RESULTS - totals listed at end of post.
A total of 127 species were detected by 49 participants. All 22 areas were covered by at least 1 person this year. The total number of individual birds counted was 5,681. Participants broke up into 27 parties that spent 147.93 hours and 105.335 miles covering the circle by foot. By car 29.62 hours were spent and 94.25 miles covered. I’m not sure how many CBCs actually have boating hours, but ours does! At Arivaca Lake 3.75 miles were paddled and 4 hours tallied by canoe. The owling effort was bigger than usual this year and although 8.67 hours were spent and 33.5 miles were covered very few owls were detected. I like to point out that our foot miles and hours far surpass the time spent in vehicles.
Some new high counts were achieved and they are as follows: ( new# / old# )
- Black-tailed Gnatcatcher 94 / 89
- Northern Cardinal 142 / 105
- Hooded Merganser 6 / 3
- Great Egret 6 / 3
- White-winged Dove 15 / 13
- Chihuahuan Raven 122 / 44
- Common Raven 168 / 145
- raven sp. 51 / 4
- Turkey Vulture - tied record 2 / 2
Honorable mentions go to Crissal Thrasher which at 42 was 1 shy of the record 43, and Cooper’s Hawk at 12 was 2 shy of the record of 14. A Common Goldeneye photographed at Papago Tanks is a species that has only been seen on 5 CBCs. Rock Pigeons are fairly scarce in the CBC circle and this year’s 4 represents only the 4th year they’ve been discovered here. A Spotted Owl heard along eastern Ruby Road in response to Western Screech Owl tape was only the 4th time this species has been recorded on the CBC. Other species worth noting are a rare wintering “Western” type Flycatcher in Bellota Canyon and 6 Black-capped Gnatcatchers, a good tally of this species for any CBC in the country.
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Black-capped Gnatcatcher found by Brian Gibbons at Arivaca Lake |
This Atascosa Highlands Circle only has 2 medium-sized lakes (Arivaca & Pena Blanca), but these along with several larger cattle ponds were able to produce 19 species of waterfowl, including Pied-billed Grebe and American Coot. Besides the record-breaking 6 Hooded Mergansers and rare Common Goldeneye, a Canvasback was a good find, but not as rare as the single Blue-winged Teal only recorded 9 times in 47 years. Waterfowl hunting usually coincides with this count and this year was no exception. One of the two Lesser Scaup counted was a wounded bird unable to fly at a cattle tank in the California Gulch section. Although the total of American Wigeon was 13, we can confirm there were only 11 in the circle when the count was over as the team at Summit Tank watched as some successful hunters bagged 2 of them!
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Common Goldeneye at Papago Tanks found by Jeff Ladderud
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The record-breaking year for Ravens is interesting. Common Raven numbers across much of the desert southwest have been increasing, sometimes exponentially, since people have settled in this dry region providing food and ample nesting substrate with which for them to flourish. Perhaps it’s no surprise then that 'one of these years' this record might get broken. An amazing 122 Chihuahuan Ravens is also quite impressive. This species is expanding its range, especially in winter, to include areas further west than previously recorded. In fact a Chihuahuan Raven has nested at Sam Lena Park in central Tucson for the last couple years, far from what one may consider Chihuahuan Desert. These ravens are fond of dumps across their range and Peck Canyon, where this flock was seen, is not far as the Raven flies from the Rio Rico landfill.
Sparrow numbers were staggeringly low, as well as any other passerine species that does not reside here but chooses to winter or migrate through. Perhaps the worst wildfire year in the western United States forced birds out of their breeding grounds and into their south-bound migration early. This combined with some serious cold snaps, severe drought, and lack of food helped create one of the most difficult migration years ever. Large die-offs have been, and are still being, recorded of many of the bird species we have unusually low numbers for on this year’s CBC. It’s really not a question of whether or not we were able to count all the birds present within the circle this year. I’m confident they were just never there to be counted.
Have a safe and happy New Year.
