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Article in: Birding

Birdfreak’s 27 Favorite Birds

Today is my 27th birthday so I spent some time thinking about my 27 favorite birds. At first I figured it would be a breeze since there are so many awesome birds. Of course, that was what made it more difficult. I decided to only include birds that I’ve seen, thus limiting the pool to in the 360s.

In no particular order, here are my 27 favorite birds:

Common Loon
Common Loon

  1. Common Loon – love their haunting sound when in the northwoods
  2. White-breasted Nuthatch – always fun to watch
  3. Ovenbird – my favorite warbler
  4. Northern Cardinal – our state bird and one I see every day

    5. Ovenbird on my backyard fence
    Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla)

  5. Greater Roadrunner – awesome bird on so many levels
  6. Harris’s Hawk – the coolest hawk there is
  7. Fox Sparrow – sweet sound and look
  8. Black-throated Blue Warbler – seen only twice and both times in my backyard
  9. Whip-poor-will – saw one singing at night, always enjoy their song
  10. Wood Thrush – their magical sound is hypnotizing
  11. Ruby-throated Hummingbird – three of them buzzing around our flowers just the other day
  12. White-eyed Vireo – harder to find in northern Illinois
  13. Baltimore Oriole – orange, black, and awesome
  14. Belted Kingfisher – check this photo for why this made the list
  15. Brown Thrasher – a favorite from bird banding and just fun to see

    16. Greater Roadrunner
    Greater Roadrunner

  16. Pileated Woodpecker – a bird that gives me goosebumps
  17. Barred Owl – one I can call out
  18. Snowy Owl – no explanation needed
  19. Elegant Trogon – my favorite of southeast Arizona
  20. Sora – I can imitate their sound nearly exact
  21. Mexican Jay – in Arizona, one begged for our breakfast
  22. Bald Eagle – our nation’s bird for a very good reason

    23. White-eyed Vireo
    White-eyed Vireo

  23. Osprey – can out-fish me any day of the week
  24. Great Blue Heron – elegant, gorgeous, and photogenic
  25. House Wren – personal gardening gnome
  26. Cactus Wren – tough as cactus spines and handsome to boot
  27. Eastern Towhee – drink your tea indeed!

Invariably some birds were on my list and then were cut, making room for an overlooked species. Here are the honorable mentions. If you don’t think this is hard task, try it for yourself!!

9 Comments or Trackbacks   ↓ Jump to add comment ↓

  1. Klaus says:

    Happy B’day! Didn’t know you were such a young hopper! Thought you’d be at least 28! ;)
    Good list! Have a great Birthday day!
    Cheers, Klaus

    Posted on: September 7, 2008 @ 7:22 am

  2. LUANN says:

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EDDIE. LuAnn (Tim’s Mom)

    Posted on: September 7, 2008 @ 7:56 am

  3. Lana says:

    Happy birthday! I agree with many of your picks (& enjoyed the kingfisher photo–how awesome!) I think the great white egret would be on my list, as well. If we’re not limiting ourselves to the US, I couldn’t limit my list to 27!

    Posted on: September 7, 2008 @ 12:27 pm

  4. Melissa Gold says:

    ¡¡¡FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS!!!
    Happy Birthday!!!
    I have just seen ONE of the ones in your list :(
    I guess I’ll have to visit your side of the world soon!
    Best wishes from Perú :P

    Posted on: September 7, 2008 @ 6:15 pm

  5. Corey says:

    Happy Birthday!

    But cutting Green Heron? Really? Well, there is no accounting for taste…
    :)

    Posted on: September 7, 2008 @ 7:51 pm

  6. The Birdfreak Team says:

    Thanks all!!

    I would not have cut Green Heron if they didn’t always hide from me!!

    And to show how hard it was to choose, I somehow included AND cut Mexican Jay! Only a jay could manage to be on both lists ;)

    Posted on: September 8, 2008 @ 10:35 am

  7. Hugh says:

    It’s a dangerous way to get started – 27 favorites sounds like a lot, but you could spend the rest of the day tweaking the list! Black-backed, Red-headed, and Acorn Woodpeckers, for instance. Bobolink, Pigeon Guillemot, Black Turnstone, Black-throated Sparrow, Merlin, Painted Redstart, Varied Thrush, Tree Swallow, Long-billed Curlew, and on and on…

    Posted on: September 9, 2008 @ 9:12 am

  8. The Zen Birdfeeder says:

    Hey! Happy Birthday!
    I changed my banner to your #4 bird in your honor.
    Not really but hope you enjoyed your special day.

    Posted on: September 9, 2008 @ 8:09 pm

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