AZFO Newsletter - April-May 2026

AZFO Newsletter April - May 2026

Arizona Field Ornithologists (AZFO)

AZFO is an organization of birders and ornithologists

dedicated to increasing the knowledge of the changing status, identification, and distribution of Arizona's birdlife.

WHAT WE DO

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Don't Forget --Global Big Day is Saturday, May 9!

This annual spring migration count is a great day of birding, and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology gathers all the info for a worldwide picture of bird migration numbers and species. You can use our list of Big Day coordinators to find an area near you - just click on the heading above.

AZFO Table at the Tubac Hawkwatch

This year, Arizona Field Ornithologists participated in the March 13th

Hawkwatch Festival,

along with other SE AZ conservation organizations. Out thanks to our organizers and the three AZFO members who were there to share AZFO info and to chat with the many folks who stopped by our table to say hello.

February Thrasher Surveys

AZFO members assisted Great Basin Bird Observatory in pre-locating Bendire’s and

LeConte’s Thrashers to pin-point best locations for capturing birds to attach telemetry transmitters. Tice Supplee, Adam Stein and Emily (Lee) Evans went into the field south of Wickenburg to locate Bendire’s Thrashers. We were successful and gave the coordinates to GBBO. We have learned they attached transmitters to birds in that area, so the effort was rewarded!

The selected locations are all on BLM land that has been identified for possible solar energy development. The information gathered from the telemetered birds will be very valuable. Lee is one of the 2025 AZFO youth scholarship recipients and she joined me (Tice) for a second scouting trip near Aguila, Arizona. Although we didn’t find thrashers, we added some new points to the AZFO eBird Gaps project for

the Hassayampa Plain.

Wintering Mountain Plovers

The AZ Game & Fish Department (AZGFD) and AZFO collaborated to implement a study in 2011 and 2012 for wintering Mountain Plovers. This past January of 2026, a team conducted surveys following the same protocol in order to obtain an updated version of that study. Some adjustments were made, including no additional follow up surveys, prioritizing known areas of Mountain Plovers and not actively surveying for Long-billed Curlew. The surveys were conducted January 30th, 31st and February 2nd.

The results from the study include a total of 186 individuals reported in four different areas; Spot Road Farm, Santa Cruz Flats, Stanfield and Gila Bend Auxiliary. In 2011, 176 individuals were counted and in 2012, 120 individuals were counted. AZGFD intends to survey for potential breeding pairs this May as part of a range- wide effort proposed by The Mountain Plover working group.

Arizona Birds: Our Online Journal

Species of the Month

March:

California Condor

Photo by Chris Benesh

The California Condor is the largest soaring land bird in North America, with a wingspan of

2.8 m, and is one of the most highly endangered birds in the world.

April:

Mountain Plover

Photo by Steven Tracy

Misnamed, the Mountain Plover is typically not found in mountains, but breeds in high grassland plains. In winter, look for Mountain Plovers in Arizona's agricultural fields.

Can you ID these birders? This photo is from our first Flagstaff annual meeting in 2008.

Photo by Diana Herron.

AZFO Annual Meeting in Flagstaff

Remember to save the dates, Sept 18-20

As we mentioned in our last newsletter, we will be meeting at the Pinewood Country Club in Munds Park, just south of Flagstaff, on the weekend of September 18-20.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Registration details to come in our next newsletters.

Gale Monson Research Grants - Applications Accepted

Each year, AZFO provides up to two $1,000 awards to qualified applicants seeking to conduct field research focused on Arizona's birds. We recognize grant awardees each year at our annual meeting. Interested researchers can learn more on our website HERE .

AZFO At the SE AZ

Birding Festival

The premier birding event in the Tucson area for 2026 is the Southeast Arizona Birding Festival, scheduled for August 12–16, 2026. We look forward to setting up our AZFO table at the festival again this year, and we hope you will stop by to chat with us about what we do and about all things birding.

Contact@AZFO.org

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