Tuesday Bird Walk

Announcements and Ramblings
 

We have a couple of things to talk about this week:

1. Volunteers, Volunteers, Volunteers – needed see below.
2. Great Backyard Bird Count – Friday, February 13, 8 AM – 1 PM. Mary Normandia is leading this bird count to be held at the bird feeders near the Nature Center. We want to encourage people with mobility issues to join us while spending the morning relaxing and counting the birds at the feeders. No walking involved. Come at any time and join the fun. I heard mention of cookies.
3. Owl/Kestrel Nest Box Monitoring – We have partnered with HawkWatch International in putting 7 nest boxes out in the area that will need to be monitored from mid-February through May. Three of the boxes are at the Tubac Community Center, and 4 are in the area between Ron Morriss Park and the Borrow Pit. All are easily accessible. We are looking for volunteers that will be committed to monitoring these nest boxes. There is no climbing involved. Please call, or text, 520-812-6654 and leave a message with your name, email, and phone. We will be training everyone in mid-Feb so sign up as soon as you can.

The Tubac Festival of the Arts is coming in February (4th-8th). The Volunteer Schedule spreadsheet is online and available for signing up. Click here. We need volunteers for 2 shifts per day, 10-1 and 1-4
 

Mark your calendars! For the month of March the Tubac Nature Center booth will be at the Tubac HawkWatch in Ron Morriss Park and the HawkWatch Festival 2026 will be March 13-17, 2026. You can sign up for booth duty during the month of March with the same spreadsheet above or call us at 520-812-6654 and leave a message and we will call you back.
 

Coming in February
 

Speaker Series – February 11, 2 PM - History of the Four North American Deserts - Ed Madej, will review the natural history of the four North American deserts. Click here for more information
 

Great Backyard Bird Count – Friday, February 13, 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM At the bird feeders under the mesquites at the Tubac Community Center.
 

February Habitat Restoration Volunteer Event – February 18, 2026 at 9:00 AM Register here. Meet at Ron Morriss Park.
 

Nature Walk – Saturday, February 21, 2026. Meet at the Nature Center
 

Mikey

Friday, February 13, 8 AM – 1 PMMary Normandia is leading this bird count to be held at the bird feeders near the Nature Center. We want to encourage people with mobility issues to join us while spending the morning relaxing and counting the birds at the feeders. No walking involved. There are picnic tables, bring you own comfortable chair, or even just bird from your car. We will help you park for the best view.Come at any time and join the fun.Tuesday Bird Walk - Ron Morriss Park, Anza Trail—Tubac, Santa Gertrudis Lane, Tubac Nature Center - 27-Jan-26
It was 46 degrees and the wind was picking up making us all feel colder. We had 39 birders, and split into 4 groups, Rob went to Santa Gertrudis Lane, Caroline drove to Ron Morriss Park, Marianne walked bridge road to the trail south and Mikey walked a group to the Golf Resort and back. Numbers were really down going north, but the southern routes seemed to be our regular suspects. Caroline had a Lazuli Bunting, Marianne had a Black-throated Gray Warbler, Rob had the lingering Cassin’s Kingbirds, and Mikey had two hummingbird species with good colorful looks. Yes our species numbers are down, but the river is flowing well to the golf resort, so we hope for a good migration.
 

Rob’s group went down to Santa Gertrudis Lane where we saw a few Cedar Waxwings, Robins and Cardinals. It was muddy on the trail south as the river had come up over the banks from the rains we been having. No Green Kingfisher was seen, no sparrows, no ducks, no warblers. a few Ruby Crowned Kinglets were seen and the highlight was calling a Green Tailed Towhee out of the bushes for some looks. And two Cassin's Kingbirds at the parking area.
 

