I LOVE birding and one of my favorite things about birding is taking photographs of the birds and sharing the beauty of birds.  For 2026, I will be taking photos of the birds I see during Birdathon. I will then create an online photo album and share all of the species of bird photos I have taken for Birdathon 2026.

I am so grateful to Tucson Bird Alliance for all they have done to help me become a birder and I want to give back by participating in the 2026 Birdathon.

The more I work with Tucson Bird Alliance, the more I am impressed with their work to inspire people to protect and enjoy birds and their habitat. Staff members and volunteers are committed to making a positive impact in Southern Arizona. I have participated in their efforts to eradicate invasive species, count birds on the Threatened Bird List to find ways to improve their habitat, planted saguaros, volunteered at the Southeast Arizona Birding Festival and I Iead birding field trips. Your contribution will help continue these programs and protect the beautiful birds that brighten our lives and their habitat. 

Thank you for supporting Birdathon. I appreciate YOU and your contributions to Tucson Bird Alliance!

Peggy

Pledges

• Peggy Steffens: $2/species photographed and $10 for every life bird photographed
• Denise Ryan: $20 for every blue bird for Oscar
• David Ingram: $1/species and $10 per photographed species, which you have to post or email
• Shari Montgomery: $2/species and an extra $25 for every Belted Kingfisher you photograph. I'm cheering for you!
• Marica Grand: $5/species
• Julianne Michael: $1/species and an extra $10 per woodpecker or hummingbird species photographed.

Birdathon 2026 Final Report

I like owls, but I am not a night owl. In fact, I have never pulled an all-nighter. So doing a 24-hour Big Day is not something I could pull off. However, I love taking photographs of birds, so I pulled an “all-monther.” I birded almost every day and was able to photograph 176 species of birds. Some of the photos I am thrilled with and some I am just glad I was able to get a photo of the bird before it flew off, hid in the branches, went too far away, dove underwater or moved further back in the leaves before I could get the bird in focus in the camera.

 

I took over 20,000 photographs and you can view the best ones on my Steffens 2026 Birdathon Flckr Page.There are 3 pages of photos and you can look at them in full screen by clicking on the photo and using the arrow on the left of the photo to advance. At the bottom of the screen, you will see the name of the bird. 

 

Here are some Birdathon 2026 highlights to share with you.

First Bird photographed – American Coot chicks at Sweetwater Wetlands

 

Last Bird photographed – Western Warbling Vireo warbling (say that fast five times) at Catalina Regional Pond

 

Total Number of Bird Species Seen or Heard - 188

 

Total Birds Observed – 5972

 

Total Bird Species Photographed - 176

 

Rare Birds - April is a great month for spring migration and seeing rare birds. Here are the rare birds that I was able to photograph: White-eyed Vireo, Red-necked Phalarope, Calliope Hummingbird, Lucifer Hummingbird, Kentucky Warbler, Palm Warbler, and Bendire’s Thrasher.

 

Life Birds - Palm Warbler and Kentucky Warbler. The Palm Warbler was seen at El Rio Preserve and I went the day it was reported and missed other birders who had seen it by 10 minutes. I searched for 2.5 hours and didn’t find it. The next day I went at dawn and refound the bird and got terrible photographs and then later that morning, I went back it finally it came out in the open for a few seconds. The Kentucky Warbler was a matter of being at the right place at the right time and getting a lot of help from others.

 

Best Chicks - Birding in April means that I saw numerous birds nesting and some with chicks. My favorite was the Golden Eagle nest with the chicks. I saw it in Box canyon up in the cliffs. It was REALLY high up and difficult to get a photo because it was so far away. So, even though the photo wasn’t great, I could still see the chicks and the parent on the nest and that was a joyous thrill. I also loved the Gambel’s Quail chicks in my backyard and I was able to capture one in a photo which is tricky because they run so fast from one hiding spot to the next. And my last favorite chick photo was of the Burrowing Owl chicks. Again, the burrow was very far away, so getting a photo was tough, but they were so adorable with their excitement when the parent flew in to the burrow. Baby birds bring hope for a future with more birds.

 

Best Sequence - I was at Santa Rita Lodge when a Mexican Jay brought nesting material for its mate. I have a photo of him with the nesting material, then him passing it to her, the next with her taking the material and my favorite photo is the last one, where it appears she is less than satisfied with what he brought. 

 

Thankful for Not Seeing a bird - Sometimes you have to be thankful when you DON’T find the bird. I went to North Santa Cruz Park in Sahuarita and one for the birds I was hoping to photograph was the Calliope Hummingbird. We had birded the park for several hours and we were going to give a row of trees one more look for the hummer. We had encountered another birder we didn’t know, Layton, several times on our walk and shared what we each had seen. Just as we were about to call it a day, we saw Layton sitting on the ground on her phone. She came and showed us a photo on the back of her camera and I had no idea what the bird was so I took a photo of the back of her camera and used Picture Bird and it said it was a Kentucky Warbler. The was a life bird for me if we could find it. She has great eyes and kept finding it and for a while I kept being on the wrong side of the mesquite bosque as we were looking. But in the end, I got the bird with the help of wonderful birders. I was really grateful the Calliope was a no show as I wouldn’t have still been birding when the Kentucky Warbler showed up. Plus, a few days later I got the Calliope hummingbird at Himmel Park. Birding is a treasure hunt and sometimes the treasure isn’t what you were hoping for, but something even better, a Life Bird.

