Birds of the Neighborhood (June 1-10, 2002)

The "neighborhood" consists of a 9-block rectangular area (my block plus the surrounding 8 city blocks) in a downtown neighborhood in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. But most of my observations are of birds seen in, or viewed from, my yard, an area just shy of 0.25-acres. The period was relatively warm (highs in the 80s, for the most part), with increased humidity more typical of the summer season; one extremely severe thunder storm. The following list of 17 species is probably fairly typical of what you would expect to see in many older, small-town urban residential areas in the Mid-Atlantic States at this time of the year (species are listed in alphabetical order, with numbers in parentheses indicating the order in which each species was detected, # symbols indicating species new this period, and * symbols indicating species not native to the area):

American Robin (1) - common throughout period; nesting
Blue Jay (9) - noted periodically
Canada Goose (12) - flock of 7 flying over on 6/1
Carolina Wren (15) - common throughout; occupied nest in backyard
Chimney Swift (4) - abundant throughout period
Common Grackle (6) - small numbers throughout period
Downy Woodpecker (17) - 1 on 6/9
European Starling* (5) - abundant throughout period; nesting
Fish Crow (16) - noted on just a couple of occasions
Gray Catbird (7) - small numbers throughout period
House Finch* (3) - abundant throughout period; nesting
House Sparrow* (2) - abundant throughout period; nesting
House Wren (13) - occasional singing noted
Mourning Dove (8) - small numbers throughout period
Northern Cardinal (11) - common throughout period; nesting
Red-eyed Vireo (14) - 1 singing on 6/
Rock Dove* (10) - abundant throughout period; nesting

Total Species This Period - 17
New Species This Period - 0
Cumulative Species Since 3/11/2002 - 35