Mad AZ Monk

Verde Valley Birding Festival, Part IV

Last day of the Verde Valley Birding & Nature Festival. I led the beginner's walk through Dead Horse Ranch State Park. Having done it only once before, last year, I got a little turned around. But it turned out to be a happy accident, cuz I turned up some birds my folks hadn't seen before: Lark Sparrow, Green-tailed Towhee, and Brewer's Sparrow. The two highlights were a female Anna's Hummingbird on her tiny nest right next to the trail and a thermal lofting up a Common Black-hawk, Red-tailed Hawk and Cooper's Hawk in close proximity.

The festival was a big hit, with 171 species tallied by the time I left. This is compared with the dismal 150 from last year. And even so, there were some birds that were, astoundingly, completely missing, including MacGillivray's, Wilson's, Townsend's and Red-faced Warbler, Hermit Thrush, and Cassin's Vireo. With all our stars lined up, we could approach 200.

Now, it's time to tune up for the May 8 Bird-a-thon. The team I'm on, the Raven Lunatics, is seeking another win and to beat our total species count from last year, 127.