About the book

This guide is for visitors and residents alike.

• Birding Spots -Descriptions and maps direct birders to 82 birding spots in and around Phoenix as well as to far-reaching areas of the county.
• Species accounts and bar graphs – The species accounts and bar graphs aid birders in determining status, abundance, seasonal occurrence, and habitat preference for 459 species (see updates below) that have been recorded in the County.
• Habitats – A 17-page chapter on habitats found in the county includes full-color photographs and two maps depicting elevation and habitat.
• Changes – A chapter discusses changes in the status of birds and their habitats in the county since the second edition. Twenty-seven color photos document some of the 33 birds new to the county since 1997.

Book Review

This book received a glowing review in Western Birds vol. 52(3), the Quarterly Journal of Western Field Ornithologists.

“Maricopa Audubon is to be congratulated to have published such a fine book and guide that describes its area so well in terms of the birds, the landscape the birds live in, and how the avian life of the area has fared in the unparalleled urban/suburban growth that Maricopa County has become. This publication was an act of love for those who volunteered to work on it and their devotion shines through on every page.” -Catherine Waters

See full review here.

Updates

Page 34

10. Veterans Oasis Park: the last line in this section directs you to Zanjero Park where Burrowing Owls had been relocated. It was reported in January 2021 that all the owls have been relocated to Wild At Heart wildlife rehabilitation due to pressures from development.

Page 37

16. Apache Trail (SR 88) Closures: due to damage from the Woodbury Fire (June-July 2019) and subsequent flooding from Tropical Storm Lorena (September 23, 2019), sections of State Route 88 (Apache Trail) are closed. As of September 2024, ADOT has reopened SR 88 from Fish Creek Vista (milepost 222) to milepost 227 near Reavis Trailhead Road to high clearance, four-wheel drive, and utility terrain vehicles.

For more information, please visit the ADOT website.

Page 65

9. “Thrasher Spot” at Baseline Road/Salome Highway: As of winter 2024, this rare habitat has been converted to a solar array construction site.

New species:

Since the third edition was published in late 2017, six species have been added:

• #460 Arctic Tern, 10 July, 2074, Painted Rock Dam, photo by Bob Witzeman, originally misidentified as Forster’s Tern, corrected by Dave Stejskal and accepted in 2023.
• #461 Pacific Golden Plover, 11 September 2011, Glendale Recharge Pond, Melanie Herring (record accepted after publication).
• #462 White-rumped Sandpiper, 3 July 2018, Gilbert Water Ranch, photo Sean Fitzgerald.
• #463 adult male Ruby-throated Hummingbird, 12 July 2018, Hassayampa River Preserve, photo Robert Bowker.
• #464 Mexican Duck, given full species status (again) by the American Ornithological Society in June 2020.
• #465 Chimney Swift, 17 September 2020, Buckeye, photo Caleb Strand.
• #466 Jacana, found by Marceline VanderWater 14 December 2021 on the Fort McDowell Indian Nation.
• #467 Fan-tailed Warbler, 13 November 2022, Granite Reef Recreation Area, photo Torin Waters.
• #468 Great-crested Flycatcher, found by Dale Clark 23 September 2023 at Riggs and Price Roads ponds in Chandler. Last seen 24 September 2023.
• #469 Curlew Sandpiper, found by Pierre Deviche 20 July 2024 at Paloma Ranch. Last seen 27 July 2024. Photo by Pierre Deviche.
• #470 Short-tailed Hawk, was first photographed 13 August 2024 on Mt. Ord by Rob Bowker off of FR 1688 (take FR 626. Turn right onto FR 1688 when you start seeing pine trees). It was next observed and photographed by a few other observers on 15 August, but not subsequently observed there. Pierre Deviche photographed it soaring over Sycamore Creek just north of Sunflower on 31 August 2024. Some reported it as an adult, but based on the patchy buffy coloration below and on the underwings, it could be a 2nd-year individual molting into adult plumage. 

Other updates:

p. 162 Barn Swallow

Sightings of nesting Barn Swallows means that nesting is no longer rare in Maricopa County. They include numerous sightings of barn swallows flying under CAP bridges throughout the greater Phoenix area by Walter Thurber, Don Witter, and Tom Gatz in June and July 2020. Dale Clark reported three circling at Riggs and Price Roads ponds in Chandler on 18 July 2020, and Dave Pearson reported them on the Gila River Indian Community as well as southwest of Phoenix.