Jim Hoagland
The SaddleBrooke Ranch (SBR) Hiking Club and the Birding and Nature group recently conducted a “seed drive” to support the needs of Oracle State Park. SBR resident Laura Haslett, representing the Hiking Club, and Jim Hoagland, representing the Birding and Nature group, recently presented over 15 quail blocks, 850 pounds of wild bird seed, and two bird feeders to Michael Bain, Senior Ranger of Oracle State Park. In total, this amounted to over 1,000 pounds of seed. If you have not been to Oracle State Park’s Kannally Ranch Patio to view the many bird species at the feeding stations, you are missing an amazing birding opportunity. You will likely see Gambel’s Quail, Northern Cardinals, Cactus Wrens, Lesser Goldfinches, White-crowned Sparrows, Curved-billed Thrashers, House Finches, and many other species at the feeders. The State Park receives limited funds from the state to cover the cost of bird food, so this donation will fill the feeding stations for many days to come. Ranger Bain said, “We are extremely grateful to the SaddleBrooke Ranch community for the donation of the bird food, especially the quail blocks and feeders. We encourage you to come, bring your lunch, and relax in one of the chairs to enjoy the birds as they come into feed. With the lack of rain this last year, food sources for the wild birds are scarce, and this will definitely make a difference. He went on to say, “If you would like to learn more about the events we have at the Park, check out our website at AZstateparks.com/oracle or our Facebook page for times and dates of nature walks, geology walks, star parties, and many other programs and events for the whole family to enjoy.” They thank all the folks of SBR who donated to this worthy cause. If you missed out and wanted to donate, another seed drive will be conducted in the winter.
Many people have been commenting on the lack of birds they are seeing this year. One example is the American Wigeon ducks, which enjoy our pond during the winter. Normally, there are over 35 residing on our pond by early January, but very few have shown up. To bring home the point, I participated in two Christmas Bird Counts this year. The 54th Tucson Valley Christmas Bird Count saw only 151 species, the fewest they had seen since 2019. Sparrow numbers were way down. Last year, they had 1,180 White-crowned Sparrows, and this year, 547. No Savannah or Vesper sparrows. In all, there were 2,000 fewer individual birds than last year. There were 20 species in which only one individual was recorded.
In the Dudleyville Christmas Bird Count, my 6th year participating, the results were similar. The number of species for the count was 108, lower than the previous year and well below the 26-year average of 113. Our total individual count of 4,518 was significantly lower than last year’s 7,031. More to come in future articles on why this might be occurring.
Don’t forget to make a trip this month to Whitewater Draw to see the thousands of Sandhill Cranes as they will start leaving in March, and till then, wishing you Good Birding.