One of the best ways to jumpstart your interest in birding is to start a backyard bird list. A backyard list is simply a list of the species that you see at home, even if you don’t have a traditional backyard. How you want to define your “backyard” is entirely up to you! Keeping a backyard list is a great way to improve your identification skills.

There are many benefits to keeping a backyard list, especially for beginning birders. You can work on your birding skills every day because most species will be new to your incipient list. Your birding skills will increase dramatically as you become familiar with the species common near your home. It will be easier to consult your field guide and gain greater confidence identifying your backyard species because you will be making observations from the comfort of home. Keeping a backyard list takes very little time, and you don’t have to add all the species in one day. I recently moved to a new location and started a backyard list in which I strive to add one new species each day, which I can usually accomplish in just a few minutes each day.

As your backyard list matures, so will your birding skills. Soon your list will include most of the common species near your home. But by no means does not mean you should abandon your list. Careful observation will reveal seasonal shifts in the species composition at your home, and thus allow you to add new species. For example, the Hermit Thrush (pictured above) started visiting my backyard in October, but I expect this bird will migrate soon. As your list matures even further, adding the less common and rare backyard species to your list will feel very rewarding. When you start getting excited about adding rare species, then you have officially morphed into a seasoned birder!

Photo © William C. Webb