Backyard Birding - Common Birds in Our Backyard
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Identifying the Common Birds in Your Backyard
I've been interested in Backyard Birding for many years -- I learned how to identify a few of the birds that were common in our neighborhood when I was a child, and I was surprised when I discovered that not everyone has this knowledge.
I love watching the large variety of birds that I see in our neighborhood in southeast Michigan. This includes a delightful assortment of backyard birds we have visiting us throughout the year.
Here are a few of the most common backyard birds that we see in our area; some we see most of the year, and some for just the warmer months.
Also see Common Birds in Our Backyard, Part 2 for more birds that we often see in our backyard. Many of the birds on both lists are common throughout much of the United States, so you might see these birds even if you don't live in Michigan.
Every bird on these lists is easy to identify, either because of its color or its song. I've included videos with samples of their songs or behavior to help you identify them. This is a great place to start if you're new to backyard birding, or if you're teaching your kids about common birds.
If you see birds in your backyard or neighborhood that you can't identify from the photos here, you can try the free online Bird Identification Guide, that gives good field marking characteristics and audio samples of their songs.
Image of American goldfinches is my own
I love watching the large variety of birds that I see in our neighborhood in southeast Michigan. This includes a delightful assortment of backyard birds we have visiting us throughout the year.
Here are a few of the most common backyard birds that we see in our area; some we see most of the year, and some for just the warmer months.
Also see Common Birds in Our Backyard, Part 2 for more birds that we often see in our backyard. Many of the birds on both lists are common throughout much of the United States, so you might see these birds even if you don't live in Michigan.
Every bird on these lists is easy to identify, either because of its color or its song. I've included videos with samples of their songs or behavior to help you identify them. This is a great place to start if you're new to backyard birding, or if you're teaching your kids about common birds.
If you see birds in your backyard or neighborhood that you can't identify from the photos here, you can try the free online Bird Identification Guide, that gives good field marking characteristics and audio samples of their songs.
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For a good guide to more MIchigan birds, check out Birds of Michigan Field Guide by Stan Tekiela, and it's companion Birds of Michigan Audio CDs (both shown near end of page).
Stan Tekiela has also written Birding Guides for other states 
Image of American goldfinches is my own
List of Common Birds in My Backyard
These are the most common birds I've been seeing in our yard. They're not listed in any particular order (taxonomically or otherwise), but more in the order that I saw them or was thinking about them as I wrote this.
Part 1 (below)
American Robin
Northern Cardinal
Black-capped Chickadee
Blue Jay
Mourning Dove
House Wren
House Sparrow
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Part 2 (goes to second page)
Tufted Titmouse
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
European Starling
Common Grackle
White-breasted Nuthatch
Baltimore Oriole
Carolina Wren
American Crow
Downy Woodpecker
Also Identify Backyard Birds By Their Songs
Birding By Ear -- Bird Song IdentificationDo you enjoy listening to bird songs and calls? Birding by ear (listening to, and identifying birds by their songs and calls) is a great way to locate birds, and often the easiest way to identify birds.
American Robin
Turdus migratorius
Most people in the United States will recognize the American Robin, with its brown-gray back and head, and orange belly.The robin is my favorite common backyard bird, because to me it symbolizes summer. I love it's cheery song! Although a few hardy individuals winter-over here in Michigan, most migrate south for the winter. It's always a treat when these melodious birds return! Their song on a warm summer evening gives me an "all is well" feeling.
It felt like quite a "disconnect" to me this past February when I heard a robin squawking in a tree near our house after a heavy snowstorm! He was probably wondering why he didn't fly south after all!
Robins don't eat at bird feeders, but you will see them hopping around your lawn to find worms or insects. They also like berries and other fruit.
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Listen to American Robin singing.
Listen to American Robin "tutting".
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You also may be interested in reading about the American Robin and its migration in Robin in Summer, Robin in Winter.
Image of American Robin by SuRi_Photography on Zazzle.
Northern Cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis
The cardinal is another backyard bird that most people recognize if they live in the eastern United States. Although I see them during the winter, I don't hear them sing until sometime in February, making their song an early sign of spring in Michigan. During the summer they start singing very early in the morning. It's a nice sound to wake up to!Cardinals love the sunflower seeds we put out in our feeder. They also eat other seeds, fruit, and insects.
The female is a brownish-red, but she still has the head crest and red beak.
They seem to have different "dialects" in different areas, or at least the Michigan cardinals sound a little different than the Minnesota cardinals!
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Listen to the song of the Northern Cardinal
Wikimedia photo by texaslorarend
Videos of the Northern Cardinal
- Northern cardinal singing
- Extraordinary view of female cardinal feeding young in nest, first 10 days. Only one is left at 10 days.
curated content from YouTube
Black-capped Chickadee
Poecile atricapillus
This cute little bird is always fun to see at our feeder. It's curious, and responds to our 'pishing' sounds to bring it closer. When my boys were young, we went on a school field trip in the winter to learn about chickadees and other winter animals. With adult supervision, the children carefully coaxed the chickadees to land on their mittens or fingers. A couple cardinals and hairy woodpeckers were also curious enough to land too.The black-capped chickadee lives in the northern half of the United States, and the southern half of Canada. We see it year round. An early spring sign is when the male starts to call its sweet, plaintive "phee bee" call. It's signature call is the "Chick-a-dee-dee-dee" that many of us are familiar with.
