Rufous Hummingbird
All Photos by Bill Mitchell
[Pyrrhuloxia, Red-Tailed Hawk & Ladder-backed Woodpecker Below]
The Tortolita Preserve (TP) is home to many varieties of birds. Tortolita Alliance Strategic Plan Goals include collaboration with Tucson Audubon and other wildlife programs. Accordingly, we are announcing the first ever TP Bird Survey, timed to coincide with the fall migration. The survey will happen several times a year as we create an ongoing catalogue of TP birds.
If you are an experienced birder, you are probably familiar with the eBird website and app. eBird was developed and is managed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. eBird allows the creation of checklists for birds that can be shared with a world-wide community of bird watchers. If you have not used eBird, TA has developed an Introduction To eBird to help you get started.
David Howe, TA Board member and bird watching expert, is leading this effort. TA is trying to create and share as many eBird checklists as possible over the next few weeks. The checklists will be shared to the group account with the user name "tortolitapreservesurvey". If you are interested in participating, please send your eBird user name to David Howe at davidhowe1385@gmail.com. Dave will make you an eBird friend, which allows you to post to the group account anytime and as many times as you like.
Your birding adventure can be short, long or anything in between. You can walk the entire trail, stick to a small part of it or even sit in one spot in a lounge chair and create your list. Morning is when birds are most active, but evenings are great too. Three great horned owls were spotted just the other day near the Strong-arm Saguaro Cactus just after sunset.
Good luck with your birding adventures and hope to see you on the trail!