Tucson Bird Count - Basic Results

Basic Results

The Tucson Bird Count began in spring 2001 and is ongoing. As of summer 2005, the TBC had recorded 192,000 individual birds belonging to 212 distinct species. About 115 of these species are known or suspected to breed in the Tucson area; the remainder are migrants (either to higher latitudes, or to higher elevations in nearby mountain ranges such as the Catalinas) or vagrants.

Because the data are entered directly by participants into the Tucson Bird Count web site, results are publicly available on-line with little delay after observations are made. Among the project's more basic, yet striking results are distribution maps for species in the Tucson area. Many species show strong patterns with respect to development intensity, presence of various habitats, or other factors. For example, the non-native Rock Pigeon, common in urban areas worldwide, is generally restricted to Tucson's urban core. In contrast, Gambel's Quail, a characteristic species of Sonoran Desert upland habitats, shows the inverse pattern, common near Tucson's periphery yet absent from most of the more heavily developed central portion of the city.