New Hampshire's most popular backyard birds

New Hampshire's most popular backyard birds (part 1)

The most common birds in your backyard are listed and discussed in this article. The birds featured in this article were chosen based on data from the eBird citizen science program. As a result, it is more precise than some other identical articles on the internet. Photographs of each of the bird species are included in this article.  This article explains how to get them to come to your backyard.

In New Hampshire, the following are the common backyard birds:

• Black-capped Chickadee

• Blue Jay

• American Crow

• American Goldfinch

• American Robin

• Mourning Dove

• White-breasted Nuthatch

What is the content of this article?

• State overview of birds and bird watching in New Hampshire

• Photos and identification of common backyard birds

• Most common birds by season

• New Hampshire birds and Birding in New Hampshire

New Hampshire is home to around 420 different bird species, according to eBird.

The most prevalent bird is the Black-capped Chickadee, which is the most common bird in New Hampshire. It is reported on 55% of bird-watching lists. Purple Finch is the state bird of New Hampshire. Check out eBird for New Hampshire if you're serious about learning about the birds that call New Hampshire home.   Join a local bird group if you wish to meet other people who are interested in birds in your region. Each state's list of bird-watching clubs is maintained by the American Birding Association.

Identification of Birds in New Hampshire

This section describes species. These are provided to help you in identifying birds in your backyard.  Each species profile begins with a photo. Before evaluating the color or patterns on the birds, size, shape, and bill type are used in the identification phase. When trying to identify an unknown bird, these are more reliable. Pay attention to the shape of the bird's body and tail, as well as the shape of its bill, rather than just the color of its plumage.

How to attract each species is covered in the section on bird feeders and foods. Feeders will not attract all sorts of backyard birds. Water, on the other hand, can attract all backyard birds.

Most birds that appear in this article are found across the state and are generally year-round inhabitants. Even if a species is found throughout a large area, it only occurs in the habitat that it prefers. As a result, the exact habitat of your area has a role in the presence or absence of specific bird species.

1. Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)

This is a popular backyard bird in the northern half of the United States.

Range in New Hampshire:  Black-capped Chickadees can be found throughout the year in New Hampshire.

Identification:

Size: Chickadees are little birds that are similar in size to American Goldfinch.

Shape: The body is circular, with a large round head and a long tail with a rounded tip.

Bill: Short, stout, and straight.

Color: Gray on top, buffy on the bottom. The lower face of the blackcap and bib is white. Wing feathers have white borders.

Habitat, range & behavior: Deciduous and mixed forests.  They cover the majority of Alaska, as well as the northern half of the United States and the southern half of Canada. Small flocks acrobatically flutter from tree to tree, gleaning insects from twig tips. Chickadees make up the majority of mixed-species flocks in the winter, which also include nuthatches, kinglets, creepers, woodpeckers, and other birds.

Food and feeder preference: Seeds, insects, and berries are preferred foods. Feeders include tube, hopper, and tray. They adore suet and black oil sunflower seeds.

2. Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)

In the eastern half of the United States, this is a common and well-known bird.

Range in New Hampshire: Blue Jays can be found all year in New Hampshire.

Identification:

Size: Approximately the same as an American Robin.

Shape: Fluffy with a huge crested head and a long tail. Large strong legs.

Bill: black, large, and stout.

Color: Blue on top, white on the bottom. Neck collar in black. The wings has white patches.

Habitat, range & behavior: Woodlands and cities in the eastern half of the United States are places where you'll find this species. In southern Canada throughout the summer. Bold and noisy. Jays consume a large number of seeds or other food at once and store it in their crop. They then bury food in a secret cache.

Food and feeder preference: They are Omnivorous.  They have the ability to quickly empty your feeder! Some people employ mesh cages around smaller bird feeders because they are hostile toward other feeder birds.  Some people give peanuts to jays but away from the seed feeders.

3. American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)

This huge all-black bird can be seen in both the city and rural areas. Most people are familiar with its cawing.

Range in New Hampshire: They are s Summer residents throughout New Hampshire as well as year-round residents in southern New Hampshire.

Identification: This is a key species to compare to an unknown bird.

Size: From bill tip to tail tip, it's about 17-1/2 inches long, though there's a lot of diversity in size within its range. Blackbirds and grackles are smaller than American Crow. Ravens are bigger than these.

Shape: A thick neck, a huge head, and a square-ended tail that is relatively short. Legs are longer. In-flight, the wingtips are rounded, and each primary feather is separated from the others, forming "fingers."

Bill: Head-length, thick, black. 

Color: Throughout, the color is glossy black.

