I’m sitting in my backyard, and the birds are out in force. I just turned on my birdsong identification app. The birds it tells me it’s hearing:
- Blue jay
- American crow
- Northern cardinal
- Red-shouldered hawk
- Tufted titmouse
- House sparrow
- Eastern towhee
- Least flycatcher
- American goldfinch
- Common grackle
- Carolina wren
- Red-bellied woodpecker
- Gray catbird
- American robin
- Song sparrow
- White-breasted nuthatch
- Mourning dove
I’m also seeing a couple of ruby-throated hummingbirds right now, but they are quiet — except that one zipped right over my head a few minutes ago, beneath the table umbrella I’m sitting under. It was so close I could hear the whirring of its wings.
I once read that being around a wide variety of bird species has been shown to increase humans’ happiness levels. The study said that at least fourteen bird species are necessary for the optimal happiness effect. I have seventeen different kinds of birds on this list, and that’s just for a short time period this afternoon, and does not come close to the full list of the birds that frequent my backyard.
The Petrini Page 