After 18 months of preparation, the time for my 2025 adventure has finally arrived – and in typical “me” fashion kicked it off with a “Big Day”.
I met Timothy Burkhardt at his house on the morning of the first to join him for his traditional Pima county (AZ) Big Day, with our goal being to end the day with around 110 species. He welcomed me into his house and offered me some coffee as we watched his feeders and waiting for dawn to fully arrive. As we waited a his feeders seventeen different species game in, including my first four Lifers of the day in Abert’s Towhee, Gila Woodpecker, Anna’s Hummingbird, and Gambel’s Quail.
Once the sun had sufficiently arisen, we hit the road to begin the route Tim had planned for the day – and before we even made it out of his neighborhood I snagged another lifer: Gilded Flicker. From there the birds piled up as we rapidly climbed out way towards the 100-mark, with me picking up another bunch of Lifers including a stunning Costa’s Hummingbird. Eventually we made it to one of the most incredible urban parks I have ever seen: Sweetwater Wetlands. Sweetwater was abound with ducks, warblers, swallows, and shorebirds – many of which, including Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Chestnut-sided Warbler, and Yellow Warbler, were either seasonally rare or just generally uncommon for Arizona.
Upon leaving Sweetwater we headed to a nearby gated community to view the ponds there, and at The Lakes at Castle Rock we came across a very special bird – Barrow’s Goldeneye. While the Common Goldeneye we also saw there are themselves pretty rare in Pima county, Barrow’s are exceptionally so with there only previously having been one record of them in Pima, and so this Barrow’s was Tim’s 415th (WOW!) bird in the county!
From there we continued on until we found ourselves at another incredible spot, Madera Canyon, where we picked up two of my biggest highlight birds of the day. First, as we birded our way the Madera Canyon Picnic Area, we spotted a Painted Redstart. I have seen many American Redstarts in my time in Michigan, but even after just one encounter I have to say that the Painted variety has to be my favorite of the Redstarts and among my favorite warblers. Then, a few minutes later, we spotted a group of Acorn Woodpeckers flying along the road, and so we hopped back in our car and followed them into Santa Cruz county to the Madera Canyon Santa Rita Lodge, where we got incredible looks at them. I didn’t ever think there would be a woodpecker that could reasonable top Black-backed Woodpecker as my favorite woodpecker, but the half-dozen Acorn Woodpeckers I watched feeding on the suet log at the Santa Rita Lodge feeders certainly are forcing me to reconsider that. Also while watching the feeders I picked up three lifers in the span of about five seconds as first a Rivolli’s Hummingbird came in to the hummingbird feeder, then a Hepatic Tanager landed on one of the feeders and a pair of Yellow-eyed Junco started hopping around just a few feet from where Tim and I were standing.
We made one more stop before it got dark, picking up a few new ducks at the Amado Wastewater Treatment Plant, including Lesser Scaup, Greater Scaup, Hooded Merganser, and Red-breasted Merganser, plus a Black-crowned Night Heron. We then headed back to Tim’s house and parted ways, having tallied 106 species in Pima county plus another 6 while at the Santa Cruz Lodge, bringing us to an incredible 112 species on just January 1st! Included in those 112 were 23 Lifers for me, the most I have ever had in a single day since I started birding in 2018 with the sole exception of my first full day of birding in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in 2023. After leaving Tim’s house I headed east towards the Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area, where I would be spending the night and meeting Ken Blankenship in the morning. As I settled in for the night I snagged my final two birds of the day – Chihuahuan Raven and Sandhill Crane, bringing me to 114.
I awoke early on the second to the ever-loudening sound of Sandhill Cranes calling, and decided to get up go for a short walk before Ken arrived at 7:30. After getting out of my bed in the back of my Crosstrek I headed towards the sound that had awoken me to find one of the largest flocks of cranes I have ever seen. At least 10,000 Sandhill Cranes stood in the field alongside a large flock of Snow Goose, plus a variety of other birds new for me in Arizona including Ross’s Goose and Northern Pintail. Before I knew it 7:30 had nearly arrived and Ken had pulled into the parking lot.
This was my first time meeting Ken, the owner and lead guide of East West Birding Tours, though we had been in contact via social media and Ken had generously offered me his services as a guide and provided me with boatloads of intel that I would use the following day in the Chiricahuas. Immediately after meeting him I was impressed both by his skills as a birder (including his exceptional skill of birding-by-ear) as well as his ability as a guide; getting someone on a bird and describing exactly what to look for in order for them to ID it is an incredible skill that definitely doesn’t just go hand-in-hand with being a good birder. At Whitewater we picked up my Lifer Chihuahuan Meadowlark, and then we continued on birding by car as we searched the desert for several of my remaining targets.
With Ken’s expert knowledge of the area it didn’t take long to track down the first of those targets, as we spotted several large flocks of Lark Bunting while successfully searching for a Sagebrush Sparrow. Soon after the Sagebrush Sparrow we managed to track down a pair of Bendire’s Thrasher. After getting the thrasher we headed towards a nearby pond to try to pick up a continuing Eurasian Wigeon, spotting Ferruginous Hawk, Prairie Falcon, and a prairie subspecies of Merlin along the way.
Soon we arrived at the Faria Dairy ponds, where we successfully located the aforementioned Eurasian Wigeon mixed in with large flock of American Wigeon. From there we headed to some nearby farm fields to search for flocks of longspurs. Before spotting any longspurs, however, Ken spotted a pair of Mountain Plover, a Lifer for me and a bird that Ken said was one he had only seen a handful of times in his life. Not long after we came across a massive flock of Horned Lark, and amongst that flock we spotted several dozen Chestnut-collared Longspur. From there Ken and I parted ways, but before doing so Ken gave me an incredible amount of intel on birding the Chiricahua Mountains, including suggestions on where I could try for various owl species as well as pins and directions for where to search for about a dozen other species.
