August 27, 2014 [LINK / comment]
Life bird list update
Following up the narrative of my southwestern birding adventures posted earlier this week, I have updated my Life bird list with the following species. All were photographed, except for the Hooded Oriole, White-throated Swift, and Virginia's Warbler. There are 41 species in this list, and there is one additional definite sighting of a bird (Ash-throated Flycatcher) that I had regarded as "probable" when I first saw it in 2003 (in Mexico), so it could be an actual net gain of 42 birds. In any case, it brings my lifetime total up to 452. It's by far my biggest year birdwise since 2005, when I went to Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
| Species | Date | Place |
|---|---|---|
| Black-throated Sparrow | June 24, 2014 | Rest stop W of Pecos, TX |
| Black-chinned Hummingbirds | June 25, 2014 | Las Cruces, NM |
| Curve-billed Thrasher | June 25, 2014 | Rest stop W of Deming, NM |
| Say's Phoebe | June 25, 2014 | Rest stop E of San Simon, AZ |
| Black-tailed Gnatcatcher | June 25, 2014 | Rest stop, Gila River Indian Res. |
| Verdin | June 25, 2014 | Rest stop, Gila River Indian Res. |
| Hooded Oriole (prob.) | June 26, 2014 | N of Marana, AZ |
| White-throated Swift | June 26, 2014 | N of Marana, AZ |
| Phainopepla | June 26, 2014 | N of Marana, AZ |
| Cactus Wren | June 27, 2014 | Sabino Canyon vis. ctr., AZ |
| Virginia's Warbler | June 27, 2014 | Sabino Canyon vis. ctr., AZ |
| Lucy's Warbler | June 27, 2014 | Sabino Canyon vis. ctr., AZ |
| Gila Woodpecker | June 27, 2014 | Sabino Canyon vis. ctr., AZ |
| Brown-crested Flycatcher | June 27, 2014 | Sabino Canyon vis. ctr., AZ |
| Painted Redstart | June 27, 2014 | Santa Catalina Mountains, AZ |
| Acorn Woodpecker | June 27, 2014 | Santa Catalina Mountains, AZ |
| Spotted Towhee | June 27, 2014 | Santa Catalina Mountains, AZ |
| Plumbeous Vireo | June 27, 2014 | Santa Catalina Mountains, AZ |
| Yellow-eyed Junco | June 27, 2014 | Santa Catalina Mountains, AZ |
| Cordilleran Flycatcher | June 27, 2014 | Santa Catalina Mountains, AZ |
| Gambel's Quail | June 28, 2014 | Sabino Canyon vis. ctr., AZ |
| Lesser Nighthawk | June 28, 2014 | Sabino Canyon vis. ctr., AZ |
| Ladder-backed Woodpecker | June 28, 2014 | Rest stop S of Green Valley, AZ |
| Canyon Towhee | June 28, 2014 | Rest stop S of Green Valley, AZ |
| Rufous-winged Sparrow | June 28, 2014 | Rest stop S of Green Valley, AZ |
| Pyrrhuloxia | June 28, 2014 | Rest stop S of Green Valley, AZ |
| Gray Hawk | June 28, 2014 | Nogales, AZ |
| Bridled Titmouse | June 28, 2014 | Patagonia, AZ |
| Bewick's Wren | June 28, 2014 | Patagonia, AZ |
| Abert's Towhee | June 29, 2014 | San Pedro River, AZ |
| Varied Bunting | June 29, 2014 | San Pedro River, AZ |
| Common Ground Dove | June 29, 2014 | San Pedro River, AZ |
| Greater Roadrunner | June 30, 2014 | N of Chiricahua Mountains, AZ |
| Hepatic Tanager | June 30, 2014 | Chiricahua Mountains, AZ |
| Mexican Jay | June 30, 2014 | Chiricahua Mountains, AZ |
| Dusky-capped Flycatcher | June 30, 2014 | Chiricahua Mountains, AZ |
| Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher | June 30, 2014 | Chiricahua Mountains, AZ |
| Cinnamon Teal | July 1, 2014 | Bosque del Apache NWR, NM |
| Burrowing Owl | July 2, 2014 | Las Vegas NWR, NM |
| Bullock's Oriole | July 2, 2014 | Cimarron Nat. Grassland, KS |
| Least Tern | July 23, 2014 | Bluffs golf course, Vermillion, SD |
Honorable mentions
In addition, I saw the following birds for the first time in years, or had my best views ever:
- Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
- Great-tailed Grackles
- White-winged Doves
- Cassin's Kingbird
- Broad-tailed Hummingbirds
- Broad-billed Hummingbird
- Spotted Towhee
- Vermilion Flycatchers
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Blue Grosbeaks
- Lesser Goldfinches
- Ash-throated Flycatcher #
- Mississippi Kite
- American Avocet
- Black-necked Stilt
# Probably seen Feb. 26, 2003 near Orizba, Mexico.
American Bird Conservancy
More than once during my trip, I noticed signs indicating that various protected areas were made possible by the American Bird Conservancy. It's an organization that is dedicated to supporting efforts to preserve the habitats of neotropical migrant birds in both North and South America. For example, in December 2012 they announced that Peru had "approved two new Private Conservation Areas (PCAs) to conserve a critical area of rapidly disappearing Marañon-Chinchipe dry forests." See www.abcbirds.org. I visited their offices in March 2011 and received some reports and other publications which I shared with other members of the Augusta Bird Club. It's a very worth cause.