The Beauty of Lists

For some a list by its very nature has a beauty and reason for its existence regardless of its purpose.

Lists send an immediate message of order and understanding that result in a sense of security. I've been a maker of lists for most of my life to bring that order into my world but beyond that they also serve me as an indicator that I’m still learning and chronicling that learning. A good list says “I’m alive, I learned something.”

An Incomplete List of Backyard Species

Mammalia

Groundhog (Marmota monax)
Raccoon (Procyon lotor)
Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger)
Prairie Vole (Microtus ochrogaster)
Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina brevicaudia)
Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana)
White-footed Mouse (Peromyscus leucopus)
Chipmunk (Tamias striatus)
Coyotes (Canis latrans)
White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
Red Bat (Lasiurus borealis)
Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus)
Eastern Cottontail Rabbit (Sylviligus floridinus
Stray People (Homo sapiens unfamiliaris)
Stray Cat (Felis silvestris catus)
Stray Dog (Canis lupus familiaris)

Insecta

Lepodoptera

Monarch (Danaus plexippus)
Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis)
Common Sooty Wing (Pholisora catullus)
Meadow Fritillary (Boloria bellona)
Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor)
Gray Comma (Polygonia progne)
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)
Cabbage White (Pieris rapae)
Clouded Sulphur-Orange Sulphur (Colias philodice-Colias eurytheme)
American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis)
Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)
Buckeye (Junonia coenia)
Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)
Viceroy (Limenitis archippus)
Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa)
Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos)

Amphibia

American Toad (Bufo Americanus)
Gray Treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis)

Sauropsida

Plains Garter Snake (Thamnophis radix)
Common Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)

Aves

White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinenis)
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta Canadensis)
Tufted Titmouse (Parus bicolor)
Black-capped Chickadee (Parus atricapillus)
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglotto)
Baltimore Oriole (Icrrus galbula)
Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
Barred Owl (Strix varia)
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca)
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)
American Tree Sparrow (Spizella arborea)
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonottrichia leucophrys)
Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erthrophthalmus)
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedorum)
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus)
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)
Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)
American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis)
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
Purple Finch (Carpodacus purpureus)
Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica)
Brown Creeper (Certhia americana)
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescebs)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius)
Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)
Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiccula)
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)
Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum)
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)