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Wrenegades 2014 Birdathon

Trip Summary - It was an awesome day! **160 Species total**

As the clock struck 1am on Sunday April 27 the Wrenegades Birdathon team began their wild and crazy quest to find as many species as possible that day. We began in Reid Park with the hope of hearing a Great-horned Owl and possibly scraping up a duck or two. We heard several Great-horned Owls calling from the tall pines and spotlighted several Black-crowned Night Herons and some sleepy ducks. Things were off to a good start.

Looking for ducks at Reid Park in the dark

The secret of doing a Big Day is to start on a high note of happiness and eat lots of sugar. We definitely did that as we zoomed east through town with Classic Rock blaring on the radio while we devoured munchkin donut holes. With the pre-dawn hours dedicated to owling we headed to the base of Mount Lemmon to listen for Elf Owl and Western Screech-Owl. I was particularly anxious to knock off the Western Screech-owl as this was a bird that had alluded me on the last few Big Days. I was extremely relieved to hear not only the ethereal laughter of several Elf Owls from the saguaros but the distinctive bouncing-ball call of a male Western Screech-owl. Totally jazzed from this success the team zoomed up Catalina Highway. Several elevationally strategic stops later we had bagged both Common Poorwill and Whiskered Screech-Owl. The night-bird that worried me was Mexican Whip-poor-will as there was no visible moon in the sky which if there was would really encouraged them to call. From the spot where I have heard these birds call the most in Bear Canyon I played the call of this bird out into the darkness. As the entire team listened intently, a sleepy Mexican Whip-poor-will sang out exactly one phrase of “purple-rip” and fell silent. In a Big Day that is good enough and we zoomed up to Bear Wallow.

It was cold on Mount Lemmon! There was snow at the top. We listened for Sawwhet Owl at the top, no luck!

This was our chosen location to listen for the dawn chorus, one of the most important periods of time in a Big Day. As we waited for the dawn we tried playing for Flammulated Owl and did manage to get one to call quietly from the tops of the huge pines. It was very cold now on the mountain and we huddled in the car waiting for the tell-tale gray sky of pre-dawn. As the darkness began to fade we heard our first day bird, a House Wren! He was singing from a bush so close that it was a bit difficult to hear other birds over him. One by one different species joined the dawn chorus and we quickly ticked off American Robin, Yellow-eyed Junco, Stellar’s Jay, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Hairy Woodpecker and many others. When we thought we had detected everything in the area we zoomed up to Summer Haven to look for the reported Evening Grosbeaks.

Jennie trying to get rid of some ill-timed hiccups at Rose Canyon Lake

We watched for quite a while and picked up a few more birds including Yellow-rumped Warbler and then a little flock of Evening Grosbeaks flew in which was a new bird for the day and a lifer for nearly everyone there. Mount Lemmon was really paying off! As the sky became quite bright we began to zoom down the mountain making strategic stops along the way. We all watched a single Band-tailed Pigeon zoom through the parking lot at Inspiration Point and really cleaned up at Rose Canyon Lake with Greater Pewee, Buff-breasted Flycatcher and a calling Mountain Northern Pygmy-Owl. Totally pumped we continued down and birded the road along Incinerator Ridge and had excellent looks at Red-faced Warbler, Painted Redstart and Hermit Warbler. Our next location was General Hitchcock Campground and we had allocated a little more time for this spot. We hiked the short distance to the spring and picked up many species here including Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Brown Creeper, Wilson’s Warbler, Grace’s Warbler and Townsend’s Warbler. The sun was up and the birds were singing! We then raced down to Molino Basin and added several birds including Black-chinned Sparrow, Bell’s Vireo, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher and Ladder-backed Woodpecker. It was now 9am and defiantly time to leave Mount Lemmon.

The Wrenegades were off to a great start

Our next stop was Woodland Rd off of Tanque Verde and here was acquired several blackbird species, some swallows and Vermillion Flycatcher. We had a raptor perched in a tree that looked suspiciously like a Short-tailed Hawk but since we hadn’t reached a decision before it flew off, we decided to let that one go, better safe than sorry!

Sweetwater Wetlands was our next big stop and we zoomed across Tucson to get there, counting city birds from the car as we went. The gravel ponds at the back of Sweetwater yielded American Avocet, Western Sandpiper and Killdeer as well as some swallow species zooming overhead. The wetlands itself was productive despite the lateness of the morning and we added Abert’s Towhee, Lucy’s Warbler, several duck species and many more. We tried for the reported Swamp Sparrow at the stream and some team mates thought they had seen it but there were several Song Sparrows in the area that were so rusty in color that we decided to play it safe and let that one get away too. Despite this we left Sweetwater with 110 species and were feeling pretty good as we headed to our next destination.

Jennie searching for more species

We ran through the legendary Paton’s Hummingbird Haven looking to score some birds and quickly picked up three Inca Doves and some Black-headed Grosbeaks. We had to wait a little while, but once the Violet-crowned Hummingbird appeared we were off and headed to our next spot. Once we were in Patagonia Lake State Park we began down the Birder’s Trail and gathered some of the expected species such as Summer Tanager, Double-crested Cormorant and  quickly and were amazed to find a Wilson’s Snipe skulking in the reeds! We did miss our main target bird of Elegant Trogon but time was running short so we forced ourselves to move on to our main destination of the afternoon, Madera Canyon. We hung out the windows in the grasslands leading up to the canyon and picked up Rufous-winged Sparrow and saw a Loggerhead Shrike perched far away on a mesquite tree. Once up in the canyon we were seeing and hearing many of the species we expected and hoped to find including Mexican Jay, Acorn Woodpecker and Black-chinned Hummingbird. At Kubo we added Magnificent Hummingbird, Wild Turkey, and finally a Hooded Oriole which had alluded us all day. The evening time was upon us now and we made a decision to finish off the sun lit portion of our Big Day in Florida Canyon. We went a little bit up the trail and watched a Lesser Nighthawk silently drift through the still air as the sun slipped beneath the horizon.

The Wrenegades at the legendary Patagonia Roadside Reststop.         We did find the Thick-billed Kingbirds here!

It was now time to return to Tucson and we had one more after-dark planned location. We zoomed to the Safelight Auto parking lot for the known Burrowing Owl. We heard a strange call as we pulled up but couldn’t see the bird anywhere. We looked and looked and even found a natural looking burrow across the street from the parking lot with lots a whitewash and a freshly killed small bird at the entrance. We figured they had been alarmed by our arrival and ducked out of sight. We tried for about half an hour to get this last bird but ended up going away defeated. We had tried out best, given it our all and that is what a Big Day is all about. We had fun, found some awesome birds and raised money for the Tucson Audubon Society with the help of our generous donors. We ended the day with 160 species, the most I have personally seen in a Big Day in the spring. It was great, the Wrenegades really did soar to victory in 2014! Huge special thanks to all of the generous donors who sponsored myself and my team mates, you are all Wrenegades!

The whole crew watches a Northern Goshawk hunting over the ridge in Madera Canyon.   A perfect end to a great day!

Birds have a unique, special, and different meaning to each of us. So too is each of our connection with Tucson Audubon Society personal and distinct. During Birdathon, we combine the love of bird watching during spring migration with support for bird conservation.

Birdathoners are birders and social fundraisers, joining together to make a difference for the birds and habitats of southeast Arizona. Birdathoners continue a tradition that has held strong for over 25 years. 

Each Birdathoner's personal network of supporters is what helps makes Birdathon possible. 

This April, I'm going birding for the birds!