Although birds can be unpredictable there can also patterns to their migration, based on food supplies, climate, sudden storms or hurricanes, and cyclical factors. In any given year some bird species change their habits, showing up further south than usual (or east, west, north), or in different habitats and elevations. If one species is seen early in the year in different habitat, you may find birders making predictions of an "irruption year" for the species, or for a group of species. In years of higher than expected precipitation, Cassin's Sparrows may expand their range to other areas previously not used. If the lemming population crashes, Snowy Owls may be seen as far south as Colorado and Texas, as in 2011. A hurricane traveling north from the Gulf of Mexico it may bring pelicans, terns, or a jaeger to Arizona.
Part of the joy of birding is that birds are more unpredictable than other animals, especially ones without wings. For example, I imagine an Arctic Fox being seen in the lower 48 would cause quite a stir, but many Arctic bird species are seen regularly in southern states in migration or as a winter residents. Sometimes a stray turns up unexpectedly, like the first ever Snow Bunting in Arizona. One of my strangest sightings in our neighborhood was a Sabine's Gull, which typically summers in the Arctic and migrates over the ocean to its winter "grounds," in the ocean off the coast of South America!
Birders are always trying to predict bird behavior based on new variables in the bird equation,, but sometimes, like the weather, indicators of change don't always produce the result expected. Sometimes change comes when no indicators are present, and we have to guess at explanations after the fact. A classic example of this was the Aspen fire in 2003 which burned about 85,000 acres in the Santa Catalina Mountains over a month long period. There were mutterings of an invasion of mountain species to the lowlands that winter once the cold weather hit, yet the impact was minimal. I was especially hopeful, being so close to the burning mountain that ashes from the fire actually made it to our yard. As the year ended only a couple new birds were added to the neighborhood list. Five years later our neighborhood did experienced the mass irruption I had so eagerly anticipated, though no specific cause for this event come to mind.
It was December, 2008. By all accounts it was a boring year without any significant events to influence bird migration. But strange sightings just just sort of happened, slowly at first, then, as one event influenced another, the excitement accelerated like a symphonic number, with many instruments contributing to the success of the masterpiece. Many of these sightings are attributed to the influx of birders into areas which do not typically receive as much attention as, say, Madera Canyon. It is akin to a rare jewel being found in an unexpected place, leading to discoveries of other precious gems.
December 5th, 2008
I was walking in the wash by the cattail pond with my good friends Harry and Joanne, when a sparrow hopped up on a low bush, then disappeared into the foliage. "That looked like a Rufous-crowned Sparrow," I replied. A sparrow of slightly higher elevations, I hadn't heard of any reports of this bird inside Tucson, and it didn't offer another look until after the new year. December 10th, 2008
I was returning home from an errand and took the scenic route along the woodland road. I noticed a group of birders intently looking into a field. I knew something was up and stopped to inquire. A Common Grackle had been seen, which is not at all common in Arizona. I got some looks at the bird discovered by Keith Kamper, and incredible birder and friend.
December 15th, 2008
Keith rediscovered the Common Grackle for the Christmas Bird Count when we covered the area.
My friend Kendall also helped cover our designated area, staying 'til late afternoon. He dropped me off at the end of the woodland road to walk home for the final hours of the count. I felt relaxed and at one with my surroundings, casually walking and recording birds along the way. I came to a field on the left, which looked "park-like" with short-cropped brown grass and large mesquites just spaced far enough apart that the branches barely touched its neighbor. A largish flycatcher flew from one of the branches, catching my attention. The orangish lower mandible and slight crest made me think twice. The vest with yellowish tinge coming up the center had me scrambling for my guide and video camera. "It can't be," I thought as I turned on the video camera. Greater Pewee is a summer bird of the high mountains! As I cursed the video camera's automatic focus I also reveled in the discovery. I would discover afterward that Greater Pewee's are a "casual transient and winter resident in riparian woodland and isolated groves of trees and parks in the lowlands."(Tucson Audubon Society's Finding Birds in Southeast Arizona, sixth edition, page 250, compiled by David Stejskal and Gary H Rosenberg, Editor-Clark Blake). This location seemed to meet all the criteria for this species casually seen in the lowlands. "Casually," translates to "Does not occur annually; cannot be expected to be seen," as written on page 219 of the source referenced above.
