Updated annotated Dearborn bird checklist available now

The metro Detroit area has a long and rich history of documented bird sightings. A number of early ornithologists documented birds early in the 20th century. The Bird Survey of the Detroit Region began in 1946, and formed the basis for Alice Kelley's book Birds of Southeastern Michigan and Southwestern Ontario, which left off around 1978.

I reviewed thousands of those available records (including source material) plus many more contemporary ones, and published my book The Birds of Southeast Michigan: Dearborn in 1996. It is now out of print, but copies are often available on Amazon.

As more records were accumulated, especially from the standardized surveys and banding records of the Rouge River Bird Observatory, a refresher was needed, and I put out The Birds of Dearborn, An Annotated Checklist in 2007.

Now that RRBO has closed, I decided that I needed to completely re-do the annotated checklist with another 11 years of records. I won't be looking to publish it as a book, but am making the document available for download at a modest price.

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A Checklist of the Birds of Dearborn (as well as The Birds of Dearborn, An Annotated Checklist, or a bundle of both publications) is now available here. 

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The checklist describes residency status, relative abundance, dates of occurrence, and sighting locations of over 260 bird species. While focusing on Dearborn, status and dates for most species, especially songbirds, will be applicable to much of southern Michigan.

The bulk of the records represent the period 1978-2018, but many date from as far back as the late 1800s. The majority of the records are from the campus of the University of Michigan-Dearborn, but hundreds are from elsewhere within current city limits, including before Dearborn was incorporated in 1929. Data is based on published reports, museum specimens, bird banding records, and vetted checklists; many tens of thousands of records were examined to compile this document.

Here's an example of a few species accounts (the document includes definitions of all terms, locations, etc.):

 

The PDF document includes “bookmarks” to all bird families and relevant sections for easy navigation. Access to the bookmarks varies among PDF readers. Many species accounts contain hyperlinks to additional online information, which may also include photographs, references, and other documentation. They are designed to be clickable and “live” if your reading device is online and your PDF reader permits them. 

Price is $5 for this document, $7 for the 2007 The Birds of Dearborn, An Annotated Checklist, or $9 if you choose them both in the bundle. Payment is via PayPal or credit card. If needed, I will compile updates and provide periodic supplements for free to the email address provided when you download.