Atascosa Highlands CBC December 20, 2020

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.

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!

Common Goldeneye at Papago Tanks found by Jeff Ladderud

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
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
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
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
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
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
total individuals	5681