Our 10 volunteers were blessed with gorgeous weather for the Safford CBC on December 16. Unfortunately, that did not translate to great numbers. In part, this resulted from the need for some teams to cover two zones, splitting their time and not covering all the hotspots within both zones. More volunteers would definitely help our count.
The other contributing factor is the overall lower bird numbers I've been observing. Species that were present in low numbers in past years were totally absent, and more plentiful species had lower counts.
The overall result is a CBC with 94 species compared to 104 species last year. We had 10 Count Week species that might have been picked up on Count Day if more volunteers participated and each zone was more thoroughly covered. Species expected but not seen during the entire week include Northern Harrier, Hutton's Vireo, Chihuahuan Meadowlark, Red-naped Sapsucker, Brewer's Sparrow, and Pyrrhuloxia.
One enhancement this year was a Forest Service permit to access a restricted area in the Pinaleño Mountains to observe species at 10,000' elevation! Thank you to everyone who participated, especially those willing to hike in the snow and birders making long drives from Tucson, Scottsdale, Benson and Globe.
I'll compile the details after I'm done with our January 15-18 Wings Over Willcox Birding & Nature Festival. Join us there!Diane
