IBA Program Resources

Here are the different pages with protocols, data sheets and other information on the various surveys the Arizona IBA program does with the help of dedicated and skilled volunteers.

Pinyon Jay Community Science Project

The Pinyon Jay (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) is an iconic bird of the intermountain west and was once common throughout the Pinyon-Juniper woodlands of northern Arizona and New Mexico, southern Utah, and portions of Nevada and Colorado. This colonial species’ diet is comprised largely of Pinyon Pine nuts and the species can be quite nomadic in pursuit of this favored food. Long term drought, climate change, and habitat conversions have resulted in astonishing Pinyon Jay population declines. From 1967–2015, populations fell by 3.69% annually for an estimated total loss of 83.5%

Learn More:

Northern Arizona Audubon and Audubon Southwest have partnered with Great Basin Bird Observatory to establish a community science survey program for Pinyon Jay and pinyon pine cone crops. Learn more and volunteer by Click Here

How to help:

You don’t have to be an expert birder to help. Sign-up here! Community scientists play a critical role in gathering crucial data on a scale not otherwise possible! Join Audubon in-person or virtually for an orientation to Pinyon Jays and to a simple protocol. We have a spectrum of engagement opportunities from birding in your neighborhood to visiting a pre-defined survey block.

Azure Bluebird at Apache Springs by Jim Dolph

_Azure Bluebird Nest Box Program

Your one-stop location for all things Azure Bluebird. Maps of all the box locations: Google Map of the sites Sonoita Vineyard Kief-Joshua Vineyard Callaghan Vineyard Hannah’s Hill Vineyard Hops + Vines Las Cienegas NCA Apache Springs Ranch (now Boulder Crest Retreat) Harshaw Road Before you go to monitor, check to see if anything has been seen on …

_Elf Owl Surveys of Saguaro National Park

Elf Owl Surveys – Hiking in the Moonlight Tucson Audubon is doing night time hiking surveys to monitor Elf Owls and document all night birds we encounter. Saguaro National Park is coordinating with us for these surveys and a ranger or two may even be joining us. We will be hiking along moonlit trails in …

_Gilded Flicker Surveys Tucson

Gilded Flicker Protocol for Arizona IBA Program – April-May Gilded Flicker is a Continental qualifying species for IBAs for the IBA program. Our main goal is to determine if the new IBAs in the Tucson area qualify for Continental status for this species – that is accomplished by documenting 30 pairs or 90 individuals. Last …

1. Desert Purple Martin Project

Please Help Us Monitor Desert Purple Martins. A Call to Action! Have you ever seen a Purple Martin in Southeast Arizona? These charismatic, large swallows are a beloved and iconic nestbox species in the eastern half of the United States but if you know where to look they can be found here as well. The …

1. IBA Standard Protocol All Bird Survey Info and Forms

Regularly surveyed IBA routes are now only surveyed 4 times a year with an optional 5th survey in winter. All surveys are transects, we are no longer regularly conducting point counts. The following schedule is designed for a mid-elevation area in southern Arizona. There are locations that have a tailored schedule or survey type. If …

1. Winter Grassland Surveys – Chestnut-collared Longspurs

Winter 2020 Survey Results Las Cienegas NCA Global IBA Map of Results – Click Here San Rafael Grasslands Global IBA Map of Results – Click Here Winter Grassland Surveyor Resources AZ IBA Winter Grassland Survey Protocol PDF Download Audio File of Chestnut-collared Longspur winter flock in SE AZ – click to listen, right click to download …

2. Elegant Trogon Surveys of Sky Islands in Southeast Arizona

2024 Elegant Trogon Volunteer Surveys – Surveyor Info There is an abundance of evidence, both anecdotal and scientific, that the ecological influence of tropical Mexico has grown over the last century in Southeastern Arizona. Mammals such as Javalina and White-nosed Coati have both extended their range out the tropics into southern Arizona as part of …

2. Yellow-billed Cuckoo Survey Crew Resource Page 2019

Tucson Audubon is coordinating surveys in three mountain ranges for a total of nine routes. There is a separate effort also happening this summer in SE Arizona coordinated by Nick Beauregard out of NAU with support from USFWS and other partners. See more about this effort here. All information below is for the Tucson Audubon …

4. Lucy’s Warbler Mesquite Tree Foraging Study_2020

As part of Tucson Audubon’s larger Lucy’s Warbler conservation initiative we are investigating mesquite trees in Tucson and southeast Arizona. Tucson Audubon has set out to study how Lucy’s Warblers use native and non-native types of mesquites as a food source. This is part of our larger effort to determine what Lucy’s Warblers need to …

Patagonia Mountains Vista by Matt Griffiths

4. Patagonia Mountains Expedition – April 26-28, 2019

It will be peak spring migration in southeastern AZ and even though it is part of an Important Bird Area, the southern Patagonia Mountains are not high on the radar as a birding destination. The general area has much to offer those who enjoy exploring little known and infrequently visited locations. There are actually very …

Bendire’s Thrasher Volunteer Surveys – Advanced Plot Search Protocol 2016-2017

2017 Information Training Video on 2017 Area Search protocol 2016 Information Bendire’s Thrashers need your help! Data shows this species is in steep decline and Arizona is a large part of their remaining range. Citizen-science volunteer point count surveys are established and we are looking for birders to help us do these surveys. You …

Birds Beyond Borders – Partnership with ReMM and Arizona IBA

Coming Soon

eBird Global Big Day – May 4, 2019

Tucson Audubon and Arizona Important Bird Areas in partnership with Arizona Field Ornithologists are helping out with the upcoming eBird Global Big Day on May 4, 2019. We are coordinating this effort in Pima and Santa Cruz counties to help make sure birders are spread out as much as possible and getting into some under …

Help Monitor Wildlife Areas with eBird

Go Birding in Wildlife Areas for Conservation We need birders to help us monitor Wildlife Areas within Important Bird Areas. It will be very simple, any morning of your choice you go birding and then enter your observations into eBird and share the list with our official eBird account ArizonaIBA – it’s that simple! This …

Lucy’s Warbler Study – nestboxes, nest searching and foraging

Tucson Audubon is launching an initiative to learn more about Lucy’s Warbler nesting needs as well as study how effective different nestbox designs can be for these charismatic warblers. The Lucy’s Warbler (Oreothlypis luciae) is North America’s smallest cavity nesting bird and is a secondary cavity nester. It is intricately tied to mesquite trees (Prosopis …

Map Resources

A collection of maps that are of use and interest to birders in Arizona 1) Birding the Arizona Trail – Locations to go birding while hiking the Arizona Trail with a count of bird species from eBird lists submitted from each area. This map also shows the locations of all Arizona IBAs. Map by Joe …

Winter Trogon Surveys – Sign up for an area to search

For the first time Tucson Audubon and the Arizona IBA program are organizing a winter survey for Elegant Trogons in SE Arizona. These charismatic birds are famously present in lush canyons of this region’s Sky Island mountain ranges during the spring and summer. They are also present in the winter but in smaller numbers and …