We had a total of 42 species today. The Trip Report is here: https://ebird.org/tripreport/469346
 

Mikey & RobRon Morriss Park - 27-Jan-26 - 09:19 AM - 1.115 mile(s) - 2 hour(s), 6 minute(s) – Caroline
 

2 White-winged Dove
4 Mourning Dove
3 Anna's Hummingbird
1 Red-tailed Hawk
4 Gila Woodpecker
1 Ladder-backed Woodpecker
1 Black Phoebe
1 Say's Phoebe
1 Vermilion Flycatcher
8 Common Raven
2 Bridled Titmouse
2 Verdin
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 White-breasted Nuthatch (Interior West)
4 Bewick's Wren
2 Phainopepla
1 House Sparrow
5 House Finch
20 Lesser Goldfinch – Estimate
3 Chipping Sparrow
8 Lark Sparrow
18 White-crowned Sparrow
1 Song Sparrow
2 Lincoln's Sparrow
5 Abert's Towhee
2 Orange-crowned Warbler
3 Yellow-rumped Warbler
2 Northern Cardinal
1 Lazuli Bunting Female. – In Borrow Pit
 

Number of Taxa: 29 
Anza Trail--Tubac - 27-Jan-26 - 09:16 AM - 1.065 mile(s) - 2 hour(s), 12 minute(s) – Marianne
 

4 Mexican Duck
2 Inca Dove
2 White-winged Dove
2 Mourning Dove
4 Gila Woodpecker
3 Ladder-backed Woodpecker
4 Northern Flicker
2 Black Phoebe
1 Say's Phoebe
6 Vermilion Flycatcher
4 Common Raven
3 Bridled Titmouse
2 Verdin
4 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
6 White-breasted Nuthatch
6 Bewick's Wren
1 Hermit Thrush
2 Phainopepla
1 House Sparrow
6 House Finch
6 Lesser Goldfinch
3 Lark Sparrow
4 White-crowned Sparrow
7 Abert's Towhee
2 Yellow-rumped Warbler
1 Black-throated Gray Warbler
2 Northern Cardinal
 

Number of Taxa: 27
Santa Gertrudis Lane (foot access only) - 27-Jan-26 - 09:22 AM - 0.581 mile(s) - 1 hour(s), 42 minute(s) – Rob
 

2 Mallard
1 Eurasian Collared-Dove
1 White-winged Dove
2 Gila Woodpecker
4 Ladder-backed Woodpecker
1 Vermilion Flycatcher
2 Cassin's Kingbird
2 Common Raven
5 Bridled Titmouse
2 Verdin
7 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
4 White-breasted Nuthatch
6 Bewick's Wren
1 Northern Mockingbird
1 Hermit Thrush
4 American Robin
9 Cedar Waxwing
8 House Finch
13 Lesser Goldfinch
2 Song Sparrow
2 Abert's Towhee
1 Green-tailed Towhee
3 Yellow-rumped Warbler
4 Northern Cardinal
 

Number of Taxa: 24
Tubac Nature Center - 27-Jan-26 - 09:02 AM - 0.603 mile(s) - 2 hour(s), 2 minute(s) – Mikey
 

2 White-winged Dove
1 Anna's Hummingbird
1 Broad-billed Hummingbird
1 Gila Woodpecker
2 Ladder-backed Woodpecker
2 Black Phoebe
2 Vermilion Flycatcher
2 Common Raven
2 White-breasted Nuthatch
4 Phainopepla
2 House Finch
4 Lesser Goldfinch
4 White-crowned Sparrow
2 Song Sparrow
2 Yellow-rumped Warbler
4 Northern Cardinal
 

Number of Taxa: 16
TUBAC NATURE CENTER JOURNAL - ACT LOCALLY PART IV
 

In May 2024 Eddie and I rented a house for a month at Prime Hook on Delaware Bay in the State of Delaware, just north of Lewes, DE, where the ferry travels between Lewes and Cape May, New Jersey. The reason was that we had never spent much time in Delaware, it was on the water with the Bay and the Atlantic Ocean in spitting distance, and naturally it was a good birding area. In the New York Times article about “acting locally” Delaware reported an interesting set of projects. Like most waterfront communities Prime Hook, Lewes, and others in Delaware were experiencing rapid erosion of their waterfront land as the ocean levels began to rise and the waves pounded the shoreline. One type of solution is to build traditional rigid structures, like concrete walls, steel bulkheads, and the like. Unfortunately, over time these structures weaken and need to be replaced.
 

