AZFO Newsletter April-May 2025

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New Field Expedition!

May 23-26 - Santa Maria Mountains

We are heading to the Santa Maria Mountain range, the most underbirded region in our eBird Gaps project. This region is significantly lacking data on its status and distribution of birds across all seasons. 


Remote and rugged, this low mountain range northwest of Prescott is a transition zone between the higher elevation Colorado Plateau and low elevation Basin and Range deserts. Potential birds throughout the range include Acorn woodpecker, Band-tailed Pigeon, Black-headed Grosbeak, Anna’s and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Black-chinned Sparrow, Bridled & Juniper Titmouse, Common Poorwill, Dusky flycatcher, Grace’s Warblers, Gray Vireos, Hepatic & Summer Tanagers, Painted Redstart, Steller's Jay, Virginia’s Warbler, and many more.

Join us for our full-scale survey of the Santa Marias. This is a great opportunity to gain valuable data for this underbirded area...and for a fun weekend.


For details, click the title, above.

To join, Register Here

Global Big Day - Saturday, May 10

With hundreds of volunteers in the field in Arizona, we will strive to get a "snapshot" of the spring migration, and most of all have fun! 

Learn more about the count or view our list of Big Day coordinators to find an area near you - just click on the heading above!

We need county coordinators for Greenlee, Santa Cruz, and Yavapai counties. If you would like to coordinate our efforts in those counties contact BigDay@AZFO.org

Arizona Birds

New in our Journal, Arizona Birds


April Bird of the Month: White-rumped Sandpiper


Two new articles:

Arizona Bird Highlights: Fall 2024 and

Filling Gaps in Underbirded Areas in Arizona: An Update.



New Gale Monson Research Grant Awards


We proudly announce two new Gale Monson grants. Our review committee has awarded these grants to Gracie Anne Fischer and Matt Jenkins.


Each year, AZFO provides up to two $1,000 awards to qualified applicants seeking to conduct field research focused on Arizona's birds. Named in honor of Arizona's father of ornithology, Gale Monson, these grants are key to our mission of increasing the knowledge of the changing status, identification, and distribution of Arizona's birdlife.

Gale Monson, 1971

Thrasher Solar Site Survey and Search Expedition


A collaborative effort with Arizona Field Ornithologists, Great Basin Bird Observatory and Arizona Game and Fish Department


In January & February, AZFO volunteers participated in this survey, with good results. We helped locate these thrashers to initiate this effort. Next, lightweight GPS transmitters will be deployed on a small sample of Bendire's and LeConte's thrashers. The purpose of this initiative is to track the movements of these interesting birds and to understand how they respond to the installation of industrial-scale solar facilities.

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