I spotted 172 different bird species in 2024—my highest-ever yearly total. And 65 of those species I tallied in my own backyard!
The last new species for the year was a Snowy Owl. They are usually found in the Arctic and Canada in the winter, but every once in awhile they travel as far south as the Great Lakes or New England in the United States.
This particular owl has decided to make my hometown her winter hunting grounds. I’m seeing photos of her posted all over social media by excited birders, and the town is even selling a t-shirt with her likeness. Thankfully I got to spend some time watching her before the daily paparazzi began showing up to track her every move.
While not a new species for me, it was also a thrill to end the year by spotting more than 50 Bald Eagles fishing and roosting over the Wisconsin River just before Christmas.
Usually they are more dispersed throughout Wisconsin until January when that river is one of the few remaining bodies of water that hasn’t iced over. But we had some well-below-freezing temperatures for about a week before Christmas that iced things up pretty quickly.
When the new year begins, so does my new bird list.
Hawks have been keeping the bird numbers low in my backyard for the last 2 weeks. But when I opened the shades on January 1st, I was excited to be greeted by a handful of Dark-eyed Juncos and one American Goldfinch. By mid-afternoon I’d already watched 16 species visit my yard which included 85 individual feathered friends—a wonderful start for 2025.
Despite all the numbers I’m throwing around, I’m truly more interested in observing the birds than counting them. They are such fascinating and delicate-looking but tough little creatures. Even after decades of birdwatching, I’m regularly learning or observing something new.
I count birds because submitting that information to Project Feederwatch in the winter and to eBird throughout the year is very easy and fun to do, and this citizen science can actually help protect birds for future generations.
Jan 1, 2025 backyard bird species:
- Dark-eyed Junco
- American Goldfinch
- Mourning Dove
- European Starling
- Blue Jay
- Downy Woodpecker
- Northern Cardinal
- House Finch
- American Crow
- Black-capped Chickadee
- House Sparrow
- Northern Flicker
- American Tree Sparrow
- Hairy Woodpecker
- White-breasted Nuthatch