In January I rediscovered the Rufous-crowned Sparrow, which would stay sporadically for years! Later that spring I was walking Kino by the big pond and saw a strange bird sitting on the lawn. It was a Wilson's Phalarope, yet its behavior threw doubt at my conclusion, since this species is typically seen spinning around in circles in the water, not sitting on grassy lawns. I was excited for this first discovery but concerned for its safety. Later Mrs S and I went back to check on her, but it seemed she had left. I saw a spec across the pond and walked over for a closer look. It was our bird, sitting on the bank, and 2 nearby roadrunners ready to close in for an easy meal. I sat down ten feet away against the bank with bare feet in the water, then edged closer, and closer still. When I was only a couple feet away I cupped my hand under her and carried her away. A couple weeks in the rehabilitation center and she was right as rain again, and when the cage opened, she flew up and out of sight, off to new adventures.
It was a summer afternoon, and I hadn't gone out birding in the morning. I convinced Mrs S to accompany me to the cattail pond for just a short walk. A funny warbler caught my eye in the cattails. My first Prothonotary Warbler! It was not only a first for the neighborhood, but a life bird as well. On another visit to the pond with Mrs. S. I heard a familiar call, at least familiar if I was another 3000 feet higher in elevation! "That sounded like a Mexican Jay!" I exclaimed. I walked out of the cover of the trees to see the Mexican Jay on the shoreline, and shot a quick video before it disappeared, never to be refound! According to the same issue of Finding Birds in Southeast Arizona, "Flocks rarely wander out of oaks into other habitats." I certainly hadn't heard or read of this, yet 2 other sightings in lowlands were reported afterward in the same year.
I gave the video to my friends Mark and Molly, who verified the Mexican Jay sighting. They have been so helpful over the years in my quest for knowledge on nature. They also made a trip to the cattail pond, discovering an Eastern Phoebe, another new bird for our neighborhood! Both Mark and Molly seem to have an aura which draws rare birds to them, or perhaps they have an awareness not attained by others. Either way, they seem to bring out the best birds in an area. It's almost like birds come out to see them! In fact, it seems whenever I mention a bird in our conversations, that species tends to show up not long afterward.
Perhaps their visit brought some luck to myself as well. A Willow Flycatcher in the Gooding's Willow at our cattail pond was a great find. And an overgrown field on the woodland road was bringing out very interesting birds as well. As I stood by the fence a small sparrow hopped up to a branch looking slightly like a junco but with a sparrow-like back and longish thin tail. This Black-chinned Sparrow was certainly unexpected, another mountain species dropping down into the lowlands. Another trip to the field produced another rare bird, a Dickcissel, which gave me great looks and a chance to record its presence!
Shortly thereafter I was biking home after a late work meeting. It was almost dark when I got to our neighborhood after the woodland road. As I entered the field area a sparrow ran a short distance in front of me. That behavior got me excited. I could only think of one sparrow which is known for running along the ground. Sure enough, a closer look confirmed its identity as a Sage Sparrow, possibly the first record inside the Tucson city limits (see earlier post for complete Sage Sparrow story).
Mark and Molly visited again, and we found the Rufous-crowned Sparrow and Sage Sparrow. The Sage Sparrow would only stay for one weekend, but the memories were priceless. And yes,Mark and I had discussed the possibilities of Sage Sparrow in our area in one of our previous conversations.
It was late Autumn and the pecans along the woodland road were attracting a lot of ravens and woodpeckers. As I walked along I heard a different call recognized from years earlier when I lived back east. Could that be a crow? American Crows are very rare in Pima County, but occasionally irrupt into areas in western Arizona. I spotted it again just as if flew to the ground about 75 yards away. I shot some video through the scope to document this exciting sighting and gave the tape to Mark and Molly for verification. This intelligent bird, so common everywhere else, is a rare find in Arizona, especially Tucson.
November 19th 2009
At the time I only read sparce details about a very rare bird discovered on the woodland road. On the AZFO website it would show that this species only shows up in Arizona every 2-3 years and this was only the second record for Pima County. Due to a recent population crash with this species it was expected to be even rarer in the foreseeable future. It was only later that I learned of the full story of this discovery from my friend Mark, which shows just how connected extraordinary events can be sometimes.
