On an unusually warm morning, 57 birders set out on Dec. 18 to find every bird they possibly could for the 126th annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count. Total number of species (112) and individual birds sighted (4,586) is a little lower than usual for the Patagonia circle, which is 15 miles in diameter, centered near Harshaw townsite and divided into 21 sectors.
There were some surprises. Lawrence’s goldfinches, in an irregular irruption (a dramatic population surge), were counted on three checklists in and near Patagonia (58 birds total). A winter wren continues to hang out on Nature Conservancy property. A rough-legged hawk that normally winters far north of SE Arizona has been spotted in San Rafael Valley for several weeks.
Ruby-crowned kinglet (192) and chipping sparrow (1,087) numbers were higher. Grassland sparrow numbers were lower, in part because of the continuing dry weather. Truck noise and dust made for difficult identification also. No Montezuma quail were seen in any sector.
Approximately 2,700 circles in the US, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America are birded each year between December 14 and January 5 and provide valuable information about birds and their movements in response to weather and habitat changes.
Species / Number
Mallard 5
Mallard (Mexican) 2
Ring-necked Duck 1
Gambel’s Quail 79
Wild Turkey 13
Eurasian Collared-Dove 51
Inca Dove 32
Common Ground Dove 1
White-winged Dove 102
Mourning Dove 74
Greater Roadrunner 1
Anna’s Hummingbird 27
Broad-billed Hummingbird 10
Violet-crowned Hummingbird 3
Great Blue Heron (Blue form) 2
Black Vulture 23
Golden Eagle 3
Northern Harrier 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk 4
Cooper’s Hawk 4
American Goshawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 10
Great Horned Owl 1
Mexican Spotted Owl 1
Red-naped Sapsucker 28
Acorn Woodpecker 36
Gila Woodpecker 88
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 52
Arizona Woodpecker 13
Northern Flicker 83
American Kestrel 18
Hammond’s Flycatcher 5
Gray Flycatcher 3
Dusky Flycatcher 3
Black Phoebe 12
Say’s Phoebe 18
Cassin’s Kingbird 8
Hutton’s Vireo 6
Cassin’s Vireo 5
Plumbeous Vireo 3
Loggerhead Shrike 2
Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay 3
Mexican Jay 233
Common Raven 249
Horned Lark 1
Bridled Titmouse 68
Verdin 12
Bushtit 41
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 192
White-breasted Nuthatch 70
Species Number
Brown Creeper 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 5
Rock Wren 13
Canyon Wren 4
House Wren 1
Winter Wren 1
Marsh Wren 1
Bewick’s Wren 91
Cactus Wren 1
European Starling 3
Curve-billed Thrasher 21
Northern Mockingbird 2
Western Bluebird 134
Hermit Thrush 29
American Robin 20
Cedar Waxwing 29
Phainopepla 4
House Sparrow 55
American Pipit 1
House Finch 136
Pine Siskin 6
Lesser Goldfinch 143
Lawrence’s Goldfinch 58
Chestnut-collared Longspur 1
Rufous-winged Sparrow 1
Chipping Sparrow 1087
Brewer’s Sparrow 4
Black-throated Sparrow 9
Lark Sparrow 14
Dark-eyed Junco 48
Dark-eyed Junco (Pink-sided) 17
Dark-eyed Junco (Gray-headed) 10
White-crowned Sparrow 209
White-throated Sparrow 2
Vesper Sparrow 35
Savannah Sparrow 98
Song Sparrow 20
Lincoln’s Sparrow 14
Sparrow sp 100
Canyon Towhee 44
Abert’s Towhee 24
Green-tailed Towhee 3
Spotted Towhee 42
Western Meadowlark 9
Eastern Meadowlark (Lilian’s) 1
Red-winged Blackbird 25
Brewer’s Blackbird 23
Great-tailed Grackle 2
Orange-crowned Warbler 22
Yellow-rumped Warbler 147
Species Number
Y-rumped Warbler (Audubon’s) 59
Y-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 1
Black-throated Gray Warbler 5
Townsend’s Warbler 1
Painted Redstart 3
Hepatic Tanager 4
Northern Cardinal 24
Pyrrhuloxia 5
Lazuli Bunting 3
ADDITIONAL SPECIES SEEN
Sora Rail 1 *CW
Prairie Falcon 1
Northern Pygmy Owl 1
Williamson’s Sapsucker Total 3
Male 1
Female (1 CW) 2
Rough-legged Hawk 1
Rufous-crowned Sparrow 1
Chihuahuan Raven 2
*Count Week – Sightings three days before or after the official bird count date