White-collared Seedeater
Stripe-headed Sparrow
Painted Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Great-tailed Grackle
Bronzed Cowbird
Black-vented Oriole
Orchard Oriole
Hooded Oriole
Streak-backed Oriole
Bullock's Oriole
Yellow-winged Cacique
Scrub Euphonia
House Sparrow
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