2011 Great Backyard Bird Count: A summary

I will have to say, this year's GBBC was one of the oddest I can remember, much different from last year! The mild temperatures and rain changed the usual feeder visitors. On Monday, it poured down rain (2.00") the entire day. I didn't see or hear one Carolina Wren, Dark-eyed Junco or White-throated Sparrow the whole weekend/period!!! Lots of blackbirds consisting of Common Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds. Didn't get any rusties, dang. Just a couple of days before the GBBC, I had two American Woodcocks in the backyard, but I couldn't get them for the count. They must have been just passing through, as they didn't display. Highlights include a Killdeer as well as a Barred Owl calling at dusk on Sunday. I was also able to spish in a Yellow-rumped Warbler Saturday. I have found that the Pine Siskins like the rain, as Monday, I was able to count twenty of them. Here is the complete list for the entire 2011 GBBC (not in taxonomic order) 26 species total:

Canada Goose
Red-tailed Hawk
Turkey Vulture
Barred Owl
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
American Crow
Blue Jay
American Robin
Eastern Bluebird
Northern Cardinal
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Pine Siskin
Killdeer
Northern Mockingbird
American Tree Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Yellow-rumped Warbler
European Starling

Red-winged Blackbird courtesy of USFWS/