Tucson Audubon Afield, March 2005--Tucson Audubon Society

Tucson Audubon Society
Tucson Audubon Afield: January 2005
Recent Field Trips and Sightings in Southeast Arizona
by Rick Wright (see Tucson Audubon Afield home page)

(This article first appeared in the March 2005 Vermilion Flycatcher, newsletter of the Tucson Audubon Society. To receive the newsletter, become a member of the Friends of Tucson Audubon.)

Snow Geese at Bosque del Apache, by Gayle Swarbrick
Twenty-seven birders went to Bosque del Apache
NWR in New Mexico January 14-16, enjoying
thousands of Sandhill Cranes and Snow and Ross's
Geese. Other treats included six Bald Eagles and a
Ferruginous Hawk
photo by Gayle Swarbrick

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. Tucson, with its range of habitats and elevations, plays host to a great variety of birds all year round, and local birders know that winter in the city can often be as exciting as a visit to more pristine but more distant sites.

In fact, the most exciting find this season (and already a strong favorite for "bird of the year") was the first-winter female Ruby-throated Hummingbird discovered and first identified by Rich Hoyer at his north Tucson feeder. This first Arizona record—eventually captured, thoroughly documented, and released—joined a number of other, more expected hummingbirds in brightening the urban birder’s days; many of January’s Tucson Audubon outings enjoyed the loud, bright "plink" of sky-dancing male Anna’s and the high-pitched "sssswing" of singing male Costa’s while females gathered cobwebs nearby. An impressive trochilid list was rounded out by Broad-billed Hummingbirds on Bill Wieboldt’s Tanque Verde Ranch trip and on Darlene Smyth’s visit to Boyce-Thompson Arboretum, along with a Magnificent Hummingbird and an unusual Violet-crowned Hummingbird in Patagonia.

Tucson’s streets appeal equally to our smallest and our largest birds, and the city played host to a full complement of cold-season raptors, including at least one Zone-tailed Hawk, most recently spotted over the Tucson Audubon offices on February 2. The uncommon and always exciting Merlin appeared in good numbers, both at such favored urban localities as the Santa Cruz River and on field trips to Arivaca (led by Helen Tucker) and the San Rafael Valley (led by Denis Wright). Cooper’s Hawk may be our most familiar urban raptor, but the juvenile bathing for twenty minutes at the Tanque Verde Ranch gave the participants in Bill Wieboldt’s trip a once-in-a-lifetime show. Of course, the high-elevation valleys were the real hotspots for raptor fans, with at least half a dozen Ferruginous Hawks on Clait Braun’s trip to the Sulphur Springs Valley, and Bald and Golden Eagles on the February 1 excursion to the San Rafael Valley where White-tailed Kites, the ultimate in predatory grace, have also been seen this winter.

Great Horned Owls were noted on several trips, but the strigid highlight this month was the sighting of Burrowing Owls on the inaugural Sam Lena Park / Kino Ecosystem Restoration Project bird walk, led by Tucson Audubon’s Kendall Kroesen, Peggy Wenrick, and Susan Randolph. Taking place on the fourth Saturday of each month, these walks introduce Tucson residents to the avian splendor found, often literally, right in their backyards; this first excursion produced no fewer than 32 species, including Prairie Falcon and Common Goldeneye. The Burrowing Owls, besides providing excellent scope views for all participants, also served as an apt emblem for the challenges faced by our birds in urbanized habitats: all four were probably birds relocated from new developments in the west Phoenix valley, and it can be hoped that they not only thrive but come to be a source of pleasure and pride for their new human neighbors.

City passerines, too, were exciting in January. The Le Conte’s Sparrow, a second record for Arizona, remained cooperative in its Santa Cruz River stronghold, and a Northern Rough-winged Swallow (only casual locally in winter) was the highlight of Rick Wright’s cold and drizzly Flight Clinic held January 26. Swamp Sparrows were found on the busy corner of Alvernon and 22nd Street, as well as at more pastoral sites such as Arivaca Lake and Patagonia Lake. And this winter’s modest invasion of Lawrence’s Goldfinches showed no sign of abating, with flocks of up to 35 birds, the males in full song, found up and down the Santa Cruz, from Tucson to the Pinal Air Park.

March is a time of transience and arrival in southeast Arizona, and by mid-month specialties from Lucy’s Warbler to Buff-bellied Flycatcher will have made their appearance; Turkey Vultures will pass over Tucson in swirling flocks, and Cassin’s and Western Kingbirds will pop up in unexpected places, while the first orioles will elicit a spate of phone calls to Tucson Audubon by startled homeowners. Hopeful birders will look out for rare waterbirds such as Horned Grebe, Heermann’s Gull, or even a Garganey, and will carefully check flocks of returning swallows for Cave or (why not?) Mangrove Swallows. See what you can turn up!

Note: Rick Wright, a Department Editor at Birding magazine, owns and operates Aimophila Adventures, a guiding service for birders in southeast Arizona, and leads trips for Naturetreks and Tucson Audubon. Contact him at birding@birdaz.com or at (520) 544-8643.