Last month, I moved to my new home in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. My yard in Vestal, New York was extremely birdy – in three years and a couple of months, I saw or heard 106 different species of birds. In May, I wrote a post about my first hundred yard birds, which turned out to actually be 103 when I went back and really counted. I saw more great birds after that post – a Great Horned Owl and a Black-billed Cuckoo (I also tacked on one more, a Least Flycatcher, with a photo from 2012). I knew my Vestal yard would be tough to beat.
I set up my feeders as soon as I moved in to my new place and immediately had a few Tufted Titmouse visitors, joined by White-breasted Nuthatches. More birds eventually joined including my favorite feeder birds – a pair of Carolina Wrens.
Carolina Wrens came to visit after hearing them for many mornings
I have three species of woodpeckers visiting regularly – Downy, Hairy and Red-bellied. I’m still waiting to have a Pileated in my yard. So far, I’ve only seen them while biking around the community.
Red-bellied Woodpecker showing us where she got her name
I had a one-day visit from a one of my favorite common finches, a Purple Finch.
Purple Finch
I actually sort of lack in the same regular feeder-bird variety that I had in New York – it’s the MIGRANTS that have hit me hard so far. I am more in the woods and my office is near the tops of the trees so seeing birds is much easier.
My new feeder set up, outside my loft office
Some of my better migrants included tons of Blue-headed Vireos, a Philadelphia Vireo, seven species of Warblers – including one that I never got in Vestal, the Black-and-white Warbler, Cedar Waxwings, both Kinglets, Eastern Phoebes and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers.
I also had two surprise birds visit my actual feeders who never did in New York – a Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Brown Creeper.
This Ruby-crowned Kinglet used my feeders
It’s been little more than a month and I have 33 yard birds. Things are looking good so far!