Check-list of Pulaski County, Kentucky, Birds

   If you have personal records for species not listed below or if you know of historical records for species not listed below, please send details to me at this e-mail address:

    A list of early and late dates of arrival and departure for spring and fall for Pulaski County may be viewed at the following link:

Table 1. UCR Bird List with species observed in Pulaski County indicated.  Species denoted below with one asterisk (*) are rare and with two asterisks (**) very rare within the UCR; sightings of these species should be reported via a documentation form.  Species on the Audubon WatchList are indicated below in pink (27 species) or red (8 species), with the latter being more critically decreasing species.

Table 2. Annotated list of Pulaski County bird species.  * = Rare species in UCR; ** Very rare species; Boldfacing = breeding species.

_____ Greater White-fronted Goose **

_____ Snow Goose *

_____ Ross's Goose * (4-11 December 2005, RMD photo)

_____ Brant * (14-15 May 2005, LK photo, CGH, RMD photo)

_____ Canada Goose

_____ Mute Swan **

_____ Tundra Swan **

_____ Wood Duck

_____ Gadwall

_____ American Wigeon

_____ American Black Duck

_____ Mallard

_____ Blue-winged Teal

_____ Northern Shoveler

_____ Northern Pintail

_____ Green-winged Teal

_____ Canvasback

_____ Redhead

_____ Ring-necked Duck

_____ Greater Scaup *

_____ Lesser Scaup

_____ Surf Scoter **

_____ White-winged Scoter ** (2 November 1984, JBE [Stamm 1985a])

_____ Black Scoter ** (5 November 1984, American Birds 39: 59)

_____ Long-tailed Duck **

_____ Bufflehead

_____ Common Goldeneye

_____ Hooded Merganser (female with 9 young 12 May 1993, JBE [Monroe and Stamm 1993c])

_____ Common Merganser **

_____ Red-breasted Merganser

_____ Ruddy Duck

_____ Ruffed Grouse

_____ Wild Turkey

_____ Northern Bobwhite

_____ Common Loon

_____ Pied-billed Grebe

_____ Horned Grebe

_____ Red-necked Grebe * (4-18 November 2006, RMD photo)

_____ Eared Grebe * (5 November 2004, RMD photo)

_____ Western Grebe ** (6-30 November 2002, RMD et al.)

_____ American White Pelican ** (24 October 1987, fide JBE [Stamm 1988a])

_____ Double-crested Cormorant

_____ American Bittern ** (20 April 2000, RMD)

_____ Great Blue Heron

     _____ Great Blue Heron, blue form

     _____ Great Blue Heron, white form ** (21-25 July 2000, RMD photos)

_____ Great Egret

_____ Snowy Egret **

_____ Little Blue Heron *

_____ Cattle Egret **

_____ Green Heron

_____ Black-crowned Night-Heron **

_____ Black Vulture

_____ Turkey Vulture

_____ Osprey

_____ Bald Eagle

_____ Northern Harrier

_____ Sharp-shinned Hawk

_____ Cooper's Hawk

_____ Red-shouldered Hawk

_____ Broad-winged Hawk

_____ Red-tailed Hawk

    _____ B. j. calurus ** (17 December 2007, RMD)

