My backyard is my oasis. I live on a small retention pond, have a fair amount of trees and bushes, and I’m lucky that it attracts a lot of different kinds of birds. I’ve been keeping a list of the species I’ve had at my feeder and that I’ve seen in the pond.

Species seen at my feeders
- Black-bellied whistling duck
- Mottled duck
- Northern cardinal
- Blue jay
- Mockingbird
- Glossy ibis
- White ibis
- Common grackle
- Boat-tailed grackle
- Red-bellied woodpecker
- Painted bunting
- House finch
- Brown-header cowbird
- Red-winged blackbird
- Sandhill crane
- Mourning dove
- Rock pigeon
- Eastern phoebe
- Fish crow
Species in my yard (but not at feeder)
- Palm warbler
- Yellow-rumped warbler
- Prairie warbler
- Cape May warbler
- Downy woodpecker
- Tree swallow
- Ruby-throated hummingbird
- Sharp-shinned hawk
Species seen at my pond (but not at feeder)
- Roseate spoonbill
- Tri-colored heron
- Great blue heron
- Green heron
- Little blue heron
- Great egret
- Wood stork
- Belted kingfisher
- Mallard duck
- Mallard x mottled duck
- Fulvous whistling duck
- Blue-winged teal
- Hooded merganser
- Killdeer
- Spotted sandpiper
- Wilson’s snipe (4 at one time!)
Species seen flying over my house
- Swallow-tailed kite
- Bald eagle
- Osprey
- Red-shouldered hawk
- Turkey vulture
- Black vulture