Birds of Rice University

©Cin-Ty Lee 2002

compiled by C.-T. Lee

with contributions from C. Andrews, N. Block, F. Fisher, C. Hughes, M. Kulstad, H. McCrary, T. Perkins, W. Risser, D. Wiesenborn

The following is a checklist of all the birds that have been recorded at Rice University since 1980. Being in an urban environment, the total number of species present on campus at any given time is not particularly high. However, because the campus is located along a major migration route, it is possible to pick up a number of migrating species over the course of spring and fall migration if you are very observant. Over the years, a total of 174 species have been recorded on campus. If one counts nearby Hermann Memorial Park, the list total becomes much larger. Keep in mind, however, that during migration, bird life can be very unpredictable. On some days, you might see only a few species, but if the weather is just right (for example, when a cold front arrives), birds are aplenty! The best birding spots are the rhododendron hedges at the main entrance to the campus (intersection of Main and Rice Blvd), experimental grassland, and the retention basin just east of the baseball field. However, unusual birds can be potentially found anywhere on campus. Report any new sightings to Cin-Ty Lee (Department of Earth Science; ctlee@rice.edu).

BIRDS RECORDED AT RICE UNIVERSITY

Total: 174 species as of 2006

Status symbols
c - common; can't miss, seen nearly 100% of visits
fc - fairly common; seen more than 50% of visits
u - uncommon; seen between 10-50% of visits
r - rare; seen <10% of visits
vr - very rare; less than 5 records
acc - accidental (single record)
f - flyover only
N - nests
e - extirpated
W = Dec, Jan, Feb	Sp = Mar, Apr, May
Su = Jun, Jul, Aug	F = Sep, Oct, Nov
		Seasonal Status
		W	Sp	Su	F
American White Pelican			vr			f
Double-crested Cormorant		r			r	f
Neotropic Cormorant		r	r	r	r	f
Anhinga			acc			f
Great Blue Heron		r	r	r	r	f
Great Egret		r	r	r	r	f
Cattle Egret		r	r	r	r	f
Green Heron			r
Black-crowned Night-Heron	N	u	u	u	u
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron	N	u	c	u	u
White Ibis					vr	f
White-faced Ibis					vr	f
Roseate Spoonbill		vr	vr	vr	vr	f
Black-bellied Whistling Duck		r	r	r	r
Greater White-fronted Goose		r				f
Snow Goose		u				f
Ross' Goose		r				f
Canada Goose		r				f
Wood Duck		r	r	r	r
Black Vulture		r	r	r	r	f
Turkey Vulture		u	u	u	u	f
Osprey			vr			f
American Swallow-tailed Kite			vr		vr	f
Mississippi Kite			u		u	f
Sharp-shinned Hawk		u	u		u
Cooper's Hawk		u	u	u	u
Harris's Hawk				acc	acc
Red-shouldered Hawk		u	u	u	u
Broad-winged Hawk			r		r
Swainson's Hawk			u		u	f
Red-tailed Hawk		fc	r	r	fc
American Kestrel		u			u
Merlin		vr			vr
Peregrine Falcon		r				f
American Coot		r	r	r	r	f
Killdeer		fc	fc	fc	fc
Common Snipe		vr
Black-necked Stilt			acc
American Woodcock			acc
Upland Sandpiper			r			f
Solitary Sandpiper			vr			f
Long-billed Dowitcher		vr
Ring-billed Gull		fc	u