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Listen to the Black-capped chickadee
(Includes some spoken info about chickadees)
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
Videos of Black-capped Chickadees
Chickadee songs.
- You'll hear the familiar "chick-a-dee-dee-dee", and the sweet "phee bee" sound -- the plaintive whistle of the male calling.
- Great close up of chickadee. You'll also hear a crow, much louder than the chickadee.
curated content from YouTube
Blue Jay
Cyannocitta cristata
The blue jay is a striking bird, with its crest and its bold blue, white, and black coloration. Blue jays are curious, boisterous and noisy, and are easy to spot. They live in the eastern half of the United States.When they come to our sunflower seed feeder, they usually scare off the other smaller birds.
Blue jays are omnivores -- they mostly eat nuts, seeds, fruits, and grains, but they also occasionally eat other eggs and baby birds (see House Finch).
One interesting fact about blue jays that I learned a couple years ago is that some of them migrate, and when they do, they travel in flocks of hundreds. We traveled to Holiday Beach Conservation Area in Ontario, on the northwest shore of Lake Erie to observe migrating raptors (hawks, eagles), and saw thousands of blue jays flying through that day as well.
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Listen to the Blue Jay
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
Mourning Dove
Zenaida macroura
The mourning dove gets its name from its calls -- some people say it sounds like a soft, sad cry. I think it's more a quiet, soothing sound rather than a mournful sound, however. I remember learning about this bird at my paternal grandparents house. We'd sit out on their ivy-covered porch and listen to the mourning doves' low, soothing calls.Another sound they make is from their wings "whistling" during their take-offs.
We get a few mourning doves at our bird feeder, but it's a little too small for them to stay there comfortably. Most of the time they're on the ground under the feeder, looking for the sunflower seeds that the cardinals have thrown off.
The mourning dove is found throughout the United States, although in the mid-northern part of the country, they're there only in the summer.
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Listen to the Mourning Dove
Photo from Nature's Pics Online
CC 3.0
Videos of Mourning Dove
- Mourning dove cooing near the end of this video. Watch his throat puff out as he coos. At the beginning of the video you'll hear a robin squawking.
- Mourning dove feeding chicks
curated content from YouTube
House Wren
Troglodytes aedon
The House Wren is a pretty little brown bird with a darker bars on the wings and tail. Our neighbors have an energetic pair of house wrens nesting in a tree hole near their house.I love their song! It's been described as a long, jumbled bubbling introduced by abrupt churrs and scolds (All About Birds).
I remember my grandmother whistling to the wrens when we'd go visit, and they'd burble back at her.
House wrens are aggressive little birds that will push the eggs of other birds out of nests if they want that space. They like nesting in bird houses, tree hollows, or any small cavity they can get into.
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Listen to the House Wren
Flickr photo/Creative Commons license Tuka108
House sparrow
Passer domesticus
I originally learned the "House sparrow" as the "English sparrow". For awhile we had three bird houses up along the eaves of our garage, and all three were filled every year by house sparrows.While browsing online for information about this cute little bird, I found that it's one of the most common birds in the world. It originated in Europe and Asia, but it was introduced to the United States in 1851 and has spread throughout the country. It also lives in parts of South America, Africa, and Australia.
The House sparrow is so common that we tend to ignore it. It lives well where ever there are people living. I often see them in parking lots and on sidewalks looking for whatever leftover crumbs of food people may have left behind.
House sparrows have simple, matter-of-fact calls, more cheaping than singing. I think they sound like a friendly community of birds when a flock of them congregate together.
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Listen to the House Sparrow
Flickr photo / Creative Commons by Dave-F
Videos of House Sparrows
You've heard their calls before, and maybe didn't even know what they were. House sparrows are very common, and live wherever people live.
- House sparrows chirping
- Confused house sparrow -- maybe this is someone's pet? Anyway it's a cute video.
curated content from YouTube
House Finch
Carpodacus mexicanus
I first starting seeing house finches in the late 1980's in our neighborhood in SE Michigan. They're an introduced bird as is the House (English) Sparrow. In the 1940's they were turned loose in Long Island, NY, after a failed attempt to sell them as cage birds, and they've spread throughout most of the United States since then.For awhile in the 1990's, I remember hearing that their numbers were reclining because of a disease that affected their eyes. I think they've come back from that now.
House finches used to nest in our geranium hanging baskets at a previous house. It was pleasant having their songs right outside our windows! Most of the time the eggs and baby birds disappeared, probably eaten by other birds. I remember a blue jay nosing around the nest on a couple occasions.
