GLOBAL BIG DAY IN ARIZONA: May 13, 2023

The results of the Global Big Day in Arizona (formerly North American Migration Count in Arizona) are presented here by Arizona Field Ornithologists, and is supported by local Audubon Societies, local bird clubs, and other interested organizations. For 12 years, we coordinated the NAMC in Arizona and compiled the data county by county on the AZFO's website. It was a great day for birders to get together collectively and have a good time. Since 2016, we've merged our experience into eBird's Global Big Day, which has built on what we have accomplished and provided a new opportunity to expand what we have achieved by making our statewide count part of a broader national, even international, effort.

OUR GOAL:

• Obtain a “snapshot” of the progress and “shape” of spring migration.

• Gather information on the abundance and distribution of each species.

• Get individuals or teams to locations not regularly birded.

• Create challenges and goals among birders while collecting useful data.

• Add to the national and international totals for eBird’s Global Big Day.

• HAVE FUN!

AREA OF COUNT: The count area is the boundaries of a county. It is desirable to get as much of each county surveyed as resources permit.

COORDINATION: The state coordinator is responsible for trying to get coordinators for every county and giving assistance as needed. County coordinators will attempt to organize teams so at least one person enters the data into eBird. County coordinators recruit participants, frequently through the local Audubon chapter or other bird clubs, and assign teams to areas within the county. The Arizona state coordinator is Doug Jenness. Direct all questions, concerns, and suggestions to him (dougjennessATgmail.com).

LOGISTICS OF THE COUNT: The county coordinator assigns teams so that there is no overlap between sections, and the sections should cover as much of the county as permitted by the number of volunteers. Some teams will begin before dawn and will finish at dusk. Other teams will contribute fewer hours to the count. The county coordinator needs to adjust the size of a sector to meet the contribution of each team.

There may be teams that spend part of the count day on a feeder watch and others that may count from a stationary point. It’s important that roving teams do not double count; and count tallies for feeder watch/stationary counts should be reported separately.

Teams can be of any size; so county coordinators can subdivide their volunteers to maximize the area covered by the count. It is beneficial to have at least one experienced birder in each team.

UNUSUAL BIRD REPORTS: It is important to document, in detail, unusual birds that are seen during the count. Unusual birds are those that are not normally found in the count area, i.e. vagrants, out-of-season or irruptive species, high counts, etc. These will be reviewed by eBird's county reviewers.