What follows is an alphabetical list of all the bird species I have taken note of in Somerville. Most of the observations are by me, with a handful from other sources. The oldest observation is from about 20 years ago, but most are quite a bit more recent. I haven't scoured external or historical resources such as eBird in putting together this list, but if something has come to my attention, through the news, let's say, I have included it.
Where there is a picture, it has been taken here in Somerville. Some of the older pictures were taken with a pocket-sized point-and-shoot camera, and vary from fair to poor. Since I got a better camera a couple years ago, the pictures have improved. And always I'm trying to upgrade the pictures when I get a chance. That said, it's in the nature of things that some of the pictures are pretty lousy. But I haven't included the picture unless I felt like, at a minimum, the bird could be positively identified from it.
Each species listed has been given a tag to indicate its frequency of occurrence in Somerville. Again, these are Somerville-specific attributes, and say nothing about the bird's numbers in the world at large. The occurrence values are as follows:
Abundant: The species occurs widely in Somerville, in some numbers, and in all seasons.
Common: The species can readily be found somewhere in Somerville, but its overall numbers are smaller, or its range is more restricted, or both. Some birds marked as "common" will never see their numbers rise above a handful. An example is great blue heron.
Seasonally common: These are the birds to which the "common" attribute can be attached, with the modifier that they're here only part of the year. By "season" I mean a full three-month season or longer, so that birds easily found during a three-week migratory window, let's say, will be typed as "less common." This means, for example, that all warblers, with the exception of yellow warbler and common yellowthroat, both of which nest here, will be typed as "less common."
Less common: These are the birds you might expect to see a handful of times during the year, and typically only by looking in a place where you might know to find them.
Rare: These are the birds I've seen once or twice in the entire time I've been looking.
Beyond occurrence, I've also noted which birds nest here. The nesting values are as follows:
Yes: I've only put birds in this category where I've seen them nesting, or have seen fledglings, or in a few cases, where the presence of the birds here in the summer can be accounted for no other way.
Probably: This means that the species is observable within the nesting season, that we're within the nesting range of the species in question, and that we have at least some of the nesting habitat the species uses, but I've never actually seen a nest or fledglings.
Possibly: This attribute means that it's not out of the question the species nests here, but that it's unlikely based on the small number of individuals, and/or the general absence of proper nesting habitat.
No: "No" means "no."
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