Fan-tailed Warbler. Photo: Janine McCabe.
The results of the Global Big Day spring migration count in Arizona (formerly North American Migration Count) are presented here by AZFO. For 12 years, we coordinated the NAMC in Arizona, supported by local Audubon Societies, local bird clubs, and other interested organizations, and compiled the data county by county on the AZFO's website. 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 international, effort. With hundreds of volunteers in the field, we aim to get a "snapshot" of spring migration, gather information on the distribution of each species, get teams to locations not regularly birded, and Have Fun!
Annual Report: Global Big Day Count in Arizona
By Doug Jenness
May 9, 2026
In Arizona hundreds of volunteers, many of them coordinated in teams on a countywide basis by
AZFO, tallied 304 species during the Global Big Day spring migration count on 9 May 2026,
which was an excellent showing.
One new species was added to the 23-year cumulative
state list for the migration count: TRICOLORED
HERON, amazingly two of them, one each in Gila
and Maricopa counties. For only the second year we
tallied American Golden-plover (Coconino), Black-
bellied Plover (Coconino, Pinal), and Laughing Gull
(Pinal). Forty species from 10 counties were reported
from only one county. The number by county was
Cochise (12), Coconino (8), Santa Cruz (5), Pinal (4),
Apache (3), Maricopa (3), Pima (2), Gila (1), Mohave
(1), and Yavapai (1). No county reported their highest
number of species in 23 years, but Pima County
scored its second highest (208).
Only five species were reported from all 15 counties, which was mainly due to the small totals from a couple of counties. As in most previous years, Arizona had the third highest number of species in the United States after Texas (401) and California (382). New Mexico (290) was fourth.
Figures tallied for four wood-warblers that migrate through but are not known to nest in Arizona were the highest in five years for Townsend’s Warbler (122), but were lower for Wilson’s Warbler (262), Nashville Warbler (5), and Hermit Warbler (7). Both Rufous and Calliope hummingbirds were reported in seven counties compared to their previous high of four counties each. Forty-four Calliope Hummingbirds and 20 Rufous hummingbirds were reported.
The accompanying Excel spreadsheet has a page comparing the 2026 county totals for each species and. compares the number of counties each species has been reported by year since 2006. Many volunteers were in teams coordinated on a countywide basis by the AZFO. We'll be looking forward to your participation in the Global Big Day in Arizona 2027 on Saturday, 8 May.
Tricolored Heron, 9 May 2026, Maricopa County Photo by Pierre Deviche