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Tucson Audubon Afield
Recent Field Trips and Bird Sightings in Southeast Arizona
Audubon Afield is back after a short hiatus! Please welcome our new writer, Liz Payne. Liz contributes to Tucson Audubon in many ways, including being on the Board of Directors and leading field trips.
These articles were published first in the Vermilion Flycatcher, the newsletter of the Tucson Audubon Society. They summarize recent sightings in southeast Arizona, and suggest where to go birding in the coming month. To receive the newsletter, become a Friend of Tucson Audubon.
October 2007
Warm days and nights may be stalling any display of bright leaves, but the calendar doesn't fib. Neither does my yard list. As nights grow longer the changing season brings different species, regardless of the land's palette. Fine birding and fall migration continued, with our variety of habitats hosting many southbound migrants. (read more)
September 2007
The best thing about being a Field Trip Leader? The people. Wait—no, the birds; well, maybe the joys of discovery, or traipsing around Arizona, or relishing our varied habitats. Or, or, all that fresh air. And you wanted a single answer? (read more)
August 2007
To say the least, it’s green out there! Gratefully, abundant summer monsoons provided terrific drenchings. One need not travel far to witness rejuvenated grasslands, intense emerald vegetation, stunning wildflowers and re-leafing trees.Myriad herps, amphibs, lovely zebra heliconian butterflies, and—well, mosquitoes seem to be universal. Thanks to this rain, unparalleled desert splendor is marvelously apparent now. (read more)
June/July 2007
Water! What a difference a week makes. From ‘non-soon’ to monsoon, we’re now underway: high winds, high temps, crashing thunder, micro-bursts, flooded washes. So it’s not always a dry heat. Do the snowbirds know what they miss? The Sonoran Desert is one of North America’s wettest, and our Sky Island Theater amazes with spectacular skies, thrilling lightning and… water! (read more)
April/May 2007
Almost summer. Perhaps the broiler switch hasn’t been formally thrown, but HOT season has begun to affirm itself. As our lovely Sonoran Desert spring wanes, Palo Verdes lose their glorious glow; the moist petals that were prickly pear and saguaro blooms shrivel to husks. Ready for the blast furnace? (read more)
January 2007
While Tucson received a dusting of snow(!) in January, and winter residents—avian and human—remained, signs of spring were becoming evident. Northern Mockingbirds and Curve-billed Thrashers were in full song. Harris’s Hawks began to lay eggs, while neighborhood Great Horned Owls were calling nightly. Tucson Audubon fieldtrip leaders provided the always interesting mix of trips to scattered birding hotspots, both close to home and more distant. In addition to our already impressive variety of avian residents and visitors, a few surprises were discovered. (read more)
Nov/Dec 2006
While temperatures cooled in southeast Arizona
by the end of 2006, birding defied this trend
by heating up. Large numbers of wintering
waterfowl, raptors, and sparrows competed for
birders’ attention. Multiple rarities were
found during November and December, making a
day afield all the more rewarding. Christmas
Bird Counts were held once again, affording
participants the opportunity to make a
contribution to science and to celebrate
their passion with like-minded individuals.
Tucson Audubon Society fieldtrip leaders
offered varied trips to many local hotspots. (read
more)
October 2006
Cool morning temperatures and great birds
made October an excellent month to be afield
in southeast Arizona. Delicately patterned
sparrows abounded; waterfowl and raptor
numbers increased steadily. The sound of
bugling Sandhill Cranes was heard once again
in the Sulphur Springs Valley. Water—ponds,
lakes and rivers drew many migrants and
returning winter visitants, including a few
surprises. Several primarily Eastern warblers
added excitement for diligent (lucky?)
observers. (read more)
September 2006
September is a great month to bird southeast Arizona. While many of the
locally breeding species depart by month’s end, migrant species in mixed
feeding flocks mass in the mountains and lowlands, particularly where
water is present. The potential for rare shorebirds, gulls and terns
increases and wintering sparrow numbers rise dramatically. Birders check
local migrant traps with hopes of finding eastern vagrant warblers. Boldly
patterned Swainson’s Hawks push south as several of the more cryptic
empidonax flycatchers arrive. Tucson Audubon field trip leaders executed
outings to take advantage of the avian bounty that fall migration affords.
