100 Per Month – February

This year, 2018, I have set up a little challenge for myself. The challenge is to see 100 or more species in Yolo County each month. Now, that does not mean that the 100 species of February have to all be different species from the 100 species in January. Rather it means that the total number of species seen in each month should get to a total of 100 or more. So, if I see a Red-tailed Hawk some time in January it gets added to the January list. If I see a Red-tailed Hawk some time in February it get added to the February list.

I am hoping this will help me to notice more details as I search to find that next species for a given month, encourage me to visit more habitat types each month, and highlight the seasonal differences as species come and go from my monthly list. I am looking forward to it, and will share what I see with you as the months go by.

Below is my species list from February. It has a total of 105 species, which is exactly the same number of species I saw in January, so I made my target! This month was a really nice raptor month including 3 Ferruginous Hawks, 3 falcon species, Sharp-shinned Hawk, and Cooper’s Hawks among others. Cedar Waxwings were surprisingly hard to find, for me, this month. The most surprising misses were Say’s Phoebe and House Sparrow; two species that I specifically tried to find on a couple of occasions.

I am definitely continuing to enjoy this challenge. I am looking forward to seeing what I can find in March!

Here is my February species list.

Species – Yolo County – February
1	Snow Goose
2	Greater White-fronted Goose
3	Canada Goose
4	Wood Duck
5	Blue-winged Teal
6	Cinnamon Teal
7	Northern Shoveler
8	Gadwall
9	American Wigeon
10	Mallard
11	Northern Pintail
12	Canvasback
13	Common Goldeneye
14	Common Merganser
15	California Quail
16	Wild Turkey
17	Pied-billed Grebe
18	Double-crested Cormorant
19	American White Pelican
20	Great Blue Heron
21	Great Egret
22	Snowy Egret
23	Green Heron
24	Black-crowned Night-Heron
25	White-faced Ibis
26	Turkey Vulture
27	White-tailed Kite
28	Northern Harrier
29	Sharp-shinned Hawk
30	Cooper’s Hawk
31	Red-shouldered Hawk
32	Red-tailed Hawk
33	Ferruginous Hawk
34	Virginia Rail
35	Sora
36	Common Gallinule
37	American Coot
38	Sandhill Crane
39	Black-necked Stilt
40	American Avocet
41	Killdeer
42	Long-billed Dowitcher
43	Wilson’s Snipe
44	Greater Yellowlegs
45	Ring-billed Gull
46	California Gull
47	Herring Gull
48	Rock Pigeon
49	Eurasian Collared-Dove
50	Mourning Dove
51	Barn Owl
52	Great Horned Owl
53	White-throated Swift
54	Anna’s Hummingbird
55	Belted Kingfisher
56	Nuttall’s Woodpecker
57	Northern Flicker
58	American Kestrel
59	Merlin
60	Peregrine Falcon
61	Black Phoebe
62	Loggerhead Shrike
63	California Scrub-Jay
64	Yellow-billed Magpie
65	American Crow
66	Common Raven
67	Tree Swallow
68	Barn Swallow
69	Oak Titmouse
70	Bushtit
71	White-breasted Nuthatch
72	House Wren
73	Marsh Wren
74	Bewick’s Wren
75	Golden-crowned Kinglet
76	Ruby-crowned Kinglet
77	Wrentit
78	Hermit Thrush
79	American Robin
80	Northern Mockingbird
81	European Starling
82	American Pipit
83	Cedar Waxwing
84	Orange-crowned Warbler
85	Common Yellowthroat
86	Yellow-rumped Warbler
87	Fox Sparrow
88	Dark-eyed Junco
89	White-crowned Sparrow
90	Golden-crowned Sparrow
91	Savannah Sparrow
92	Song Sparrow
93	Lincoln’s Sparrow
94	California Towhee
95	Spotted Towhee
96	Western Meadowlark
97	Red-winged Blackbird
98	Tricolored Blackbird
99	Brown-headed Cowbird
100	Brewer’s Blackbird
101	Great-tailed Grackle
102	House Finch
103	Purple Finch
104	Lesser Goldfinch
105	American Goldfinch