UVM 2022 Ornithology 3
03/16/2022- 03/10/2022
Lost Dutchman State Park, Tonto National Monument, and Roosevelt Lake, Arizona
03/06: sunny, mildly windy, 54 degrees (8:47am-3:55pm)
03/07: partly cloudy, 61 degrees (11:43am-1:00pm)
03/10: partly cloudy, windy, 65 degrees (10:14am-5:19pm)
Desert scrubland, brush, and cactus habitat.
Species List
*Bendire's Thrasher
-6 individuals
-foraging on ground
*House Sparrow
-3 individuals
-nesting in saguaro
-foraging under feeder with Bendire's Thrasher
*Black-throated Sparrow
-most common species; ~25 individuals
-foraging in flocks on ground, perching and singing on chollas.
*Mourning Dove
-3 individual
-perched on saguaro and foraging on ground with White-crowned Sparrow
*Phainopepla
-5 individuals
-3 males and 2 female
-flying and feeding on mistletoe
*Turkey Vulture
-5 individuals
-soaring overhead
*White-crowned Sparrow
-~8 individuals
-foraging in flock on ground (males and females)
*Northern Cardinal
-2 males
-singing from large bushes
*Gambel's Quail
-2nd most common species; ~20 individuals
-running in-between cover in groups
-1 male perched in palo verde tree
*Northern Mockingbird
-1 individual
-feeding on nightshade berries
*Gilded Flicker
-3 individuals
-perched on saguaros
*Verdin
-4 individuals
-nesting in palo verde tree
*Gila Woodpecker
-2 individual
-perched on cholla before flying to saguaro
*Common Raven
-2 individuals
-soaring overhead
Abert's Towhee
-2 individuals
-foraging on ground below feeder
*Curve-billed Thrasher
-2 individuals
-nesting in cholla; feeding lizard to young
*Lesser Goldfinch
-3 individuals; 1 male, 2 females
-perched on palo verde
*Cactus Wren
-3 individuals
-singing from saguaros
*Anna's Hummingbird
-3 individuals
-1 male
-female feeding fledgling
*Yellow-rumped Warbler
-~4 individuals
-swooping around trees
Costa's Hummingbird
-1 male
-perched on branch
Red-tailed Hawk
-~6 individuals
-perched on telephone poles by road
-2 soaring overhead together
*American Coot
-~10 individuals
-swimming and diving in group
Journal
The weather in Arizona has change to spring and many species have stopped needed to budget extra energy into keeping warm. Birds were primarily focusing on mating and nesting behaviors as well as foraging for food. The Curve-billed Thrasher was feeding its young in a nest, taking in a lizard before leaving again for more food. A female Anna's Hummingbird was feeding its fledgling. The fledgling was perched on a branch capable of short flights but called for its mother for food. A house finch was nesting in a saguaro and the young could be heard from the cavity. The male Cardinals, Black-throated Sparrows, Gilded Flickers, Gila Woodpeckers, and Bendire's Thrashers were all singing for females. Outside of the species seen soaring (like the Common Ravens, Turkey Vultures, and Red-tailed Hawks), all bird species were observed feeding and foraging. Different species were feeding on different things. The Northern Mockingbird was feeding on nightshade berries, the Curve-billed Thrasher was feeding on a lizard, the hummingbirds fed on nectar from flowers, and the smaller sparrow species foraged for insects and plant material on the ground. Food varies greatly based on season in the desert. There is always access to insects but other food sources are harder to obtain. Reptiles and small mammals go underground for most of the cold season and plant material is more abundant around the warm, rainy season. Birds would need to adapt their diets based on the season.
Mini-Activity
The desert doesn't have 'snags' in the traditional sense as trees rarely grow large enough for cavities in scrub habitats. The most common place for bird species to nest is on cactuses, specifically the huge saguaro cactuses. The campground and monument where I birded had hundreds of saguaro cactuses. Each cactus had around half a dozen cavities for nesting and roosting. These cavities are usually made by woodpeckers and then used by other species the following years. As saguaros can live hundreds of years, they provide essential habitat for bird species as varied as House Sparrows and Pigmy Owls.
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