Before heading into the mountains, though, I headed to Lake Cochise in Willcox, where I managed to track down an assortment of other new birds for Arizona, including Northern Cardinal and my Lifer Thick-billed Longspur with another flock of Chestnut-collared Longspurs. Eventually I moved on and headed to Pinery Canyon, where I birded my way up the mountain to where I would be spending the night, picking a few Lifers in White-throated Swift and Bushtit on the way. Once it got dark I headed back down the mountain to do some owling, and while I was optimistic I could track down at least one or two of my four possible lifer species, I was totally unprepared for the incredible success I would have. First, a few miles down the mountain from my camp site, I heard a pair of Western Screech-Owl, which I would pick up a total of four of as I worked my way up the mountain. A mile or so closer to my camp site I came across two Whiskered Screech-Owl, making it two Lifer owls in just a few minutes. Once I got back to my camp site I heard what I thought could be a Northern Saw-whet Owl, which wasn’t a Lifer but was an exceptional bird so I headed up the mountain to a spot where I got cell service to send the recording to Ken and others in hopes someone would confirm my suspicion – and after a short wait the confirmation came in. I then excitedly headed back to the camp site to settle in for the night, but as I got ready to settle in I snagged another Lifer when a pair of local Spotted Owl called back and forth to one another.
The next morning I worked my way down the east side of the mountains, snagging Mexican Chickadee, Pygmy Nuthatch, Hutton’s Vireo, and Steller’s Jay (all Lifers) as I worked my way to the George Walker House in Paradise, where the property’s keeper Winston gave me an incredibly helpful map that contained the locations off all of the area’s publicly accessible feeders. As I continued my way down the mountain and into the famous (in the birding world, at least) town of Portal I snagged a bunch more new birds and Lifers including Canyon Towhee, Blue-throated Mountain-gem, Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay, and Crissal Thrasher. I didn’t snag every bird I was searching for, though, dipping most notably on Cassin’s Finch, Elegant Trogon, and Rufous-backed Robin (which was being seen just across the state line into New Mexico in the town of Rodeo). Over the course of the first three days in southeast Arizona I had racked up an astonishing 154 species including 44 Lifers, and now I headed back northwest through Tucson towards Phoenix, where I would meet up with Gordon Karre on the 4th for a day of birding around the Phoenix area.
Gordon and I met around 7:30 on the 3rd at the Tempe AZ Kiwanis Park, one of the most reliable locations for Rosy-faced Lovebirds, a naturalized species countable only in the Phoenix area. We also picked up a selection of birds new for me in Arizona, including Neotropic Cormorant and Osprey. From there we headed to another incredible urban park in the same fashion as Tucson’s Sweetwater, the Riparian Preserve at Gilbert Water Ranch, where I was stunned by the incredible numbers of Anna’s Hummingbirds buzzing around. It was nearly impossible to get an accurate count on the hummingbirds, but I wouldn’t be shocked if upwards of 60-80 of them filled the park. Also at the Water Ranch were a host of great birds including Snowy Egret, Long-billed Dowitcher, American Avocet, Black-necked Stilt, and American White Pelican. Eventually we moved on and headed north towards Saguaro Lake, picking up Turkey Vulture and Black Vulture flying near a well-known roost they have in the city.
At Saguaro Lake we dipped on the continuing Red-throated Loon, but we tracked down my Lifer Rock Wren, Western Grebe, and Clark’s Grebe. We then continued a bit farther north to the Sycamore Creek along the Beeline Highway, where Gordon managed to connect me with my Lifer Green-tailed Towhee. After this we parted ways and I headed north towards the town of Payson, where I managed to track down Bald Eagle and Cedar Waxwing for my Arizona list, as well as my Lifer Juniper Titmouse, bringing me to my final of 173 species for Arizona and a staggering 50 Lifers in just four days of hardcore birding.
At this point I began the long drive east towards Albuquerque New Mexico, where I would be spending the next several days with family as my parents, three brothers, and I got together for the first time in years. The 5th would be a day of limited birding, but I did still manage to pick up 42 species on the day thanks to visits to the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park and the Albuquerque BioPark Tingley Lagoon, the latter of which gave me the closest views of Northern Pintail I can ever imagine having. In general I will never cease to be fascinated by the ducks that have acclimated to urban parks and seem totally unbothered by human presence, casually swimming within feet of dozens of people.
The next few days, especially the 6th, will continue to be a bit more limited in terms of birding as there is a focus on spending time with family, but over the course of Week Two I will hopefully manage to get to 100 species in New Mexico as well as kick off Texas with a day of birding in the El Paso area. Hopefully the second week manages to be as spectacular as the first, as so far this journey has been nothing short of spectacular. I am forced to remind myself that few places have the incredible variety that is boasted by southeast Arizona, but I am still looking forward to the coming weeks as I will head to Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida over the course of January.
eBird Trip Summary:
First and foremost - thank you to anyone who chooses to support me in this insane adventure of mine. When I initially had this idea and began planning I didn't even consider the possibility that others would want to support me, but I am extremely grateful to those who have reached out to do so. For those who are interested in supporting me, I have set up a Patreon, which can be accessed by clicking the logo to the left (or you can send me a message via the contact page). Again, thank you for your incredibly generous support!
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Follow me on my journey to see 100 species in every Lower-48 State during 2025, experience some of the incredible places and events in American birding, and meet and bird with as many local birders as possible along the way.
Posts will be made every Wednesday at 5pm EST and will cover the previous Monday through Sunday. Additional posts will be made periodically with no set schedule.
