Monday, May 3, 2010

High Species Counts for 2009-2010

One of the things that makes the Atascosa Highlands CBC special is the number of species for which it gets the national high each year. This year we had fifteen national highs. Last year we had 14, and only three CBCs (out of 1673 counts) had 15 or more. So we'll probably be in the top 5 again this year.
Even though three Arizona CBCs still haven't entered their data yet (Sedona, Sierra Pinta-Cabeza Prieta NWR, and Timber Mesa), I went ahead and compared our totals across the state. We had an additional highs for 11 species and one form. Great job, everyone!

Mark your calendars for Friday, December 31, 2010 for the next event. 

Atascosa CBC Highlights

National High for 2009-2010
Montezuma Quail – 73
Arizona Woodpecker – 37
Hammond's Flycatcher - 18
Gray Flycatcher – 45
Dusky Flycatcher – 11
Bridled Titmouse – 219
Rock Wren – 119 (next closest was Salt-Verde River with 62)
Canyon Wren – 133 (next closest was Salt-Verde River with 56)
Black-throated Gray Warbler – 9
Hepatic Tanager – 3 (back to normal, after last year's mind-blowing 27, which wasn't believed by the national editor at first)
Green-tailed Towhee – 19 (must be one of the lowest national highs ever)
Canyon Towhee – 229
Rufous-winged Sparrow – 90 (previous high was 12 last year)
Chipping Sparrow – 3931 (next closest count was Boerne, TX with 1673)
Black-chinned Sparrow – 54 (next closest was Nogales, with 12)

State High for 2009-2010
Golden Eagle – 15
Northern Pygmy-Owl – 4
Spotted Owl – 1 (only one in Arizona)
Common Poorwill – 2
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet – 1 (only one in Arizona)
Hutton's Vireo - 33
Bewick's Wren – 210
House Wren – 22
Hermit Thrush – 61
Vesper Sparrow – 230
Grasshopper Sparrow – 18
"Pink-sided" Junco – 193