CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT IN ARIZONA

When we lived in Twin Falls, we participated in many Audubon Christmas Bird Counts. When we moved to Arizona we joined the Tucson Audubon and because of this we were invited to join in this year's bird count. Our territory for the bird count was Madera Canyon, right in our own back yard. Now, here's the thing - December Christmas Bird Counts in Idaho are COLD! So here we are in Arizona and I was so looking forward to doing a bird count in the WARM. We arrived at the meeting spot at 8 a.m. this morning (December 28) and below is what greeted us.

Yes, that is snow!!!!! Ugh!!!! I don't know the exact temperature, and I'm sure it's not as cold as it is in Idaho today, but really isn't it suppose to be warm here?

Below the group gets instructions before heading off to count birds.

These two women were assigned to help Bob and I count birds. They were from Montreal, Canada, and they were very good birders. As you can see we are bundled up. Even Bob had on long pants and a jacket!

Below is a patch of snow. Okay, there wasn't a lot of snow as far down the mountain as we were, but snow never-the-less.

Bob even made a snowball! The birds today were smarter than we were and slept in because the bird count was very low. We only had 15 different species. That is the smallest amount we have ever had in Madera Canyon. Tonight we attended the dinner which was held at Kristopher's in Amado. Those who participated in the Green Valley Christmas Bird Count came and gave their totals. The total count was 148 species. We look forward to doing the CBC again next year, and we hope the weather will be a little warmer!