Scientists have found that living shorelines can outperform these rigid structures, and can repair themselves. Along the Delaware Coast groups of citizens from state agencies, nonprofit organizations, universities, and landowners formed committees to develop plans for a living shoreline. That would require a permeable buffer, where water could pass through, but allow sediments to filter out with the slowing of the water. The sediments build up over time forming areas for plant growth, which form barriers to erosion. To form the permeable buffer they used netted bags of oyster shells discarded by restaurants, logs, dead tree branches, coconut husks, and other natural materials.
 

Could this approach be used to address the problem of the deteriorating forest along the river east of Tubac? The old cottonwood trees are dying, new cottonwoods are not replacing them, and the river channel continues to deepen. One of the exciting things to do in the Fall when the Anza Trail dried out was to see where the most recent monsoon season had re-located the shallow river channel(s). Today as the river channel deepens, in some places to 8 feet, the water speeds through our area doing less and less good for the surrounding forest and wildlife habitat. We do not have the benefit of oyster shells and coconut husks, but are there other natural materials available to us? The forest is strewn with dead cottonwood logs and other vegetative debris, and we have our share of large rocks. Could these materials, and others I am not clever enough to come up with, be used in the channel to slow the water? Why are we not talking about this as a community? We need to recapture our meandering healthy river and forest!
 

Jim Karp
Tubac Nature Center
January 27, 2026
 

[Editor’s Note] – The Nature Center has produced a Restoration Plan for the riparian area in Tubac jointly with Tucson Bird Alliance that incorporates some of the ideas presented by Jim. The plan is on our website, Click Here. The project was supported by a grant from SCVNHA.Membership in the Tubac Nature Center is on a calendar year basis.
We are always looking to expand our activities and we ask you to join the
Tubac Nature Center by going to our MEMBERSHIP PAGE.
Your support is greatly appreciated.Copyright © 2026 Tubac Nature Center, All rights reserved.

Hi All

We had about 40 people show up for the walk and 18 of them came with me for a walk from the bridge around the park. Caroline took a group to Santa Gertrudis Lane, and Marianne walked to the Golf Resort and back. We had a distant look at a Northern Harrier fly across the river and get up pretty high. We had a few more sparrows this week. Lincoln, White-crowned, Song, and Lark Sparrows. A Red-tailed Hawk was working the neighborhood looking for something to eat. I had two Great Horned Owls hooting in my backyard this morning but not on the walk. On Sunday I was over at Whitewater Draw and had about 500 Yellow-headed Blackbirds going into and out of the cattails. A Cooper's Hawk went after the Blackbirds but would not fly into the flock, so it ended up with nothing to eat. It was an amazing sight to see this interaction with the hawk. 

Caroline’s group had one sighting of a Painted Redstart so that will be the Bird of the Day.

We had a total of 42 species today. The Trip Report is here: https://ebird.org/tripreport/466683

Thanks

Rob Rutledge

Tubac Golf Resort Trail, Arizona, US (31.616, -111.043) - 20-Jan-26 - 09:13 AM - 0.578 mile(s) - 1 hour(s), 28 minute(s) – Marianne

14 American Wigeon

4 Mallard

2 Mourning Dove

2 Anna's Hummingbird

1 Broad-billed Hummingbird

4 Gila Woodpecker

2 Ladder-backed Woodpecker

2 Black Phoebe

3 Vermilion Flycatcher

2 Common Raven

1 Verdin

1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet

4 White-breasted Nuthatch

2 Bewick's Wren

3 Western Bluebird

12 Cedar Waxwing

7 Phainopepla

5 House Finch

9 Lesser Goldfinch

1 White-crowned Sparrow

1 Abert's Towhee

3 Yellow-rumped Warbler

Number of Taxa: 22 

Santa Gertrudis Lane (foot access only) - 20-Jan-26 - 09:19 AM - 0.459 mile(s) - 1 hour(s), 42 minute(s) – Caroline

