Appleton-Whittell Christmas Bird Count (CBC)

Dedicated to the Memory of Dr. Robert Whitcomb

The most recent AWCBC was held on Saturday, January 2, 2010. 103 species were recorded by 22 participants. The results from the last count are summarized below, including a male Elegant Trogon in Huachuca Canyon. The next Appleton-Whittell Christmas Bird Count (AWCBC) is tentatively set for Sunday, January 2, 2011, so please mark your calendars.





(Elegant Trogon in Huachuca Canyon.   Photo by John Langholff, 9 August 2009)

This count is dedicated to Dr. Robert Whitcomb, the founder of this count, who lost his battle with cancer and died on December 21, 2007. Please read the Washington Post article to learn more about the life of this renowned research entomologist.




(Photo by Gerald Martineau -- The Washington Post)

See the AWCBC map of territories for a depiction of area boundaries.   Download the Field Card ( PDF, DOC ) on which to tally birds seen, the Checklist of bird species, the official CBC Rare Bird Form, and the Party Hours/Miles Form can be printed for use during the bird count.   Afterwards, you can mail hardcopy tally sheets and party hours forms from the count to Robert Weissler, P.O. Box 1105, Hereford, AZ 85615. Or if you have an on-line checklist from the count, you can e-mail it to weissler@aves.org.

Visit the National Audubon Society CBC web site for comprehensive information about the Christmas Bird Count, including history, objectives, and results. You can also find Christmas Bird Counts in Arizona, find a CBC Count Circle in Arizona or get involved in other counts outside Arizona.

The Count Circle

Shown below is a clickable Google Map of the count circle covering the Audubon Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch, and portions of Fort Huachuca and the Sonoita Valley.

Appleton-Whittell Christmas Bird Count Results

Twenty-nine participants took part in the 4th annual Appleton-Whittell Christmas Bird Count (AWCBC) on Saturday, January 2nd, 2010. Unlike prior years, the A-W CBC was blessed with fine weather as wispy clouds and cold morning temperatures (albeit above freezing) rapidly gave way to clear skies and mild afternoon temperatures. The final species total stands at 103, three higher than last year. Despite favorable weather, there were much lower numbers of grassland sparrows and also much lower diversity of raptors. The total number of individuals encountered is 3,456. This is similar to last year, but noticeably lower than the prior two years before that.

The lack of fruit in the canyons (e.g., no berries observed on madrones in Huachuca, Split Rock, or Blacktail Canyon) accounts for the absence of normal numbers of thrushes, despite the weather being very favorable (calm and mild). Elegant Trogon was missed too. Sparrow numbers were down on post as has been the pattern of the last several years, but on the A-W Research Ranch, Babocomari Ranch, and Mustang Mountains, they were somewhat more diverse, including Grasshopper, Baird's, and Savannah Sparrows. Chipping Sparrows were numerous in the canyons of the Huachucas as well as in the Sonoita Valley.

(Elegant Trogon in Huachuca Canyon.   Photo by Ed Bustya, 9 August 2009.   See more at Ed Bustya's Nature Images)

We thank all of the participants for a count well done. The next Appleton-Whittell Christmas Bird Count (AWCBC) is tentatively set for Sunday, January 2, 2011.

Mark your calendars for next year. We are excited already!

Robert Weissler
Compiler


For all of the details of the AWCBC, please visit the CBC website at http://www.audubon.org/bird/cbc/.

(NOTE: Adobe Acrobat Reader available free from Adobe for reading PDF files)

Last updated: 03 August 2010 by REW.