this post was submitted on 01 Jan 2026
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Backyard Phenology (lemmy.world)
submitted 2 weeks ago by thru_dangers_untold@lemmy.world to c/birding@lemmy.world
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I decided to focus my 2025 birding on my own backyard (Missouri, USA). Here are some of the results.

Total species: 86

Slowest month: Feb (27 species)

Biggest month: May (46 species)

Biggest day: 24 May (19 species)

Species observed for more than 100 calendar days:

Notable Seasonal Species:

Summer Birds First of Season Last of Season Calendar Days Observed
Barn Swallow 9 Apr 2 Sep 45
Northern House Wren 15 Apr 9 Jul 33
Brown Thrasher 29 Mar 8 Jul 33
Grey Catbird 2 May 26 Aug 18
Chimney Swift 9 May 6 Aug 18
Winter Birds Last of Season First of Season Calendar Days Observed
Dark-eyed Junco 27 Mar 14 Oct 125
White-throated Sparrow 28 Apr 8 Oct 44
Golden-crowned Kinglet 18 Jan 8 Oct 14

Other bird notes:

  • A Swainson's Thrush showed up in late April and sang almost nonstop for 2 weeks
  • Red-breasted Nuthatch is not a common bird in my area. But after coming to my yard in early September, these 65 observations represent about 6% of all historical county records of the species. White-breasted Nuthatches are generally more common, but I only had 18 observations in 2025.

Methodology notes:

  • I submitted at least one checklist to eBird everyday. The vast majority of these checklists were tagged "incidental" since I added species to the list throughout the day
  • "Early" = days 1-10, "Mid" = 11-20, "Late" = 21+
  • Charts were generated by downloading my eBird data and processing it with some of my own terrible Python code

My thoughts:

  • No, I didn't add a lot to my life list, but that wasn't the goal.
  • I've gained a deeper appreciation for the everyday birds. I've never been one to chase rarities & vagrants anyway.
  • Consistent observation over time can be immensely rewarding.
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[โ€“] KevinFRK@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Now that's the sort of analysis I ought to do, and never find the time! Well done!

[โ€“] thru_dangers_untold@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

Thanks! It was a fun project!