Subject: [Tweeters] RE AZ Breeding Bird Atlas
Date: Oct 11 16:07:42 2006
From: vogelfreund at comcast.net - vogelfreund at comcast.net
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10/11/06
I went deeper into debt and ordered the Arizona Breeding Bird Atlas, and I got it yesterday. I still haven't begun to seriously read it, but I scanned it. I have to keep reminding myself that it is strictly about breeding birds, since all those migrants and winterers aren't shown (where I saw them).
It's curious that the Blue-throated Hummingbird is only shown as a possble breeder in the Huachucas. When I was there, a pair of them nested under the eaves of a retired doctor's house way up in Ramsey Canyon - every year. And they hung out at a "secret" little waterfall up off of Huachuca Canyon, where they were probly nesting.
The book seems rather weak on subspecies. In the case of the Curve-billed Thrasher, they didn't mention the well marked version of another subspecies in Guadelupe Canyon.
And a female Wild Turkey once scolded me for blocking her access to a water hole in Huachuca Canyon. But the book makes it sound like they weren't there prior to introductions in the 1980's. (I was there 1969-1971).
One of my favorite flycatchers at Fort Huachuca was the Sulfur-bellied Flycatcher. It is shown as a probable breeder. A little more effort could have confirmed that, I think.
Well, so much for my criticising. It sure is a great book for reminiscing!
Phil Hotlen
Bellingham, WA
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