2 Mallard 

1 White-winged Dove 

1 Broad-billed Hummingbird 

2 Gila Woodpecker 

2 Ladder-backed Woodpecker – 1M 1F

1 Black Phoebe 

1 Vermilion Flycatcher 

2 Cassin's Kingbird 

1 Hutton's Vireo (Interior) 

1 Cassin's Vireo 

8 Common Raven 

5 Bridled Titmouse 

4 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 

2 White-breasted Nuthatch (Interior West) 

3 Bewick's Wren (mexicanus Group) 

2 House Finch 

10 Lesser Goldfinch – Conservative estimate

3 Song Sparrow (fallax Group) 

4 Abert's Towhee 

1 Orange-crowned Warbler 

3 Yellow-rumped Warbler 

4 Black-throated Gray Warbler 

1 Painted Redstart – Seen by Tim

4 Northern Cardinal

Number of Taxa: 24  

Ron Morriss Park - 20-Jan-26 - 09:15 AM - 1.242 mile(s) - 1 hour(s), 59 minute(s) – Rob

2 Mexican Duck

3 White-winged Dove

3 Mourning Dove

1 Anna's Hummingbird

1 Broad-billed Hummingbird

1 Sora

1 Northern Harrier

1 Red-tailed Hawk

2 Gila Woodpecker

1 Ladder-backed Woodpecker

1 Northern Flicker

3 Black Phoebe

2 Say's Phoebe

1 Vermilion Flycatcher

7 Common Raven

4 Bridled Titmouse

2 Verdin

4 Ruby-crowned Kinglet

2 White-breasted Nuthatch

2 Bewick's Wren

2 European Starling

7 Western Bluebird

10 House Finch

18 Lesser Goldfinch

17 Lark Sparrow

7 White-crowned Sparrow

3 Song Sparrow

2 Lincoln's Sparrow

5 Abert's Towhee

4 Yellow-rumped Warbler

2 Northern Cardinal

1 Lazuli Bunting

Number of Taxa: 32 Ron Morriss Park, Santa Gertrudis Lane - 6-Jan-26

Hi All

We had a nice weather day to start off the new year. The number of birds still seems down, very few sparrows to be found. We had a total of 29 birders and broke into groups. Caroline went down to Ron Morriss Park and her bird of the day was a Wilson's Warbler. I took my group down to Santa Gertrudis Lane where we had some nice groups of Warblers, Kinglets and Vireos. We had Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray and Orange-crowned Warblers. Cassin's and Hutton's Vireos. Lots of Cedar Waxwings. We had many Ruby-crowned Kinglets but no Golden-crowned Kinglets. We had one little Blue Gray Gnatcatcher working very hard for breakfast. On a side note Judy Ellyson and I saw almost 200 Mountain Bluebirds last Saturday on a Christmas Count just south west of Arivaca. And a nice Golden Eagle as well. Good start for the new year.

We had a total of 37 species today. The Trip Report is here: https://ebird.org/tripreport/460777

Thanks

Rob Rutledge

Green Valley, AZ

_______________________________________

Ron Morriss Park - 6-Jan-26 - 09:14 AM - 0.796 mile(s) - 1 hour(s), 44 minute(s) - Caroline

2 Mallard 

7 White-winged Dove 

3 Anna's Hummingbird 

1 Red-tailed Hawk 

2 Gila Woodpecker 

2 Ladder-backed Woodpecker 

2 Northern Flicker 

2 Black Phoebe 

1 Say's Phoebe 

4 Vermilion Flycatcher 

1 Cassin's Kingbird 

3 Common Raven 

2 Bridled Titmouse 

1 Verdin 

1 White-breasted Nuthatch 

2 Bewick's Wren 

7 Western Bluebird 

1 American Robin 

16 House Finch 

2 Lesser Goldfinch 

13 Lark Sparrow 

22 White-crowned Sparrow 

2 Song Sparrow 

2 Abert's Towhee 

1 Great-tailed Grackle 

1 Orange-crowned Warbler 

1 Yellow-rumped Warbler 

1 Wilson's Warbler - My bird of the day. It was at the log jam.

2 Northern Cardinal

Number of Taxa: 29  

Santa Gertrudis Lane (foot access only) - 6-Jan-26 - 09:17 AM - 0.578 mile(s) - 1 hour(s), 39 minute(s) - Rob