    _____ B. j. harlani  ** (27 January 2007, RMD)

_____ Rough-legged Hawk *

_____ Golden Eagle **

_____ American Kestrel

_____ Merlin **

_____ Peregrine Falcon ** (5 July 1939, RMM [Mengel 1939]; 12 September 2001, RDM; 23 October 2004, RMD)

_____ Virginia Rail ** (23 April-13 June 2003, RMD)

_____ Sora *

_____ Common Moorhen **

_____ American Coot

_____ Sandhill Crane

_____ American Golden-Plover *

_____ Semipalmated Plover

_____ Killdeer

_____ American Avocet ** (11 October 1982, JBE [Elmore 1983; Monroe et al. 1988])

_____ Spotted Sandpiper

_____ Solitary Sandpiper

_____ Greater Yellowlegs

_____ Willet ** (21 April 2004, RMD)

_____ Lesser Yellowlegs

_____ Ruddy Turnstone ** (29 August-4 September 1984, JBE [Stamm 1985a])

_____ Sanderling *

_____ Semipalmated Sandpiper

_____ Western Sandpiper *

_____ Least Sandpiper

_____ White-rumped Sandpiper **

_____ Baird's Sandpiper **

_____ Pectoral Sandpiper

_____ Dunlin (29 September 1984, JBE (Stamm 1985a])

_____ Stilt Sandpiper **

_____ Buff-breasted Sandpiper **

_____ Short-billed Dowitcher *

_____ Long-billed Dowitcher ** (30 November 2005, RMD photo)

_____ Wilson's Snipe

_____ American Woodcock

_____ Wilson's Phalarope ** (3 August 2002, RMD)

_____ Bonaparte's Gull

_____ Laughing Gull ** (26-27 September 2005, RMD)

_____ Franklin's Gull **

_____ Ring-billed Gull

_____ Herring Gull

_____ Least Tern ** (3 August 2006, RMD photo)

_____ Caspian Tern ** (28 September 1985, JBE [Stamm 1985a])

_____ Black Tern *

_____ Common Tern *

_____ Forster's Tern

_____ Rock Pigeon

_____ Eurasian Collared-Dove * (17 January 2005, RMD)

_____ Mourning Dove

_____ Yellow-billed Cuckoo

_____ Black-billed Cuckoo * (KBBA [Palmer-Ball 1996])

_____ Barn Owl ** (19-22 August 1996, Mark Welborn Rd., GM, LM et al.)

_____ Eastern Screech-Owl

_____ Great Horned Owl

_____ Barred Owl

_____ Long-eared Owl **

_____ Short-eared Owl * (23-27 November 1995, GM, LM et al.)

_____ Northern Saw-whet Owl ** (10 March 2002, RMD)

_____ Common Nighthawk

_____ Chuck-will's-widow (nest photographed May 1942, R. W. Barbour [Schneider 1944])

_____ Whip-poor-will

_____ Chimney Swift

_____ Ruby-throated Hummingbird

_____ Belted Kingfisher

_____ Red-headed Woodpecker

_____ Red-bellied Woodpecker

_____ Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

_____ Downy Woodpecker

_____ Hairy Woodpecker

_____ Red-cockaded Woodpecker (extirpated)

_____ Northern Flicker

_____ Pileated Woodpecker

_____ Olive-sided Flycatcher * (10 September 2001, RMD)

_____ Eastern Wood-Pewee

_____ Yellow-bellied Flycatcher **

_____ Acadian Flycatcher

_____ Alder Flycatcher ** (11 May 2002, RMD [Busroe 2002c]; 19 May 2004, RMD [Palmer-Ball and
            McNeeley 2004c)