Habitat, range, and behavior: They like open places with trees, fields, farms, and cities.  Except in the desert southwest, they can be found across the lower 48 states of the United States. During the summer, they migrate to southern Canada. They congregate in vast flocks in evening communal roosts, sometimes numbering in the thousands, and then fly off at dawn for the surrounding area.

Food and feeder preference: They are omnivorous and eat huge insects, grain, small mammals, and carrion, among other things.  These big, totally black birds are probably not what you want in your backyard feeders. As a result, avoid feeding table scraps to birds.

4. American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)

Many people are familiar with this lovely little finch in its bright yellow summer plumage. Mostly known as  "wild canary,"

Range in New Hampshire: American Goldfinches can be found throughout the year in New Hampshire.

Identification: This is a key species to compare to an unfamiliar bird.

Size: About 5 inches long from bill tip to tail tip. It's about the same size as a chickadee. Hummingbirds are smaller than these.

Shape: Small and chubby, with a larger head and a short tail.

Bill: Pink, conical, and short.

Color: Males are bright lemon yellow in the summer, with a black forehead and black wings and tails with white bars. White under tail coverts. Females have a dull olive color, with browner wings and tails. Winter birds have tan and brown wings and tails and are pale grayish-yellow in color.

Habitat, range & behavior: This species can be found in weedy fields and similar areas with thistles and other similar plants. Throughout the year, it can be seen from coast to coast in most of the middle-lower 48 states. In the summer, it migrates to the Canadian border. During the winter, they can be found all the way down to the Mexican border. The flying is very undulating, rising and sinking in brief spurts as they flap their wings.

Food and feeder preference: Feeds on weed seeds, and thistle seed. Black oil sunflower seeds from a tube feeder may be eaten. Nyjer seed is their favorite. 

5. American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

This well-known bird is a year-round resident in the northern part of the country and a seasonal visitor in the southern half.

Range in New Hampshire: American Robins can be found throughout the year in New Hampshire.

Identification: This is a key species to compare to an unfamiliar bird.

Size: From bill tip to tail tip, this bird is 10 inches long. Approximately the same size as a Blue Jay or a Scrub-Jay . The size of a Mourning Dove is bigger than these.

Shape: A plump creature with a lengthy tail.

Bill: Straight and slender, with a curved tip.

Color: Upper sections are gray-brown, with a reddish-orange breast.

Habitat, range, & behavior: Open forests, urban parks, and lawns are among the places where they live. Breeds in Alaska and Canada as a migratory bird. Inhabitant of the majority of the United States (lower 48). Winters in North America, Mexico, and Central America. Hops around your lawn hunting for food, moving his head this way and that. In the north, their caroling melody is one of the first signals of spring.

Food and feeder preference: They consume earthworms and other insects. Fruit from a tray feeder or the ground is good. Small berries from trees and bushes can be eaten.

6. Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)

In the Lower 48 states of the United States, mourning doves are the most common and widespread backyard bird.

Range in New Hampshire: Mourning Doves can be found throughout the year in New Hampshire.

Identification: This is a key species to compare to an unfamiliar bird.

Size: From bill tip to tail tip, it's around 12 inches long. The Northern Flicker is around the same size as this bird. The domestic city pigeon is slightly larger than these.

Shape: Small round head with a fat body. The tail is long with a pointed tip. Legs are small.

Bill: Bill is small and slender.

Color: The body is a pale brown-pink color with darker wings and tail. On the side of the tail, there are white edges.

Habitat, range, and behavior:  Semi-open spaces like cities, farmlands, and woods. They are frequently observed perched atop wires and fences. It lives in the lower 48 states and Mexico, with limited winter migration out of northern areas. Their mournful cooing is a well-known spring bird song.

Food and feeder preference: They mostly eat seeds. Can be attracted with black oil sunflower seeds on a large tray feeder.

7. White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)

Many people enjoy its energetic antics and bravery. It is the largest nuthatch in North America, despite its small size.

Range in New Hampshire: White-breasted Nuthatches can be found throughout the year in New Hampshire.

Identification:

Size: About the size of a chickadee. A junco or a House Finch is a bigger bird than these.

Shape: Large-headed, neckless, and short-tailed creature. Legs are short.

Bill: Almost as long as his head, straight, and thin.

Color: Blue-gray on top, white on the bottom. Rusty feathers near the base of the tail.

Habitat, range, and behavior: Found in oak and oak-pine woodlands, as well as wooded towns. Found in the United States, southern Canada, and the central Mexico. Treeless grasslands and western deserts lack them. Crawls across tree branches and down tree trunks head-first in quest of insects.

Food and feeder preference: Insects, seeds, acorns, and other nuts are preferred food. Love feeding black oil sunflower seeds from hoppers and trays.