England | Ecology

I wasn’t sure when I woke up a little after 5am on Saturday, January 13 if it was going to happen. I came into 2024 planning a year of yard Big Days—one per month—in an effort to see how many species I could get in a year and how the numbers would change from month to month. After a cup of coffee, and with a pair of Great Horned Owls calling in the yard, I hesitantly went out into the 35° chill and got started.

What is a Big Day? Big Days are an effort to see as many bird species as possible in one day (24 hours). They are most often done statewide within a state or countrywide within a country, often competitively, and frequently as a fundraiser. There are also Big Sits, which are a similar concept except you are restricted to a single spot.

The hope, of course, was to get all three of our owls before sunrise, but it is likely that the activity of the local Great Horned Owl pair kept the local Western Screech-Owls and Barn Owls quiet. The second species heard, unsurprisingly, was Common Raven, as one flew over invisible in the dark. They start their days early.

What are the rules? In this case, any species heard or seen while within the boundaries of my property is fair game. My property is on a steep hill in Elyria Canyon and immediately abuts Elyria Canyon Park, an open space area managed by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority. We are also less than a mile from the LA River, and some subset of river-associated species infrequently fly overhead at our home.

Northern Mockingbirds began singing up and down the canyon at 6:25. The first California Towhee called 6:31, followed immediately by a Hermit Thrush at our fountain. At 6:34 I heard the first American Crows, followed by a Mourning Dove and a Spotted Towhee. At 6:38 there were the resident Red-shouldered Hawks and Bewick’s Wrens. The sun finally rose at 6:58, and I was already at 20 species.

From there, things slowed a bit until the sun would finally crest the hill, prompting an increase in birds as they follow the sunbeams across the treetops. The sun finally hit the roof of our house at 8:00, at which point it was 38 degrees Fahrenheit but rapidly felt warmer. As that occurred the number of Yellow-rumped Warblers chipping in all of the surrounding trees increased, and in quick succession I got Wilson’s Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Townsend’s Warbler, and Black-throated Gray Warbler. At 8:50, I was surprised (given it’s January) to see a Common Raven carry nesting material into a tree down the street.

My last new species was observed by lunch. After two hours of no new observations, I switched to alternating between doing other things in the house and going outside for short stints to look and listen for new birds. Alas, nothing new ever came around. I was surprised to end the day without Mountain Chickadee, Oak Titmouse, or either of the two nuthatch species that had been around this winter. With no Western Screech-Owls or Barn Owls calling after dark, I ended my day at 38 species.

Below: The list of 38 bird species seen and/or heard during my January 2024 yard big day.

Common Name	Scientific Name	Count
Rock Pigeon	Columba livia	1
Mourning Dove	Zenaida macroura	1
Anna’s Hummingbird	Calypte anna	1
Allen’s Hummingbird	Selasphorus sasin	1
California Gull	Larus californicus	6
Turkey Vulture	Cathartes aura	2
Cooper’s Hawk	Accipiter cooperii	2
Red-shouldered Hawk	Buteo lineatus	1
Red-tailed Hawk	Buteo jamaicensis	2
Great Horned Owl	Bubo virginianus	2
Nuttall’s Woodpecker	Dryobates nuttallii	2
Northern Flicker	Colaptes auratus	1
Black Phoebe	Sayornis nigricans	1
Cassin’s Kingbird	Tyrannus vociferans	1
California Scrub-Jay	Aphelocoma californica	6
American Crow	Corvus brachyrhynchos	8
Common Raven	Corvus corax	10
Red-whiskered Bulbul	Pycnonotus jocosus	1
Bushtit	Psaltriparus minimus	10
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	Corthylio calendula	1
Bewick’s Wren	Thryomanes bewickii	1
Northern Mockingbird	Mimus polyglottos	2
Hermit Thrush	Catharus guttatus	2
Scaly-breasted Munia	Lonchura punctulata	4
House Finch	Haemorhous mexicanus	4
Lesser Goldfinch	Spinus psaltria	2
Dark-eyed Junco	Junco hyemalis	3
White-crowned Sparrow	Zonotrichia leucophrys	2
Golden-crowned Sparrow	Zonotrichia atricapilla	2
Song Sparrow	Melospiza melodia	1
Lincoln’s Sparrow	Melospiza lincolnii	1
California Towhee	Melozone crissalis	2
Spotted Towhee	Pipilo maculatus	1
Orange-crowned Warbler	Leiothlypis celata	2
Yellow-rumped Warbler	Setophaga coronata	10
Black-throated Gray Warbler	Setophaga nigrescens	1
Townsend’s Warbler	Setophaga townsendi	2
Wilson’s Warbler	Cardellina pusilla	1