_____ Willow Flycatcher *

_____ Least Flycatcher

_____ Eastern Phoebe

_____ Great Crested Flycatcher

_____ Eastern Kingbird

_____ Loggerhead Shrike

_____ White-eyed Vireo

_____ Yellow-throated Vireo

_____ Blue-headed Vireo

_____ Warbling Vireo

_____ Philadelphia Vireo

_____ Red-eyed Vireo

_____ Blue Jay

_____ American Crow

_____ Common Raven (extirpated [Mengel 1949]))

_____ Horned Lark

_____ Purple Martin

_____ Tree Swallow

_____ Northern Rough-winged Swallow

_____ Bank Swallow

_____ Cliff Swallow

_____ Barn Swallow

_____ Carolina Chickadee

_____ Tufted Titmouse

_____ Red-breasted Nuthatch

_____ White-breasted Nuthatch

_____ Brown Creeper

_____ Carolina Wren

_____ Bewick's Wren ** (5 May 1946, JP, DW [Wilson 1946])

_____ House Wren

_____ Winter Wren

_____ Sedge Wren *

_____ Marsh Wren *

_____ Golden-crowned Kinglet

_____ Ruby-crowned Kinglet

_____ Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

_____ Eastern Bluebird

_____ Veery

_____ Gray-cheeked Thrush

_____ Swainson's Thrush

_____ Hermit Thrush

_____ Wood Thrush

_____ American Robin

_____ Gray Catbird

_____ Northern Mockingbird

_____ Brown Thrasher

_____ European Starling

_____ American Pipit

_____ Cedar Waxwing

_____ Blue-winged Warbler

_____ Golden-winged Warbler 

_____ Tennessee Warbler

_____ Orange-crowned Warbler **

_____ Nashville Warbler

_____ Northern Parula

_____ Yellow Warbler (13 November 1983, JBE; Stamm 1984a)

_____ Chestnut-sided Warbler

_____ Magnolia Warbler

_____ Cape May Warbler

_____ Black-throated Blue Warbler *

_____ Yellow-rumped Warbler

_____ Black-throated Green Warbler

_____ Blackburnian Warbler

_____ Yellow-throated Warbler

_____ Pine Warbler

_____ Prairie Warbler

_____ Palm Warbler

_____ Bay-breasted Warbler

_____ Blackpoll Warbler

_____ Cerulean Warbler

_____ Black-and-white Warbler

_____ American Redstart

_____ Prothonotary Warbler

_____ Worm-eating Warbler

_____ Swainson's Warbler *

_____ Ovenbird

_____ Northern Waterthrush

_____ Louisiana Waterthrush

_____ Kentucky Warbler

_____ Connecticut Warbler **

_____ Mourning Warbler *

_____ Common Yellowthroat

_____ Hooded Warbler

_____ Wilson's Warbler

_____ Canada Warbler 

_____ Yellow-breasted Chat

_____ Summer Tanager

_____ Scarlet Tanager

_____ Eastern Towhee

_____ Bachman's Sparrow ** (20 or 26 March 1889 [Cooke 1914]; 5 May 1946, JP, DW [Wilson 1946];
            formerly a breeder but now extirpated?)

_____ American Tree Sparrow *

_____ Chipping Sparrow

_____ Clay-colored Sparrow * (10 November 2003, RMD)

_____ Field Sparrow

_____ Vesper Sparrow

_____ Lark Sparrow ** (9 September 2003, RMD)

_____ Savannah Sparrow

_____ Grasshopper Sparrow

_____ Henslow's Sparrow *

_____ Fox Sparrow

_____ Song Sparrow

_____ Lincoln's Sparrow *

_____ Swamp Sparrow

_____ White-throated Sparrow

_____ White-crowned Sparrow

_____ Dark-eyed Junco

_____ Lapland Longspur **

_____ Northern Cardinal

_____ Rose-breasted Grosbeak

_____ Blue Grosbeak

_____ Indigo Bunting

_____ Painted Bunting ** (27 April 1997, RMD)

_____ Dickcissel (11 July 1951, RMM [Mengel 1965])

_____ Bobolink

_____ Red-winged Blackbird

_____ Eastern Meadowlark

_____ Rusty Blackbird

_____ Brewer's Blackbird **

_____ Common Grackle

_____ Brown-headed Cowbird

_____ Orchard Oriole

_____ Baltimore Oriole

_____ Purple Finch

_____ House Finch

_____ Red Crossbill ** (26-27 February 1993, JBE [Monroe and Stamm 1993b])

_____ Common Redpoll **

_____ Pine Siskin

_____ American Goldfinch

_____ Evening Grosbeak

_____ House Sparrow

Key to Initials:    

Literature Cited:

Acknowledgment:

    Many thanks to Roseanna M. Denton and other members of the Somerset Bird Club located in Somerset, Pulaski County, Kentucky, for sharing the above list with me.

    A list of the Regional counties displaying the total number of species known to have been reported in each as