I knew it was too good to be true. Just got an email saying that, due to budget cuts, my friend John and I have to be dropped from the Grand Canyon bird census trip we had been asked to join for next month. The snail biologists get to go (probably kicking in funding from their own sources), but not moi. I'm royally bummed.
It was also the subject of my first proposal to Birder's World. Now I gotta call them and say oops, nevermind.
Ah well.
Let's take a breath and look at the silver lining for April, shall we? April 22-25 are the dates for the big avian shindig in my neck of the woods, the Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival. Headquartered at the delightfully named Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood, it's 4 days of fabulous habitat, birding for all ages and skill levels as well as hands-on natural education of all kinds, killer SW food, and the unique comraderie that birders share.
Last year, we found 153 species, and locals found that to be a little light. The list from last year is at the site.
I'll be leading trip all 4 days, two novice walks in the park, and then the Oak Creek Canyon and Beaver Creek trips.
OCC will take us up-elevation along one of America's most beautiful drives. We'll be on the lookout for American Dipper, Painted Redstart, Hepatic Tanager, Red-faced and Grace's Warbler, Band-tailed Pigeon and much more.
The BC trip is more high desert scrub up to pinyon-juniper habitat, plus really cool natural formations like Montezuma's Well and the petroglyphs at V-Bar-V Ranch. Likely highlights should be Vermillion Flycatcher, Common Blackhawk, Zone-tailed Hawk, Scott's Oriole, Cactus Wren and Black-throated Sparrow.
But both of these habitats, at this time of year, hold serious potential for surprises (example: one of the OCC stops has produced Magnificent Hummingbird and Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher in the past).
So we hope ya'll come! If not this year, maybe the next.
Posted by MadMonk at March 15, 2004 05:44 PM