FishkaFishka Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 New-ish birder here. I hope this is in the right category. If a bird is right next to my property but not on it, does it count for my yard list? What about a bird that flies directly over my property? My yard list at the moment is at 30, but I could add at least one or two more if birds that fly over count. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bird Nuts Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 That is up to you; there are no rules except for the ones you make for yourself. But I (and I believe most birders) count birds that I see from my property even if the birds are not on it or are flying over. I will also count birds I see that are on my property even if I am not on the property. Some birders count birds on their yard/life lists that they've only heard while others (like me) only count birds they've seen. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishkaFishka Posted October 17, 2020 Author Share Posted October 17, 2020 Okay, thank you. ? That sounds like a good rule to me. So, standing at the back of my property, I’ve seen a great blue heron sitting on a fence way out across a field. That would count? Also, would you, or anyone else, happen to know of any good places to go birding in West Michigan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bird Nuts Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 (edited) 6 minutes ago, FishkaFishka said: So, standing at the back of my property, I’ve seen a great blue heron sitting on a fence way out across a field. That would count? Yep, I would count that! Edited October 17, 2020 by The Bird Nuts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishkaFishka Posted October 17, 2020 Author Share Posted October 17, 2020 Awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connor Cochrane Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 1 hour ago, FishkaFishka said: Also, would you, or anyone else, happen to know of any good places to go birding in West Michigan? You might want to post that in the birding trips area. Can you be more specific as to where. Western Michigan is a pretty large area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Spencer Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 @FishkaFishka, I agree with The Bird Nuts. Most people count what they can see and hear FROM a location, not just lands within the limits of the property. If we only counted what lands on the boat, we'd never be able to count most pelagic (seagoing) birds. If we counted only what we see and not what we hear, most of us would never have any owls or Whip-Poor-Wills on our lists. Have you discovered the eBird web site yet? https://ebird.org/home Click on 'Explore' at the top, then 'Explore Hotspots' on the right. In the 'Location' box, enter Michigan (or a specific county). You'll get a map, and you may need to zoom in until it resolves to individual dots instead of a smear of colored squares. Each dot you see is a location that birders have suggested as having good variety of birds. Click a dot will give you additional info - the number of species seen there, directions, and access to more data. One general birding hint - places with water will normally have more birds than places without. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishkaFishka Posted October 17, 2020 Author Share Posted October 17, 2020 @Charlie Spencer, Thank you so much! I guess I should start working on recognizing owl calls, lol. Maybe I was lucky to see a great horned owl in broad daylight? The water tip is definitely true! I found a pretty nice wetland/lake near my house where I spotted some sandhill cranes, among other things. Thanks again. ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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