Written by Tom Brown and reprinted by permission of the Tucson Audubon Society
I thought it might be a good time for an update on how the Paton Center’s Haikubox is performing. Officially, we have recorded 122 different species in the yard. As you might remember, we had a few “suspicious “ recordings, like our Osprey-sounding Arizona gray squirrel. Recently, seven Gilded Flicker calls were recorded, all about the time our first Northern Flickers started showing up. We are also missing a bird or two, like our Violet-crowned Hummingbird, which has not yet been captured on the Haikubox. At this point, the all-time leader in voice recordings is the Lesser Goldfinch, which just recently broke 29,000.
Photo by Tom Brown – Lesser Goldfinch
The Anna’s Hummingbird is catching up quickly as large numbers are migrating into the region. These noisy hummingbirds are sitting at 22,601 recordings, with the first real uptick in recordings not getting started until the first week of September.
Photo by Tom Brown – Anna’s Hummingbird
Rounding out the top ten will come as no surprise to visitors to the Paton Center: Gila Woodpecker (12,939), Song Sparrow (12,069), Inca Dove (6736), House Finch (4678), Curve-billed Thrasher (3276), Northern Cardinal (2643), Cassin’s Kingbird (2609), and Abert’s Towhee (2565).
Please stop by for a visit if you are interested in the HaikuBox and how it is being used here at the Paton Center for Hummingbirds. Check it out now at Sounds from the Paton Center