A fun fact I just learned: the males have red in them from the red pigment in food they eat. Some males are more orange or yellow than red. The females prefer the redder males. (All About Birds)
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Listen to the House Finch
Photo by kajohu
American Goldfinch
Spinus tristis
The male American Goldfinch is a striking bird with its bright yellow body, black cap, and black wings with white markings. The female is more subdued -- more of a yellow-green body with no black cap.We see them at our thistle feeder during the spring and early summer, along with the house finches. The goldfinches are around during the winter, but their winter coloration is drabber, making them less noticeable.
The American goldfinch has a swooping flight pattern; it calls as it's flapping its wings and gaining height, and is quiet on the swoop. Its call is a series of twitters and warbles.
Goldfinches are mostly seed eaters with the occasional insect thrown in.
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Listen to the American Goldfinch
Photo by kajohu
Videos of American Goldfinches
- Goldfinch singing
- Baby goldfinches that were brought into a bird rescue facility, being fed. Quite remarkable!
curated content from YouTube
More Birding Information
See more photos and videos of common backyard birds, learn how to attract more birds to your backyard by providing feeding stations, and learn how to get started in birding by ear.
More Common Birds in Our Backyard
How to Feed Your Backyard Birds
Birding By Ear -- Bird Song Identification
Seven Common Backyard Birds in Winter
Watching our backyard birds brings us great joy, especially during the winter months. Here are the most common winter birds we see in our backyard in SE Michigan.
More Common Birds in Our BackyardIn Backyard Birding - Common Birds in Our Backyard, I listed nine of the most common birds in my backyard in southeast Michigan and I included short YouTube...
A great way to attract more birds to our backyards is by feeding them. When we can see them up close and personal at a few well-placed feeders, we can more easily...
Birding By Ear -- Bird Song IdentificationDo you enjoy listening to bird songs and calls? Birding by ear (listening to, and identifying birds by their songs and calls) is a great way to locate birds,...
Seven Common Backyard Birds in WinterWatching our backyard birds brings us great joy, especially during the winter months. Here are the most common winter birds we see in our backyard in SE Michigan.
Other Good Backyard Birding Information Online
For more information on these birds, and other birds, I strongly recommend:
-- The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All About Birds online guide.
-- Backyard Nature's Backyard Birds
-- The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All About Birds online guide.
-- Backyard Nature's Backyard Birds
Birds of Michigan Field Guide
This book covers 112 birds from Michigan, with full page color photos, and insets of winter plumage. The author, Stan Tekiela, adds his own notes about interesting facts and observations about these birds. Using this book is an easy way to learn about the birds in Michigan.
Birds of Michigan Field Guide, Second Edition
Amazon Price: $7.61 (as of 02/17/2012)
Birds of Michigan Audio CDs
Compatible with "Birds of Michigan Field Guide"
This two-disc set of CDs is a great companion to the Birds of Michigan Field Guide, with the bird calls in the same order as the list of birds in the field guide.
Birds of Michigan Audio CDs: Compatible with Birds of Michigan Field Guide
Amazon Price: $8.51 (as of 02/17/2012)
Other Good Backyard Birding Guides
There are many excellent guides to birding and bird identification. I've listed a few ideas below for the beginning backyard birder.
Do You Enjoy Backyard Birding?
What backyard birds are common where you live?
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kitty222
Jan 22, 2012 @ 6:20 pm | delete
- We get robins in the summer, a few pairs of cardinals during the migration season and a whole big flock of black birds I don't know the name of most of the year. I've even saw a brown hummingbird a couple of times that I probably should put out a feeder for.
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Steve_Kaye
Jan 22, 2012 @ 1:14 am | delete
- Yes, I have been an active birder and bird photographer for almost two years. Thank you for this lens.
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jimmyworldstar
Dec 3, 2011 @ 11:12 am | delete
- When I was younger there used to be a tree outside my room where a Blue Jay laid its nest. There would also be woodpeckers pounding on my roof in the morning which scared me as a kid. Now I see a lot of house wrens around the neighborhood.
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Pastiche
Sep 14, 2011 @ 9:32 am | delete
- We enjoy watching the same bird species in VT and PA as you have in MI. We feed them from November until April, and they pay us back in song and bug-eating. Blessed by a "bird" wordsearching visiting angel.
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pawpaw911
Aug 26, 2011 @ 8:47 am | delete
- Very enjoyable lens. Thanks.
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by kajohu
kajohu
I've enjoyed watching our common backyard birds for years, and they continue to give me great enjoyment!
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Attracting Birds to Your Backyard
Attracting Birds to Your Backyard: 536 Ways to Create a Haven for Your Favorite Birds (Rodale Organic Gardening Books)
Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 02/17/2012)
Product Description
I've enjoyed browsing through this book from Sally Roth. She has so much great information for attracting birds to our backyards, as well as other information on birds. She even has recipes for making custom bird seed and other treats for the birds that come to your backyard. This was a good buy for me!
