[ Salt-Verde Rivers | Carefree | Gila River ]
by Bob Bradley (compiler)
It was a hunt and scratch year. There had been many complaints of lack of birds, but when all was said and done, the tally was a respectable 137 species. This was only one less than the average of 138 for this count but below last year's 144, a montane species irruption year. The hunting and scratching had paid off. The 29,471 individual birds recorded was also close to the average. Thank you, all 97 field participants and 8 feeder/yard watchers.
It was quite apparent early on that the usual seed supply for fringillids just wasn't there. White-crowned Sparrows were down to about one-third normal numbers. Yes, the drought had continued. El Nino was yet to become a factor.
Waterfowl were especially well represented. The 3 Greater White-fronted Geese (a first for this count, #214 on the cumulative list), 1 Snow Goose, and 1 Ross' Goose at Fountain Hills lake had been around for awhile, and Terry Brodner and crew were able to record them. "Special" ducks included 1 Blue-winged Teal female seen by Janet Witzeman's group and 1 Hooded Merganser spotted by Bob Nieman.
The 14 Bald Eagle sightings seemed to boil down to 6 birds, 5 adults and 1 immature. One Ferruginous Hawk was found by Norm Shrout's team in its usual haunts on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community fields. Merlins were well represented, one each in Janet Witzeman's, Norm Shrout's, and Bob Previtte's areas. It was the Peregrine Falcons that made the statement, "We are doing very well, thank you." There were 12 birds reported, and allowing for possible duplications, we still tallied 8. The lone Prairie Falcon was scratched out by Norm Shrout's group. And still more scratching by them pulled out the only Common Moorhen of the count.
Shorebirds are normally scarce on this count, and we were fortunate to get one Lesser Yellowlegs which was conveniently with a Greater in Janet Witzeman's area.
Usually seen in several areas, this year's owling effort brought in only one Western Screech-Owl, recorded by Bruce Palmer. Jerry and Shary Hammon dutifully located the 2 Burrowing Owls along the Salt River bottoms, but it was their knowledge of the burrow locations that enabled them to spot the birds inside their hole. Dom D'Agosto and party located the male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker that had returned for a second winter. Troy Corman usually adds at least one count exclusive species. This year's effort yielded a Dusky Flycatcher, which has been showing with some regularity in recent years. Normally in double digits, only two Ash-throated Flycatchers were tallied, one each in Troy Corman's and Steve Ganley's areas. American Crows are always "good birds" in the Valley. Greg Clark found one, which, incidentally, was with a Common Raven and calling.
Bruce Palmer again scratched around, coming up with the only Bridled Titmouse of the count. Never present in numbers, the 2 Hermit Thrushes were both seen in the Troy Corman/Bob Nieman area. American Robins tend to be irruptive birds, the 3 recorded were overhead as Victor Smith and I looked up. Bendire's Thrashers, a usual National High, have dropped to a low of only 5, probably off the National High list. Cedar Waxwings, always sporadic, were spotted (3) in Craig Anderson's area.
The newly split Solitary Vireo complex gave us 2 species, as Bob Nieman found a Cassin's Vireo to add to the Plumbeous Vireos found in 3 areas. Troy also provided the third vireo species, a Hutton's.
More hunting and scratching by Troy and Jerry Hammon turned up one each Spotted Towhees in their areas. Tim Price produced his almost annual Black-chinned Sparrow to go with the two Rufous-crowned Sparrows in the McDowell Mountains west of Fountain Hills. To round out the hunt and scratch list, Liz Hatcher's party found the only Eastern Meadowlark.
In the national high category we were once again the bridesmaid, our 19 species (plus one additional form) being second to Mad Island Marsh, TX with 24 species for the 1996 count. These results, with the corresponding 1997 figures, are shown below:
|
Species |
1996 Nat'l High |
Yrs. High (out of last 10) |
1997 Count |
|
Harris' Hawk |
67 |
9 |
79 |
|
Gambel's Quail |
2891 |
7 |
1945 |
|
Spotted Sandpiper |
100 |
4 |
47 |
|
Mourning Dove |
4194 |
2 |
3714 |
|
Inca Dove |
411 |
1 |
259 |
|
Gila Woodpecker |
453 |
7 |
588 |
|
Ladder-backed Woodpecker |
95 |
10 |
124 |
|
Gilded Flicker |
57 |
5 |
115 |
|
Greater Pewee |
1 |
2 |
0 |
|
Cordilleran Flycatcher |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
Say's Phoebe |
158 |
8 |
175 |
|
Verdin |
383 |
10 |
485 |
|
Cactus Wren |
429 |
7 |
412 |
|
Rock Wren |
159 |
6 |
107 |
|
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher |
194 |
10 |
325 |
|
Bendire's Thrasher |
8 |
10 |
5 |
|
Curve-billed Thrasher |
238 |
4 |
241 |
|
Phainopepla |
524 |
10 |
831 |
|
(Plumbeous) Solitary Vireo |
6 |
4 |
3 |
|
Black-throated Sparrow |
845 |
6 |
404 |
1998 Count: Mark your calendars now for Friday, Dec. 18.
[ Salt-Verde Rivers | Carefree | Gila River ]
by Walter Thurber (compiler)
The sixth annual Carefree Christmas Bird Count was held on Friday, January 2, 1998. We had a record number of participants this year with 55 field observers and 12 feederwatchers. In fact, this count is likely to come in second in the state in terms of participation level. We are fortunate to have so many dedicated volunteers.
The birds were less cooperative. Many montane species stayed away and some of our winter regulars stayed out of sight. Apparently morning clouds and mild temperatures kept bird activity down. The result was 92 species and 8837 individual birds, down from the record 107 species and 9481 individuals tallied last year. Hammond's/Dusky Flycatcher, Winter Wren and Painted Redstart did turn up in the Camp Creek area. New to the count were Redhead and Brown-headed Cowbird, bringing the cumulative total to 121 species. The exotic Red-masked Conure and Peach-faced Lovebird were noted again this year.
Record highs were posted for 28 species. There were 28 species up in numbers and 50 species down compared to last year. Impressive gains were posted by Mourning Dove (1527), Bushtit (66), Bendire's Thrasher (9), Curve-billed Thrasher (280) and House Sparrow (467). Among the biggest losers were White-breasted Nuthatch, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Spotted Towhee, Black-chinned Sparrow, Song Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Western Meadowlark and Lesser Goldfinch. The wrens, gnatcatchers and sparrows were generally down. But our spirits were up after an enjoyable compilation dinner at the El Encanto Mexican Cafe.
The Carefree count encompasses a standard 15-mile diameter circle that includes the towns of Carefree and Cave Creek, Seven Springs and the Cave Creek Recreation Area. Land uses range from residential subdivisions and golf courses to near-wilderness areas. Portions of Cave Creek and Camp Creek have flowing water and there are remote trails to explore. This is a great area to look for birds and we hope you will help us do that next year.
[ Salt-Verde Rivers | Carefree | Gila River ]
by Troy Corman (compiler)
The 17th annual Gila River CBC was held on December 30, 1997. There were 45 dedicated participants surveying the deserts, river bottoms, agricultural areas, and rural communities in the Arlington Valley between Buckeye and Gillespie Dam. The early morning owling found participants surveying in near freezing temperatures but as the day progressed, the abundant sunshine warmed the air into the low 70's. A total of 127 species were found on count day which is only five species shy of the all time high set last year. There were 23 species that had all time high individual counts, with 18 of these having a significant jump in number. Some species with individual high totals included: Snowy Egret (186), Osprey (6), Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (23), Orange-crowned Warbler (173), and Song Sparrow (820). With no flooding in the Gila River during the past few years, cattail and bulrush habitat continues to be abundant. This reflects the high number of Virginia Rails (29) and Soras (40).
There were four species added to the cumulative total for the entire count which now stands at 198 species. These were: Snow Goose (6), which were observed flying over head in V-formation by Bruce Palmer's Team; Ruddy Ground Dove (2), found at the end of the day by Cindy West and Norm Shrout; Chestnut-sided Warbler (1), found by Steve Ganley while he was eating lunch in someone else's territory (OK, basically the bird was poached); and a Dusky Flycatcher found by me. Additional highlights were Sandhill Crane (12), Long-billed Curlew (25), and Lesser Nighthawk (2), which are all very good birds to find in Maricopa County in the winter.
Even though the species total was higher than average this year, some groups of birds were in well below normal numbers for this count. Notably low were numbers of ducks, especially dabbling ducks and a few species of shorebirds. Maybe with the increase in wetland habitat along the river there is less habitat for species like ducks and shorebirds that depend on more open habitat to feed. But, I guess that is what Christmas Bird Counts are all about, helping to document change...both temporary and permanent.
Anyway, I sure hope everyone enjoyed themselves as much as I did and will return next year to see what has and hasn't changed. Thank you all for your time and dedication and I wish you good birding in 1998!
[ Salt-Verde Rivers | Carefree | Gila River ]
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