The 59th Patagonia Christmas Bird Count, held this year on December 17, started off a little chilly but, as usual, it warmed up and the birds began appearing, looking for their morning meal. That’s when the fun really begins.
Forty-six volunteers participated in this year’s count, many birding by foot, hiking two – six miles in some areas, some driving over rough terrain in the Patagonia Mountains to get to prime habitat and others staking out their home feeders.
This year we had the use of an interactive Google map, put together by Alan Schmierer, which enabled birders to see their territory boundaries easier and zoom in on roads and habitats.
The consensus was that the sparrow count was way down this year, except for white-crowned sparrows. No sparrows were seen in the west part of the San Rafael Grasslands, which is unusual, and many tanks and areas that usually have water were dry.
Some new habitats were birded this year, both east and west sides of the Arizona Trail and Red Mountain Road (FR 4649). The latter resulted in a red-headed woodpecker sighting.
The Patagonia CBC could not take place without the help of all the volunteers and the cooperation of ranchers and public land owners who allow us to come onto their property for the day. A big thank you!
Redhead 2
Cinnamon Teal (CW) 2
Northern Shoveler (CW)* 2
American Wigeon 1
Mallard 10
Mexican Duck (CW)* 3
Canvasback 2
Northern Pintail 2
Green-winged Teal 3
Ring-necked Duck 8
Bufflehead 1
Gambel’s Quail 10
Montezuma Quail 25
Rock Pigeon 13
Eurasian Collard Dove 54
Inca Dove 1
White-winged Dove 85
Mourning Dove 77
Greater Roadrunner 15
White-throated Swift 14
Anna’s Hummingbird 17
Broad-billed Hummingbird 10
Violet-crowned Hummingbird 4
Virginia Rail 1
American Coot 5
Killdeer 7
Wilson’s Snipe 5
Great Blue Heron 3
Black Vulture 14
Turkey Vulture 2
White-tailed Kite 1
Golden Eagle 1
Northern Harrier 6
Sharp-shinned Hawk 5
Cooper’s Hawk 5
Red-tailed Hawk 32
Barn Owl 1
Western Screech-Owl 1
Whiskered Screech-Owl 1
Great Horned Owl 8
Northern Pygmy Owl 1
Mexican Spotted Owl 1
Acorn Woodpecker 133
Gila Woodpecker 145
Red-naped Sapsucker 25
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 50
Arizona Woodpecker 9
Northern Flicker 55
American Kestrel 10
Merlin 2
Prairie Falcon 4
Hammond’s Flycatcher 2
Gray Flycatcher 9
Dusky Flycatcher 5
Black Phoebe 19
Say’s Pheobe 56
Vermilion Flycatcher 1
Loggerhead Shrike 14
Hutton’s Vireo 9
Steller’s Jay 2
Woodhouses’s Scrub-Jay 18
Mexican Jay 303
Chihuahuan Raven 2
Common Raven 368
Raven sp. 7
Horned Lark 65
Bridled Titmouse 364
Verdin 25
Bushtit 76
White-breasted Nuthatch 102
Brown Creeper 3
Rock Wren 11
Canyon Wren 8
House Wren 3
Bewick’s Wren 157
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
Gnatcatcher sp. 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 85
Eastern Bluebird 54
Western Bluebird 192
Townsend’s Solitaire 2
Hermit Thrush 31
American Robin 29
Curve-billed Thrasher 44
Crissal Thrasher 5
Northern Mockingbird 22
Phainopepla 34
Olive Warbler 5
House Sparrow 131
American Pipit 2
House Finch 404
Cassin’s Finch 3
Pine Siskin 76
Lesser Goldfinch 183
Chestnut-collared Longspur 3
Green-tailed Towhee 4
Spotted Towhee 31
Rufous-crowned Sparrow 47
Canyon Towhee 75
Abert’s Towhee 39
Rufous-winged Sparrow 19
Chipping Sparrow 199
Black-chinned Sparrow 12
Vesper Sparrow 2
Lark Sparrow 11
Black-throated Sparrow 33
Song Sparrow 28
Lincoln’s Sparrow 7
White-crowned Sparrow 667
Dark-eyed Junco 68
Oregon 16
Pink-sided 43
Gray-headed 59
Yellow-eyed Junco 4
Eastern Meadowlark 57
Western Meadowlark 23
Brewer’s Blackbird 58
Orange-crowned Warbler 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 27
Audubon’s Warbler 203
Myrtle Warbler 1
Painted Redstart 3
Hepatic Tanager 2
Northern Cardinal 65
Pyrrhuloxia 38
Lazuli Bunting 1
passerine sp. 28
blackbird sp. 10
Rare Finds
Fox Sparrow 1
Rufous-backed Robin 1
Bendire’s Thrasher 1
Western Kingbird 1
Red-headed Woodpecker 1
Greater Yellowlegs 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2
Bullock’s Oriole 1
American Goldfinch 1
Total Birds 5725
Total Species 130
*CW-Seen during “Count Week”, which extends 3 days before and after the count day but not seen on count day.