August 2006
Two words can be used to best describe the Sonoran
Desert in August this year: soggy and green. Above average precipitation
brought the desert and mountains to life with a color. Sources of this
visual treat were plants in bloom, gleaming with fresh green growth, the
colorful southeastern Arizona avian specialties, and even the unusual
mammalian characters with binoculars in hand. Spectacular lightning shows,
the sounds of rumbling thunder and the fragrance of creosote after rains
made this time a rich sensory experience indeed. Scores of naturalists
were able to enjoy these spectacles with experienced Tucson Audubon
Society field trip leaders on the many free trips offered. Expected avian
gems, continuing rarities and a few surprises made for an exciting time to
be afield. (read
more)
June – July 2006
For most people, summer in
southeast Arizona is a time to escape to cooler environs or stay inside.
Birders, however, realize that this is a prime season to be afield. The
months of June and July actually contain two seasons: dry summer in June
and wet summer, or the monsoon, usually begins in July. Braving
temperatures exceeding the century mark, birders are treated to some of
the best birding our country affords. Monsoon
breeders become conspicuous and hummingbird numbers increase dramatically.
This is also one of the best times to look for wanderers from Mexico. (read
more)
April – May 2006
Scores of birds and birders were conspicuous during
April and May in southeast Arizona. Migration peaks during this period and
all of the sought-after specialties and breeders return. In addition to
migrants and breeding species, a few surprises were discovered, while a
few long-staying rarities persisted. (read more)
March 2006
Signs of spring were everywhere during the month of
March. Stately Swainson’s Hawks returned, trailed by Gary Hawks.
Fortunate observers were treated to Common Black-Hawks transiting to their
nesting grounds to the north. (read more)
February 2006
February in southeast Arizona is a time of
transition, with wintering birds mingling with fresh spring arrivals. We
bid a fond farewell to some species for a time, and welcome back others
like old friends who have returned from a long vacation. (read
more)
January 2006
As we were afforded abundant sunshine and warm
temperatures during January, it was hard for a former Midwesterner like me
to call what we experienced, winter. While many of our winter residents—avian
and human— remained, spring was but around the corner. (read
more)
November-December 2005
By what criteria do birders judge the success of a
day in the field? Some might suggest that tallying a high number of
species or discovering a rarity would qualify. For others, observing large
numbers of individual birds would be a very special day. An up-close study
of a common backyard bird might satisfy many. (read
more)
October 2005
The recent popular literature about birding makes us all seem obsessive,
fanatical, and fiercely competitive. That picture isn’t entirely true.
I, for example, am not the least bit competitive: I just like to win. (read
more)
September 2005
Tucson Audubon’s field trip
leaders are a varied bunch, spanning the range of nearly every human
condition. They all have some things in common, of course: skill,
experience, and the good humor that can turn even the rare ho-hum day
afield into an expedition to remember. (read more)
August 2005
We birders sometimes forget how odd our
vocabulary really is. And it isn’t just the technical terms, either, the
tomia, tarsi, and terts; it’s the way we use everyday words, giving them
new meanings opaque to all but the cognoscenti. (read
more)
June-July 2005
Summer in southeast Arizona: most people’s
favorite time to stay inside. Birders, however, aren’t "most
people," and even the most unforgiving days find Tucson Audubon
birders out looking for the birds, common and rare, that make every season
here so exciting... (read more)
April-May 2005
Roger Eastman nearly ruined our field
trip. The other participants had already assembled on this last morning of
a carefully planned three-day excursion to the Chiricahuas; the normally
punctual Rog pulled up just moments ahead of the scheduled start time.
Rarely have I seen a birder look more stricken. "I spent yesterday
evening and this morning with Arizona’s first Black Turnstone at
Willcox." Eyes opened wide and binoculars fell at the words... (read
more)
March 2005
It is hard to imagine anyone more intent on the pursuit of the new than a
birder. For most of us, the life bird is the acme of novelty, but as the
ornithological polymath George Miksch Sutton once wrote, "for the
sentient person, almost everything he [or she] sees or experiences is
new." And birders are nothing if not sentient. (read
more)
February 2005
The world looks different when you’re a birder. Most mortals make do
with a mere three dimensions, but the space of the birder’s life is
bounded by a new geometry. We graph our experiences not just by length,
width, and height, but by weather, by season, and by habitat. (read more)
January 2005
As we wander the breathtaking natural beauty of
southeast Arizona, it can be easy to forget that birding has historically
been an urban sport—born in Massachusetts, come of age in New York City,
and now at home in the great cities of the American West. (read
more)
November-December 2005
The ancients thought that all
matter was composed of four elementary substances. Modern physics sees
things differently; but for the birder, winter in southeast Arizona unites
all the elements: ducks on the water, hawks in the air, sparrows on the
earth, and Vermilion Flycatchers showering fire across the fields... (read
more)
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This page was updated on 01/30/07