5 Gila Woodpecker

3 Ladder-backed Woodpecker

5 Northern Flicker

1 Black Phoebe

1 Vermilion Flycatcher

2 Hutton's Vireo

2 Cassin's Vireo

8 Common Raven

5 Bridled Titmouse

3 Verdin

12 Ruby-crowned Kinglet

4 White-breasted Nuthatch

1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

1 Northern House Wren

3 Bewick's Wren

1 Hermit Thrush

1 American Robin

23 Cedar Waxwing

13 House Finch

9 Lesser Goldfinch

8 White-crowned Sparrow

3 Song Sparrow

3 Orange-crowned Warbler

5 Yellow-rumped Warbler

4 Black-throated Gray Warbler

6 Northern Cardinal

Number of Taxa: 26 

______________________________________
 

A couple of weeks ago, Jim mentioned in the Journal how the river through Tubac has scoured a deep channel instead of meandering. This is an important concern to the Nature Center and the problem is discussed in our Riparian Restoration Plan that was developed by Tucson Bird Alliance under our SCVNHA grant. Take a look at some of the ideas that they proposed, and see what might be in store in the future. The plan is on our website. Link to the plan
 

Coming in January
Family Walk – January 8, 9 AM – Nature Bingo
Speaker Series – January 21, 2 PM - Gardening for Wildlife on a Budget - Carianne Funicelli
 

January Habitat Restoration Volunteer Event – January 21, 2026 at 9:00 AM Register here. Meet at Ron Morriss Park.
 

Mikey

Tuesday Bird Walk – Santa Gertrudis Lane (foot access only) - 23-Dec-25
 

Hi All
 

We had 23 people show up; the rest of you had gone home for Christmas. We broke into two groups, but essentially covered the same area. It was 55 degrees when we started the walk today. That's very warm for the week of Christmas. We had some birds today, many Cedar Waxwings, over 40 in a big flock hitting the berries down at Santa Gertrudis Lane. The big draw was for the little Golden-crowned Kinglet, which only a few people got to see. We had several nice groups of warblers, Yellow-rumped, Orange-crowned and Black-throated Gray. Lots of Ruby-crowned Kinglets, they were everywhere. I hope you all have many holiday birds wherever you are.
 

We had a total of 26 species today. The Trip Report is here: https://ebird.org/tripreport/450464
 

Thanks
Rob Rutledge
Green Valley, AZSanta Gertrudis Lane (foot access only) - 23-Dec-25 - 09:14 AM - 0.574 mile(s) - 2 hour(s), 25 minute(s) – Rob
 

1 Cooper's Hawk
1 Red-naped Sapsucker
1 Gila Woodpecker
2 Black Phoebe
2 Vermilion Flycatcher
1 Cassin's Kingbird
1 Plumbeous Vireo
7 Common Raven
6 Bridled Titmouse
1 Verdin
9 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 Golden-crowned Kinglet – Continuing
2 White-breasted Nuthatch
5 Bewick's Wren
1 Hermit Thrush
10 American Robin
43 Cedar Waxwing
7 Chipping Sparrow
7 White-crowned Sparrow
4 Abert's Towhee
2 Green-tailed Towhee
5 Orange-crowned Warbler
12 Yellow-rumped Warbler
5 Black-throated Gray Warbler
3 Northern Cardinal
 

Number of Taxa: 25 
Santa Gertrudis Lane (foot access only) - 23-Dec-25 - 09:15 AM - 0.395 mile(s) - 1 hour(s), 48 minute(s) – Caroline
 

3 Gila Woodpecker
2 Ladder-backed Woodpecker
1 Black Phoebe
1 Vermilion Flycatcher
1 Cassin's Kingbird
1 Plumbeous Vireo
7 Common Raven
2 Bridled Titmouse
1 Verdin
7 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 Golden-crowned Kinglet – Brief view and heard the call. Tiny with stripes on head.
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
2 Bewick's Wren
1 Hermit Thrush
30 Cedar Waxwing Estimate
1 Chipping Sparrow
3 White-crowned Sparrow
1 Abert's Towhee
4 Orange-crowned Warbler
8 Yellow-rumped Warbler
1 Black-throated Gray Warbler
1 Northern Cardinal
 

Number of Taxa: 22