Mark and Molly were birding with friends in far eastern Tucson including Keith Kamper. From what I know, it seems everyone in their group were world class birders. On the way back Mark suggested a stop at the woodland road to check for the recent American Crow I had seen. As they search Molly suggested, "we should check these blackbird flocks for Rusty Blackbird while we're here." The woodland road has a lot of blackbirds in winter and the task of searching every bird in every flock could be daunting, with a slim chance of success." But then again, Mark and Molly tend to produce miraculous sightings on their excursions, gleaning gems from flocks of seeming ordinary stones (birds).
"You won't believe it," Mark replied. "I have a Rusty Blackbird!" It was in the first flock they searched. Suddenly the woodland road was full of birders to catch a glimpse of this wonder. Despite our neighborhood's birdiness, it doesn't get the attention of other areas since it is not a major migration route. The next series of events can best be described as the "rare bird effect," which states that when a rare bird is seen in an area, the resulting attention to the area by other birders can result in the discovery of other rare birds.
November 21st 2012
The post seemed so casual but the facts jumped off the page. Robert Payne reported that he had seen an Arizona Woodpecker while birding along our woodland stretch. Whaaatttt! This permanent resident of the oaks in the mountains reaches its northernmost range is in southern Arizona, and seemingly never strays from it's upper elevation haunts! Even in the mountains it is a tough bird to record for the Christmas Bird Count. I wanted desperately to see this bird knowing this may be the only time I would have the opportunity. It took days, but I would finally see this bird for myself later while enjoying other exciting discoveries. Later the next spring I would rediscover ti for myself on a different section of the road, but I will always be indebted to Robert for his unique observation that day.
November 22nd 2012. Above the Fray.
Richard Fray was one of the expert birders visiting the woodland road during that time. But an interesting Warbler caught his attention and he documented it with some great photographs, sharing his discovery with the bird community. When word got out that a Bay-breasted Warbler was discovered in this gem of an area, all hell broke loose, bird-wise. This was only the 2nd record of this species in Arizona since 1996 and only 15 total Arizona records (AZFO website). Last year I had the chance to thank Richard for his discovery while we were on a birdathon. His discovery was incredibly special in itself, and would be a first ever for the our CBC circle that year (as a count week bird only) and would also lead to a special discovery of my own.
November 24th 2012.
Luckily I had the week off when I read the post on the Bay-breasted Warbler and raced over. Two other birders already had it in their sights and I was able to get incredible views of this new neighborhood bird. As we watched a flock of Dark-eyed Juncos flew into the trees in front of us. Dark-eyed Juncos are also uncommon but regular in the lowlands, but this was an exceptional year. As I perused the flock one bird turned and I caught sight of it's yellow eye. "I have a Yellow-eyed Junco!" I exclaimed. My sighting was confirmed quickly, but it may have seemed hard to compare it with the Bay-breasted Warbler still present.
The Yellow-eyed Junco was a first for my neighborhood and I knew it was rare in the lowlands, but wasn't sure just how rare. Andrew Core came by shortly after and discovered the bird for himself as well, but gave me credit even though I had not called it in. H also posed the question of rarity to the birding community. The impressive response can best be quoted in the link below;
http://www.azfo.org/gallery/2009/html5/Yellow-eyed_Junco_Woodland_Core_20091122.html
As mentioned earlier I rediscovered the Bay-breasted Warbler for the Christmas Bird Count in our area during the count week, but it would be the last time I would see it. I also rediscovered the Arizona Woodpecker one spring day on the western end of the road. I still find it amazing how many new birds were added to the neighborhood list that year, thanks to wayward wanderers, downward travelers, strange coincidences, and the expertise of fellow nature enthusiasts. I am so thankful for the appreciation given to this unique area during that time and for the rare gems which were discovered. Thank you appreciating our amazing neighborhood jewels, some of which we see every day!
2008-9 New Species
Rufous-crowned Sparrow
Wilson's Phalarope
Mexican Jay
Eastern Phoebe
Dickcissel
Willow Flycatcher
Sage Sparrow
Prothonotary Warbler
Black-chinned Sparrow
American Crow
Rusty Blackbird - ironically all my attempts to find this bird were unsuccessful.
Bay-breasted Warbler
Yellow-eyed Junco
Arizona Woodpecker
