The Magic of Migration

Red-tailed Hawk

Just when it seems like you've run out of birds to find, there are more heading your way!  As each new season approaches, one set of birds leave while another arrives.

Peter Collins searches the skyway for hawks

In Arizona, migration truly begins with Peter Collins' Hawk Watch.  Every March, hundreds of hawks and vultures venture north from their wintering homes in Central America and Mexico.  Peter monitors a riparian area near the artsy village of Tubac each day. It's close to the US/Mexican border and it's a favorite place for the migrating birds to rest after a long day of flight. Hundreds of birders join him each week in the count as they watch Common Black Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks, Gray Hawks, Swainson's Hawks, Zone-tailed Hawks and even one or two random and rare Short-tailed Hawks take flight!  They are often joined by thousands of Black and Turkey Vultures.  For me, this event says, "Spring has arrived."

Snowbirders amass and study hawk photos and flight patterns.  For many, it's their first time watching birds!

I like to join the group at least once a year and watch all the amazing hawks fly over our heads.  I pull my folding chair out from the trunk of my car and monitor the skies.  It's some of the easiest birding I've ever done.  Just sit and watch!

A pair of Common Black Hawks fly over my head.  The Cottonwood trees are in bloom sending cotton looking particles into the air giving it the appearance of snowflakes. 

Soon after the hawks arrive, other birds, like our Western warblers, begin to make their move North into the state of Arizona. 

An Olive Warbler calls

You realize that each season brings with it a new song. 

A male Olive Warbler

Each Spring, I find myself habitually returning to these spaces. Why?  I've seen the birds.  Why must I go and see them again?  And the closest answer I've found is that I quite simply miss them.  They make me happy.  For me, it's a different style of birding for these locations. I walk the trails alone listening for every sound while searching for movement among the vibrantly green new buds on trees and bushes. While I can travel to new lands and find life birds, these birds are different.  They are the ones I know best. My birds.  My friends. 

During a walk at Agua Caliente park, I subconsciously text my friend Kathie. The Lucy's Warblers have arrived and are singing while they are foraging for bugs on the mesquite trees. I forget that this is where I met Kathie for the first time and where I submitted my first ever ebird report.  It seems like so long ago. And I guess it was.  Five years ago, I was a birder nobody:)  Life certainly has changed! 

Lucy's Warbler

After the warblers start to trickle into our mountains and deserts, the shorebirds begin their migration.  Hummingbirds and Orioles all have begun their move.  Then the Tanagers arrive and so on and so forth.  With the arrival of spring migration, the landscape changes and brings with it hope. Renewal. And incredible bird song. I don't know about you, but I find myself having to relearn their calls again!

A Bell's Vireo flies from one tree to the next

From now until the end of May, Arizona birding starts to get exciting.  Which bird are you always happy to see return to your patch?  For my Grandma, it's the Orioles and Hummingbirds.  For me, it's the Nightjar and Owl family.  I love their calls on a hot summer night under the stars.  It's quite a magical experience. Here is a video on Birding Stereotypes created by talented birders Tommy D and Laurence Butler. There are really people like this out in the birding world! I thought it was a joke until I met my first "Hawks Hawks Hawks" guy.  Wow! Until next time......