Appleton-Whittell Christmas Bird Count (CBC)

Dedicated to the Memory of Dr. Robert Whitcomb

The most recent AWCBC was held on Saturday, January 3, 2009. 100 species were recorded by 22 participants. The results from the last count are summarized below.

The next Appleton-Whittell Christmas Bird Count (RCCBC) is tentatively set for Saturday, January 2, 2010, so please mark your calendars.

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

The 3rd annual Appleton-Whittell Christmas Bird Count (AWCBC) took place amid breezy conditions, but mild temperatures on Saturday, January 3rd, 2009. The provisional species total stands at 100, despite somewhat less windy conditions than last year. Once again, there were much lower numbers of grassland sparrows and also much lower diversity of raptors. The total number of individuals encountered is 3,274. This is noticeably lower than the prior two years.

Some of the highlights of the count include a male Elegant Trogon and an adult female Williamson's Sapsucker in Huachuca Canyon. Also, a MacGillivray's Warbler seen in the cantonment of Fort Huachuca is very rare in winter. Western Tanager is also a new addition to this count. A Plumbeous Vireo seen high up Blacktail Canyon near the crest of the Huachuca Mountains was also unusual. And during count week, two Elegant Trogons were seen in Split Rock Canyon, the next major canyon north of Huachuca Canyon.

There were also a number of misses. For example, missing Anna's Hummingbird is attributable to a lack of feeder watchers. This bird is now quite common at feeders in the area during winter. By contast, missing White-tailed Kite, Merlin, and Peregrine Falcon was unexpected. A number of waterfowl species were not recorded, mostly owing to the limited open water on post at Fort Huachuca and in the Sonoita Valley. As for grassland sparrows, many species went missing including Grasshopper, Baird's, Cassin's, Fox, and Lark Sparrow, plus Abert's Towhee, Lark Bunting, and American Goldfinch. To some extent, grassland sparrow diversity was down in many places. In addition, more grassland sparrow identification expertise is needed in the Sonoita Valley where quality grassland habitat is readily available.

We thank all of the participants for a count well done. The tentative date for the next AWCBC is scheduled for Saturday, January 2, 2010.

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: 1 February 2009 by REW.