Jake Mohlmann
Compiler
Atascosa Highlands CBC
Bird List:
Species Area | Totals | previous max | years seen (47) |
Canada Goose | 0 | 2 | 1 |
Wood Duck | 0 | 2 | 5 |
Gadwall | 17 | 63 | 39 |
American Wigeon | 13 | 241 | 42 |
Mallard (Northern) | 29 | 110 | 36 |
Mexican Duck | 9 | 71 | 6 |
Blue-winged Teal | 1 | 4 | 9 |
Cinnamon Teal | 7 | 11 | 13 |
Northern Shoveler | 20 | 56 | 31 |
Northern Pintail | 4 | 97 | 36 |
Green-winged Teal | 32 | 125 | 18 |
teal sp. | 0 | 15 | 1 |
Canvasback | 1 | 17 | 15 |
Redhead | 0 | 22 | 24 |
Ring-necked Duck | 25 | 610 | 42 |
Greater Scaup | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Lesser Scaup | 2 | 94 | 40 |
Bufflehead | 22 | 57 | 27 |
Common Goldeneye | 1 | 7 | 5 |
Hooded Merganser | 6 | 3 | 5 |
Common Merganser | 6 | 35 | 20 |
Ruddy Duck | 73 | 257 | 45 |
Wild Turkey | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Scaled Quail | 0 | 10 | 6 |
Gambel's Quail | 121 | 313 | 42 |
Montezuma Quail | 48 | 271 | 43 |
Least Grebe | 0 | 14 | 5 |
Pied-billed Grebe | 27 | 69 | 46 |
Eared Grebe | 0 | 15 | 24 |
Western Grebe | 0 | 2 | 9 |
Brown Pelican | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Neotropic Cormorant | 0 | 4 | 2 |
Double-crested Cormorant | 0 | 6 | 7 |
American Bittern | 0 | 2 | 1 |
Least Bittern | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Great Blue Heron | 6 | 12 | 45 |
Great Egret | 6 | 6 | 17 |
Green Heron | 1 | 5 | 28 |
Black-crowned Night-Heron | 0 | 1 | 5 |
White-faced Ibis/Plegadis spp. | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Black Vulture | 13 | 24 | 23 |
Turkey Vulture | 2 | 2 | 6 |
Osprey | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Bald Eagle | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Northern Harrier | 4 | 37 | 40 |
Sharp-shinned Hawk | 7 | 15 | 40 |
Cooper's Hawk | 12 | 14 | 40 |
Accipiter sp. | 0 | 4 | 15 |
Gray Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Red-tailed Hawk | 39 | 98 | 47 |
Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 1 |
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Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Golden Eagle | 15 | 18 | 43 |
Crested Caracara | 0 | 3 | 3 |
American Kestrel | 15 | 63 | 45 |
Merlin | 0 | 5 | 10 |
Peregrine Falcon | 2 | 4 | 14 |
Prairie Falcon | 0 | 4 | 16 |
Virginia Rail | 1 | 2 | 7 |
Sora | 4 | 7 | 35 |
Common Gallinule | 1 | 7 | 24 |
American Coot | 140 | 927 | 46 |
Killdeer | 16 | 79 | 45 |
Spotted Sandpiper | 1 | 7 | 22 |
Greater Yellowlegs | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Least Sandpiper | 0 | 27 | 12 |
Long-billed Dowitcher | 0 | 1 | 3 |
Wilson's Snipe | 3 | 14 | 13 |
Ring-billed Gull | 0 | 1 | 1 |
California Gull | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Rock Pigeon | 4 | 8 | 4 |
Band-tailed Pigeon | 0 | 60 | 4 |
Eurasian Collared-Dove | 5 | 6 | 7 |
White-winged Dove | 15 | 13 | 19 |
Mourning Dove | 82 | 675 | 46 |
Inca Dove | 0 | 18 | 11 |
Common Ground-Dove | 0 | 45 | 18 |
Greater Roadrunner | 15 | 19 | 37 |
Barn Owl | 0 | 1 | 4 |
Western Screech-Owl | 9 | 25 | 19 |
Whiskered Screech-Owl | 2 | 11 | 11 |
Great Horned Owl | 9 | 21 | 35 |
Northern Pygmy-Owl | 0 | 7 | 15 |
Spotted Owl | 1 | 1 | 6 |
Long-eared Owl | 0 | 2 | 3 |
Short-eared Owl | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Common Poorwill | 0 | 4 | 7 |
White-throated Swift | 48 | 127 | 27 |
Broad-billed Hummingbird | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Magnificent Hummingbird | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Anna's Hummingbird | 2 | 19 | 21 |
hummingbird sp. | 0 | 8 |
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Elegant Trogon | 0 | 8 | 22 |
