Final 2006 Bird Tally

Here is my final bird tally for 2006. This was the first year I'd decided to count birds. I ended up having a lot of fun. The total was 126 birds though I know I saw more kinds of birds than that these were the ones I was absolutely sure about. I'd feel like I was cheating myself if I counted otherwise. I'm pretty sure I say a grey jay and I probably saw a rough-legged hawk. I also might have seen one more kind of cormorant but, again, they aren't on the list. I also saw more gulls than in any other year and I was only able to ID two of them. I have the ring-billed gull and the black headed gull. I had the western gull on the list temprorarily until I realized I was deluding myself about a positive ID. Gulls are an extremely weak point in my bird identification skills.

2007 will be a harder year in a couple of ways. I'm probably not going to be able to go to arizona and I saw twenty-two species there. Twelve of them are species not found in Minnesota. Likewise, I'll not be going to Washington state so the American Dipper, Caspian Tern, Tufted Puffin, Pelagic Cormorant, Stellar Jay, Pigeon Guillemot, Clarks nutcracker, and the Oregon Dark Eyed-junco are not within my grasp. Thats eight more to make up. Of the twelve species I saw in Norway, the only one I might see here is a mute swan but I don't count captive animals so that's out. All told, if I want to keep up with the 126 total I need to spot thirty two more birds in 2007 within the state Minnesota. Ouch.

Here's the 2006 list (essentially in cronological order)

1-10
Black throated sparrow
Great tailed grackle
Killdeer
Great egret
Great blue heron
Mallard duck
Violet green sparrow
Mourning dove
White crowned sparrow
Gambel's quail

11-20
Verdin
Great horned owl
Cactus wren
Curve billed thrasher
Cliff swallow
White breasted nuthatch
Ruby crowned kinglet
Western Bluebird
Yellow rumped warbler (Audubons)
Anna's hummingbird

21-30
Common Goldeneye
Common loon
Wood duck
Wild Turkey
Red bellied woodpecker
Downy woodpecker
Hairy woodpecker
Brown creeper
Northern cardinal
American robin

31-40
Blue jay
American goldfinch
Dark eyed junco (slate colored)
Pileated woodpecker
Black capped chickadee
Purple finch
Red shouldered hawk
Bald eagle
Hermit thrush
American crow

41-50
Eastern Phoebe
Cedar waxwing
European starling
Bufflehead
Ring necked duck
Canada goose
House sparrow
Fox sparrow
Turkey vulture
Hooded merganser

51-60
Ring necked pheasant
Brown headed cowbird
Tree swallow
Yellow bellied sapsucker
American coot
Osprey
Red-tailed hawk
Eastern bluebird
American woodcock
Eastern Towhee

61-70
White throated sparrow
Tufted titmouse
Red breasted nuthatch
Yellow rumped warbler (Myrtle)
Chipping sparrow
Barred owl
Barn swallow
common raven
common grackle
Common yellow-throat

71-80
Rose Breasted Grosbeak
American Kestrel
Rock Pigeon
Baltimore Oriole
Eastern Meadowlark
field sparrow
Northern Waterthrush
Green Heron
Eastern Kingbird
Song Sparrow

81-90
Scarlet Tanager
Chimney Swift
House sparrow
Mourning Warbler
Great Crested Flycatcher
Ruby-throated hummingbird
Sandhill Crane
Yellow Warbler
Steller's Jay
Oregon dark-eyed Junco

91-100
American Dipper
Clark's Nutcracker
pigeon guillemot
caspian tern
double-crested cormorant
brown pelican
belted kingfisher
pelagic cormorant
tufted puffin
Eastern Wood Peewee

101-110
American Redstart
House wren
Ring billed gull
Chestnut-sided warbler
Blue-grey gnatcatcher
Red-eyed Vireo
Magnolia Warbler
Connecticut Warbler
Black and white Warbler
White Pelican

111-120
Solitary Sandpiper
Magpie (european) [Skjœre]
Great Crested Grebe [Toppdykker]
Greylag Goose [Grågås]
Grey heron [Gråhegre]
Carrion Crow [Kråke]
Mute Swan [Knoppsvan]
Robin (european) [rødstrupe]
Pied Wagtail [Linerle]
Great tit [Kjøttmeis]

121-126
Tufted Duck [Toppand]
Great Spotted Wodpecker [Flaggspett]
Black Headed Gull [Hettemåte]
Golden Crowned Kinglet
Pied billed grebe
Trumpeter Swan