My Selected Checklist of Raptors et al I've Seen in the Wild (does not, therefore, include falconry shows, raptor rescue organizations, etc.)
2018
1/11/18, point: Short-eared owl; marsh: 2 Snowy Owls (one attacking clapper rail), Iceland Gull
1/8/18, hospice: Bald eagle (eating lunch on ice)
2017
12/22/17, point: Northern Harrier
12/6/17, airport: Snowy Owl
12/3/17, beach: SNOWY OWL!!!!
11/28/17, highway: 1 bald eagle overhead
week of 8/13: Hog Island, Muscungus Bay, Maine: bald eagle, loon, cormorant, eider, surf scoter, white-winged scoter black guillemot, common tern, ruby-crested kinglet, American goldfinch, chickadee, puffin, sand piper, laughing gull, herring gull, ruby-throated hummingbird, blue jay.
2016
12/14/16, marsh: SNOWY OWL!!!!!
12/4/16: river: Bald Eagle diving in river and rising out again
9/16/16, park: 5 turkey vultures, osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, Monk Parakeets
9/15/16, park: juvenile Bald Eagle, osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, Monk Parakeets, European starlings
9/12/16, park: ospreys (one with a fish!), accipiters, Red-tailed Hawk, Monk Parakeets
9/10/16, park: 5 turkey vultures, ospreys, accipiters, Monk Parakeets
8/28/16, Greenwich hawk watch: turkey vultures, accipiters playing with vultures,
4/21/16, historic house: Northern Harrier
4/16/16, Canton CT "owl prowl": Barred Owl in a tree; heard lots of calls later
2/29/16, point: Snow Buntings, 2 American Tree Sparrows
2/29/16, marsh: Mute Swan
2/22/16, marsh: Snowy Owl on a log about 300 yards out
2015
10/2/15, backyard: accipiter going after squirrel
2/16/15, river: Bald Eagle
2/3/15, tree near sidewalk: Red-Tail Hawk
Before 2015
11/15/14, BI: 3 Saw Whet Owls (Nature Conservancy tagging); Northern Harrier along the beach
10/14/09, side of the road in Texas at night: Barn Owl
MNEMONICS
Northern Cardinal--birdie-birdie-birdie or cheer-cheer-cheer
White throated sparrow--Old Sam Peabody Peabody Peabody
Nashville Warbler--see-bit-see-bit-see-bit-see-see-see-see
Common Loon--who-who-ha-ha-ha
Blue Jay--jeer
RWBB--kon-ka-ree
Song sparrow--note, note, trillllllll, note (field sparrow also has trillllll--bouncing ball coming to a stop)
American Robin--cheerily, cheerily, cheer up
Chipping Sparrow--trill
Mountain chickadee--chick-a-dee dee dee
Common Yellowthroat--whichety-whichety-whichety
Blue-winged warbler--bee buzz
Indigo Bunting--what? what? where? where? see it? see it?
NORTHEAST:
American goldfinch--potato chip, tee-yee
American robin--cheerily, cheer up, cheer up
Blue Jay--jeer!
Eastern Phoebe--fee-be
Gray Catbird--chek chek (but doesn't usually repeat)
Indigo Bunting--what? what? where? where? see it? see it?
Mourning Dove--coo-OO-oo
Red-bellied Woodpecker--kwirr, kwirr or cha cha
White-throated sparrow--Old Sam Peabody or Oh sweet Canada
Yellow Warbler--sweet sweet sweet I'm so sweet
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FIELD MARKS--Common Easter birds:
- American Crow: all black
- American Goldfinch: black and yellow bird; short bill and black cap
- American Robin: grey-brown with orange underparts and dark head
- American Tree Sparrow: rusty cap and eyeline; overall, rusty brown
- Baltimore Oriole: dark head, orange underparts, white stripe on wing
- Black-capped Chickadee: white cheeks with black cap and nape, grey wings
- Blue Jay: strikingly blue, black and white with crest
- Brewer's blackbird: yellow eye but all black otherwise
- Brown-headed cowbird: females are all brown; males have black bodies
- Carolina chickadee: black cap and nib with white cheek
- Carolina Wren: tail cocks upwards
- Chipping Sparrow: black line through the eye with rusty crown
- Common Grackle: iridescent head and long beak
- Common Ground Dove: sandy brown doves with round wings
- Common Raven: massive and entirely black
- Common Redpoll: streaky brown feathers, black feathers around yellow bill, red forehead patch
- Cooper's Hawk:
- Dark-eyed junco: pink bill, black body and white underbelly
- Downy woodpecker: only small red patch on males, small beaks comparatively
- Eurasian Collared Dove
- European starling: splotches, yellow beaks, black or iridescent
- Evening Grosbeak: yellow and black with white wing patch, dark head with yellow eyebrow
- Field Sparrow: white eyering, reddish cap and reddish line from eye
- Fox Sparrow: overall rust with splotchy chest, some grey on head
- Hairy Woodpecker: checkerboard wings, two white stripes on head, male red patch on head
- House Finch: streaky brown and black body and tail, red face and breast for male
- House Sparrow: chunky shape
- Mourning Dove: small head, pointed tail, black mark on cheek
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker: brownish with white rump patch
- Pileated Woodpecker: big red crest, large birds, black and white striped face
- Pine Siskin: streaky birds with subtle yellow tails (notched)
- Pine Warblers: yellowish birds with olive backs, two white wingbars
- Purple Finch: male has pink-red head and breast; streaky breasts, dark throat line
- Red-bellied Woodpecker: red cap, pale-ish overall
- Red-breasted nuthatch: black cap and stripe with strong white eyebrow; rusty bellies
- Red-headed Woodpecker: red head, white breast and wing patch
- Red-winged blackbird: red patch on males; females are strikingly striped
- Rose-breasted Grosbeak: males have red chevron; females are brown streaked with white eyebrow
- Sharp-shinned Hawk: rounded wings
- Song sparrow: streaky brown and white, some grey on heads
- Tufted Titmouse: grey crest and stout bill, peach on flanks, black forehead
- White-breasted nuthatch: black cap and frosty face and underparts
- White-crowned sparrow: very bold black and white head stripes, otherwise pale grey
- White-throated sparrow: striking head pattern with yellow patch
- White-winged dove--black "comma" on cheek and white wing patch
- Yellow-bellied sapsucker: red crest and throat, white stripe on wings
Butterflies: First, we saw the butterflies in a lovely flowering garden, with butterfly bushes and echinacea. In fact, the volunteers were catching and tagging butterflies! I must admit, I wasn't sure how they would tag butterflies, but Bud and Sis knew because their butterfly-loving teacher had done it before, with little stickers. And indeed, they put on a little sticker. Note: do NOT try to remove the sticker if you come across one. Just report the number. Bud and Sis know so much about butterflies because of the three-year study they've done with their teacher--the black dots which indicate the butterfly was male, the difference between various cocoons, the three generations it takes to make the full migration. 
Carousel: The magnificent carousel in the park is 105 years old, with original horses complete with real horse-hair manes, a working organ, and apparently all the original mechanics and floor. So pretty. I loved the lights and the music and especially the little name plates over each horses. We rode it twice. Sis and Bud sat together, while Mama and I sat behind them on the sleigh. You could see the Sound as the carousel went around and around, with that great twinkly music. I could almost imagine it was another era. I love carousels. 