Belted Kingfisher | 4 | 9 | 45 |
Green Kingfisher | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Lewis's Woodpecker | 0 | 28 | 7 |
Acorn Woodpecker | 86 | 291 | 45 |
Gila Woodpecker | 115 | 200 | 45 |
Williamson's Sapsucker | 0 | 2 | 7 |
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | 0 | 57 | 2 |
Red-naped Sapsucker | 22 | 84 | 31 |
Red-breasted Sapsucker | 0 | 1 | 1 |
sapsucker sp. | 0 | 4 | 6 |
Ladder-backed Woodpecker | 63 | 111 | 44 |
Hairy Woodpecker | 0 | 1 | 4 |
Arizona Woodpecker | 15 | 37 | 15 |
Northern Flicker | 69 | 311 | 40 |
Gilded Flicker | 0 | 5 | 16 |
flicker sp. | 1 |
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Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet | 0 | 3 | 15 |
Greater Pewee | 0 | 1 | 4 |
Hammond's Flycatcher | 4 | 26 | 27 |
Gray Flycatcher | 39 | 103 | 38 |
Dusky Flycatcher | 1 | 21 | 24 |
Dusky/Hammond's Flycatcher | 0 | 7 |
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Pacific-slope/Cordilleran Flycatcher | 1 | 2 | 6 |
Empidonax sp. | 0 | 9 | 24 |
Black Phoebe | 54 | 97 | 47 |
Eastern Phoebe | 0 | 4 | 7 |
Say's Phoebe | 34 | 82 | 47 |
Vermilion Flycatcher | 1 | 10 | 35 |
Ash-throated Flycatcher | 1 | 16 | 32 |
Nutting's Flycatcher | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Cassin's Kingbird | 0 | 23 | 10 |
Western Kingbird | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Loggerhead Shrike | 26 | 45 | 46 |
Plumbeous Vireo | 0 | 4 | 10 |
Cassin's Vireo | 0 | 3 | 7 |
Hutton's Vireo | 13 | 81 | 40 |
vireo sp. | 0 | 1 |
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Gray Jay | 0 | 3 | 1 |
Steller's Jay | 0 | 7 | 7 |
Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay | 0 | 12 | 9 |
Mexican Jay | 290 | 1110 | 47 |
Pinyon Jay | 0 | 419 | 2 |
Chihuahuan Raven | 122 | 44 | 37 |
Common Raven | 168 | 145 | 42 |
raven sp. | 51 | 4 | 35 |
Horned Lark | 0 | 218 | 29 |
Northern Rough-winged Swallow | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Tree Swallow | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Bridled Titmouse | 106 | 574 | 46 |
Verdin | 54 | 138 | 45 |
Bushtit | 76 | 306 | 42 |
Red-breasted Nuthatch | 0 | 2 | 4 |
White-breasted Nuthatch | 24 | 86 | 44 |
Brown Creeper | 0 | 3 | 9 |
Cactus Wren | 52 | 57 | 43 |
Rock Wren | 68 | 300 | 47 |
Canyon Wren | 56 | 213 | 44 |
Bewick's Wren | 90 | 372 | 47 |
House Wren | 0 | 53 | 36 |
House Wren (Brown-throated) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Winter Wren | 0 | 1 | 5 |
Pacific Wren | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Marsh Wren | 8 | 24 | 43 |
Sedge Wren | 0 | 1 | 1 |
American Dipper | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Golden-crowned Kinglet | 0 | 2 | 8 |
Ruby-crowned Kinglet | 134 | 544 | 47 |
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher | 8 | 17 | 34 |
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher | 94 | 89 | 36 |
Black-capped Gnatcatcher | 6 | 13 | 11 |
gnatcatcher sp. | 2 | 7 | 10 |
Eastern Bluebird | 2 | 162 | 36 |
Western Bluebird | 191 | 487 | 43 |
Mountain Bluebird | 11 | 881 | 29 |
bluebird sp. | 33 | 63 | 20 |
Townsend's Solitaire | 1 | 79 | 38 |
Hermit Thrush | 40 | 210 | 43 |
Rufous-backed Robin | 0 | 1 | 2 |
American Robin | 8 | 198 | 38 |
Northern Mockingbird | 50 | 68 | 43 |
Sage Thrasher | 0 | 5 | 8 |
Bendire's Thrasher | 0 | 2 | 6 |
Curve-billed Thrasher | 42 | 54 | 44 |
Crissal Thrasher | 42 | 43 | 40 |
European Starling | 0 | 100 | 12 |
American Pipit | 0 | 18 | 31 |
Cedar Waxwing | 0 | 198 | 18 |
Phainopepla | 22 | 113 | 42 |
Olive Warbler | 0 | 1 | 3 |
