Local birding group tallies second highest total in its history
by Brian DiTullio

CAREFREE – The birds are alive and well in Carefree. They include two peregrine falcons, a zone‑tailed hawk and two Townsend warblers.

Results from last December’s Audubon Christmas Bird Count continue to trickle in and the results show 105 species spotted, equaling the local chapter’s second best record, originally set seven years ago. The group spotted 14,480 birds, the second highest total in its history.

The peregrine falcons were spotted near Tonto Hills, and compiler Walter Thurber told The Desert Advocate last week he hopes this means the peregrines are going to establish themselves in the area.

“We first spotted one a few years ago. Now you can find them all over Phoenix,” he explained.

Thurber said there was good news out of the Cave Creek area, where a 2005 wildfire destroyed several hundred acres.

“There is more grassland now and fewer brushy areas. Surprisingly, our bird totals in the fire zone have held up,” Thurberstated in a formal summary.

“Although most of the area from the Seven Springs Campground south to the Camp Creek cabins was burned, our species totals there remain at pre‑fire levels and our individual bird totals are up on the order of 50 percent.”

As for rare birds, no bald eagles were seen, but Thurber said that’s not a surprise as this region isn’t to their liking.

“There’s not enough water,” he said.

However, golden eagles, of which one was spotted,  have been known to frequent the area and prefer more mountainous
terrain.                                     

A very rare find for this part of the country was the Eastern phoebe, so named because it is more commonly found in the eastern parts of the country.

Other count totals include Gambel’s quail, 3,131 specimens; ruby‑crowned kinglet, 357 specimens; red‑tailed hawk, 53 specimens; mourning dove, 1,332 specimens; white‑crowned sparrow, 2,437; nine great horned owls, seven great blue herons, and 58 unidentified species.

The group also spotted 43 cactus wrens, the state bird of Arizona, and nine Canadian geese.

Missing this year but counted in years past include “regulars” such as the prairie falcon, swamp sparrow, Brewer’s blackbird and barn owl.

“Barn owls are known to be in the count area, but finding one when you need one is not easy,” said Thurber in his summary.

Thurber reported 103 people participated in the local count covering a 15‑mile diameter centered three miles north of SkyRanch at Carefree Airport. The count was part of the more than 2,000 similar counts held across the Western Hemisphere and the Pacific Islands.

The Audubon count began in 1900 on Christmas Day and became a yearly tradition afterward. The last count encompassed a three‑week period beginning Dec. 15 and ending Jan. 5. Thurber said this time of year is chosen because of tradition and most of the migratory birds having settled in for the winter. Therefore, there is less of a chance of counting the same bird twice in a different area.