Upper Verde River Important Bird Area (IBA)
Summary of 2024 Survey Results 

Prescott Audubon conducts surveys along the Upper Verde River near Paulden in order to help this beautiful riparian corridor retain its designation as an Important Bird Area. Three surveys during spring and fall document usage of the area by migrating birds and the Chino Valley Christmas Bird Count in December records wintering birds.
This section of the Upper Verde River continues to evolve. Beavers are returning after a long absence. Surveyors noticed new dams this year, some in new areas and one in a location where a previous dam washed away several years ago. Cattails have expanded on all transects and more Virginia Rails and Soras are being detected. The spring IBA surveys noted the departure of wintering sparrows and Marsh Wrens and the arrivals of summer resident birds like warblers, flycatchers, and tanagers, with higher numbers in May than in April. Surprises included a Northern Waterthrush on one transect during the May survey and a Gila Woodpecker on another in September. Peregrine Falcon and White-throated Swift – not rare, but not commonly seen -- made appearances. For the second year surveyors on multiple transects detected Bell’s Vireos. This species may be expanding from its traditional area on just one transect. Several survey teams saw the resident Golden Eagle pair, but none saw any nesting activity. A few teams encountered some of the resident Wild Turkeys.
During the summer months, trained Prescott Audubon volunteers conducted surveys for Yellow-billed Cuckoos under permits issued to Audubon Southwest by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Arizona Game and Fish Department. The population of cuckoos seems to be stable.
Other wildlife sightings during the year include otter, fox, beaver, skunk, a gopher snake, several deer, and even a few elk.
The survey season on the river ended with the Chino Valley Christmas Bird Count. An early flock of 30 Pinyon Jays brightened one team’s survey on this cloudy, 17-degree morning. Another team encountered a male Northern Harrier, a bird not often seen along this part of the river. Song Sparrows were more numerous than in recent years and one team found a pair of Crissal Thrashers, rarely seen in this area. Four of the teams got to see the resident Golden Eagle pair. For more information about participation in these surveys, please send a note to [email protected].