Blue-winged Warbler | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Orange-crowned Warbler | 0 | 5 | 28 |
Pine Warbler | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Yellow-rumped Warbler (total) | 39 | 198 | 44 |
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) | 39 | 198 | 44 |
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) | 0 | 5 | 13 |
Black-throated Gray Warbler | 0 | 31 | 27 |
Black-throated Green Warbler | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Townsend's Warbler | 1 | 27 | 19 |
Black-and-white Warbler | 0 | 2 | 5 |
Louisiana Waterthrush | 0 | 1 | 4 |
Common Yellowthroat | 2 | 9 | 23 |
Wilson's Warbler | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Painted Redstart | 11 | 15 | 38 |
Rufous-capped Warbler | 0 | 2 | 1 |
Green-tailed Towhee | 11 | 170 | 43 |
Spotted Towhee | 6 | 126 | 30 |
Canyon Towhee | 207 | 397 | 26 |
Abert's Towhee | 6 | 17 | 15 |
Rufous-winged Sparrow | 50 | 218 | 28 |
Cassin's Sparrow | 1 | 108 | 26 |
Rufous-crowned Sparrow | 91 | 460 | 44 |
Five-striped Sparrow | 1 | 8 | 16 |
Chipping Sparrow | 434 | 3931 | 47 |
Clay-colored Sparrow | 0 | 2 | 6 |
Brewer's Sparrow | 6 | 1019 | 43 |
Field Sparrow | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Black-chinned Sparrow | 23 | 55 | 33 |
Vesper Sparrow | 34 | 922 | 45 |
Lark Sparrow | 15 | 347 | 43 |
Black-throated Sparrow | 144 | 175 | 45 |
Lark Bunting | 0 | 138 | 6 |
Savannah Sparrow | 9 | 180 | 31 |
Grasshopper Sparrow | 4 | 64 | 29 |
Baird's Sparrow | 0 | 1 | 4 |
Fox Sparrow | 0 | 6 | 8 |
Song Sparrow | 19 | 37 | 40 |
Lincoln's Sparrow | 20 | 293 | 45 |
Swamp Sparrow | 1 | 14 | 22 |
White-throated Sparrow | 0 | 5 | 7 |
White-crowned Sparrow | 218 | 1477 | 40 |
White-crowned Sparrow (Gambel's) | 157 | 1480 | 40 |
White-crowned Sparrow (Mountain) | 1 | 10 | 3 |
Golden-crowned Sparrow | 0 | 1 | 4 |
Dark-eyed Junco (total) | 208 | 1324 | 47 |
Dark-eyed Junco (unknown type) | 21 | 550 | 25 |
Dark-eyed Junco (Gray-headed) | 51 | 502 | 47 |
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) | 65 | 535 | 47 |
Dark-eyed Junco (Pink-sided) | 77 | 193 | 14 |
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) | 0 | 4 | 17 |
Dark-eyed Junco (Cassiar) | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Yellow-eyed Junco | 0 | 4 | 6 |
Chestnut-collared Longspur | 0 | 14 | 4 |
Hepatic Tanager | 2 | 27 | 21 |
Summer Tanager | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Western Tanager | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Northern Cardinal | 142 | 105 | 45 |
Pyrrhuloxia | 19 | 84 | 47 |
Black-headed Grosbeak | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Blue Grosbeak | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Lazuli Bunting | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Red-winged Blackbird | 0 | 500 | 31 |
Eastern Meadowlark | 3 | 113 | 37 |
Western Meadowlark | 10 | 146 | 43 |
meadowlark sp. | 2 | 225 | 30 |
Yellow-headed Blackbird | 0 | 135 | 3 |
Brewer's Blackbird | 0 | 4010 | 23 |
Great-tailed Grackle | 0 | 14 | 14 |
Brown-headed Cowbird | 0 | 901 | 20 |
Hooded Oriole | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Scott's Oriole | 0 | 29 | 9 |
Purple Finch | 0 | 3 | 2 |
Cassin's Finch | 0 | 16 | 5 |
House Finch | 164 | 379 | 46 |
Red Crossbill | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Pine Siskin | 3 | 101 | 24 |
Lesser Goldfinch | 17 | 421 | 39 |
Lawrence's Goldfinch | 0 | 71 | 8 |
American Goldfinch | 0 | 7 | 5 |
Evening Grosbeak | 0 | 3 | 3 |
House Sparrow | 3 | 20 | 24 |
total taxa | 127 |
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total individuals | 5681 |
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