The yard itself is only one important landscape for the Backyard Big Year. Since all birds seen or heard from your yard count, the neighboring yards and landscapes provide important habitat and opportunities for finding birds.
My yard is surrounded by wooded exurban yards, subdivisions, and an old farm (much of which was developed into the yards my neighbors and I live in.
Facing west (up), notice wooded slope to north and west, more open yards and old farm to the east, subdivision to south and northeast.
Birds eye view of neighborhood looking east (up).
The woods to my west and northwest provide a nice patch of woods, that connect to woods to my south, forming a wooded corridor that seems to funnel migrants. The Old Farm Road pond to my east is usually empty, but sometimes hosts Mallards, Canada Goose, Great Blue Heron, and once upon a time, a drake Redhead. Here’s hoping it attracts additional waterbirds this year, though it’s quite small. A creek runs from the pond up onto my property, and flows down past the pond to feed into a larger creek and eventually the reservoir (see Lay of the Land III: The Local Area).
In addition to cover, the topography of the neighborhood is also important–I have almost no view to the west as this direction is dominated by raising ground and trees. To the south, the road runs near the ridge of our hill, and the yards across the street drop off in elevation again, and since this area is also wooded, visibility is not great in this direction.
Too map of my neighborhood, showing roads, small pond to the northeast, creek, and hill rising to the west/northwest.
I’m sure I’ll learn a lot more about my neighbor’s yards as I’m walking around my own yard. Remember to be a good neighbor and let your neighbors know that you’re going to be birding in the yard, and not staring into their homes with your high powered optics!
See Lay of the Land I: The Yard and Lay of the Land III: The Local Area