 

Hummingbirds I was thrilled to photograph – the Lucifer Hummingbird. I have seen Lucifer Hummingbirds at the feeders at Ash Canyon, but never away from a feeder sanctuary. I have always heard about a female in Box Canyon and I did a happy dance when I saw one feeding on Prickly Pear flowers and I got a photo.

 

Best Bird at a Bar - Great Horned Owls created a nest in a planter at the top of the roof line at Noble Hops Bar in Oro Valley.

 

Best Nesting Story - If you bird at Sweetwater Wetlands, you know Larry. He shared with me the location of the Bell’s Vireo that was nesting by the bridge. Bell’s Vireo are more often heard then seen, but Larry shared that the Bell’s Vireo is one of the few birds that will sing while on the nest. Most birds don’t sing on the nest to avoid predators. Who knew? Larry knew!

 

Best non-bird photos – One of the magnificent things about birding is that you are out in nature and also get to see butterflies, dragonflies, flowers, lizards and mammals. I shared a few of my favorites that included the Bobcat, rattlesnake, Gila Monster, and bats. These photos are after the photos of the birds.

 

Species with over 200 birds seen - Mourning Dove (561), White-faced Ibis (497), American Coot (298), Red-winged Blackbird (279), House Finch (278), and White Winged Dove (211).

 

Birds I was thrilled to get a photo - Bell’s Vireo and Sora. I always hear Bell’s Vireo and Sora, but they are tricky to get to come out in the open for a photograph.

 

Nemesis Bird - I tried at several locations to photograph a Yellow-breasted Chat and was unsuccessful. I was at the Paton Center for Hummingbirds and one was singing up a storm. I tried for over three hours to see this bird and it wouldn’t show itself. A large group of birders were also trying to see it, so one of the volunteers, Wayne, and I went to the other side of the trees because he thought we could see if from there. Sure enough, when we went to the other side, the people on the side I had moved from saw the chat. This bird did not want to be photographed for Birdathon. I never got a photo, but it wasn’t for lack of trying.

 

Birds I wasn’t able to photograph but heard or saw - Yellow-breasted Chat, Rock Wren, Marsh Wren, American Barn Owl, Red breasted Nuthatch, Northern Flicker, Cedar Waxwing, Vesper Sparrow, Common Poorwill, Sharp-shinned Hawk.

 

Worst Wind Experience – we had a lot of windy days this April but the worst was at Avra Valley Water Treatment plant looking for the Semi-palmated Plover. I spent an hour and a half looking for this bird. The winds were gusting up over 30 mph. At times I felt like I was going to be blown over and there was a lot of sand in my face. This was another bird I gave up on and wasn’t able to photograph. I guess I am a fair-weather birder.

 

Oh, the Places You’ll Go! - this is one of my favorite Dr. Seuss books and this year on Birdathon I went to Sweetwater Wetlands, El Rio, Danny Lopez Park, Himmel Park, Agua Caliente Park, East Lawns Cemetery, Coyote Pass Reservoir, Rams Canyon, Reid Park, Santa Cruz River, James D. Kriegh Park, Box Canyon, Madera Canyon, Mount Lemmon, Elephanthead Pond, Paton Center for Hummingbirds, Avra Valley Wastewater Treatment Plant, Amado Waste Water Treatment Plant, Green Valley Wastewater Reclamation Facility, Sahuarita, Marana Wastewater Reclamation Facility, Avra Valley farms, Catalina Regional Pond, local golf courses and my backyard.

 

Biggest Mistake - I made a rookie mistake of not backing up my hard drive with my photos and it crashed on April 7th. Luckily, I had edited and saved most of the photos and only had to refind and photograph 12 birds. It was a hard lesson. But I have learned that I should never be too busy birding to back up the hard drive.

 

Most Grateful for – I am grateful for you for donating to Birdathon. I am grateful for Tucson Bird Alliance and the field trips I went on to find birds. I am appreciative of my birding friends who went and helped me find birds and appreciate nature. I am so lucky to be part of the Southern Arizona Birding Community that shares on social media and eBird where rare birds are being seen and when I show up they help me see and photograph the bird.

 

My 10 Favorite Photographs

• Bell’s Vireo singing

• Belted Kingfisher

• Broad-billed Hummingbird on nest - you can see the spider web she uses so the nest expands when the chicks grow

• Cactus Wren begging to be fed

• Crested Caracara - both of the photos

• European Starling with worms

• Five-striped Sparrow flying like a bullet

• Great Blue Heron carrying nesting material

• Northern Cardinal in Flight

• Plumbeous Vireo with a worm

 

I am the passionate birder I am today because of the Tucson Bird Alliance and after six years of volunteering and participating in events, I continue to be impressed with all the staff, volunteers, and Board do to inspire people to love and protect birds and their habitat. I know that the money you donated will be used wisely to continue their mission.

 

Thank you for “Giving a Hoot”

Your Favorite Bird Nerd,

Peggy

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Birdathon is one of Tucson Bird Alliance’s largest fundraisers and has existed for over 35 years! It’s a great way to use our love of bird watching to support Tucson Bird Alliance’s mission to inspire people to enjoy and protect birds.

By donating to one or more Birdathon teams you are ensuring Tucson Bird Alliance's vital work can continue well into the future. Whether it's preserving critical habitats, educating future stewards of the environment, or advocating for bird-friendly policies, your support makes a tangible difference.

Birdathon donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Tucson Bird Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Join us in making a difference for birds and their habitats by donating or pledging to a Birdathon team today!

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  PO Box 91770
  Tucson, AZ 85752

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