Take on a New Challenge: 5 Mile Radius Birding

By Brian Nicholas 

 

Harris's Sparrow found in my northern 5MR. Photo by Lois Manowitz

After years of challenging myself with county big years I wanted to go back to a time when most of my birding was done locally. A friend suggested that I create a 5 mile radius circle (5MR), a very popular trend in California, Oregon, and Washington. While some birders have adopted this strategy in Arizona, it still hasn’t gotten much traction.

I have really come to enjoy the benefits of this birding style. With gas prices skyrocketing it has become a greener alternative and a more cost effective choice compared to county or state big years. While I still crave chasing a county rarity from time to time, this urge is tempered by my desire to find 5MR rarities closer to home. I recently got excited when a Dark-eyed Junco came to our bird bath since it was new to my home circle!

5MR circles are typically centered around your home, but really can be placed anywhere. I have two circles: one centered on our home and another which still includes our home but stretches up to the middle of Mount Lemmon. It will be interesting to see which one does better at the end of the year! Some interesting birds seen so far inside my circles include Common Black Hawk, Gray Hawk, Harris’s Sparrow, Gray Catbird, Brown Thrasher, Ovenbird, Cassin’s Sparrow, Gray Vireo, Wood Duck, Lewis’s Woodpecker, California Gull and Steller’s Jay. So far the circles are at 176 and 166 species respectively, and I hope to reach 200 for each by year end.

 

Cottonwoods and small pond in my circle, a good combination for Warblers.

Putting up a screech-owl box is a great way to add Western Screech to your circle.

Ovenbird found in my northern 5MR. Photo by Tom Brown

Start your own 5MR birding adventure:

1. Create your Circle in Google Maps. This site has lots of good info and instructions. Here is the map of my Mt. Lemmon circle for an example.
   
   
2. Create a “Patch,” in eBird including “5MR” in your patch name. Next add all relevant hotspots and personal locations into this patch so whenever you bird these areas totals are automatically updated. If your circle cuts through an eBird hotspot then create a separate personal location for the 5MR portion of the hotspot (eg. Woodland Road 5MR).
   
   
3. Use the “Explore,” feature on your eBird app to see what birds have been seen in your circle which are still needed on your 5MR year list. This tool defaults to your current location but can be changed to any location you desire.
   
   
4. Explore some of the hotspots within your 5MR circle. One of my first hikes was along the Arizona Trail to Sycamore Reservoir on Mt Lemmon, part of my northern 5MR. On that trip we came across an unexpected rarity, a Harris’s Sparrow--a great start for my 5MR experience!

I hope you find 5MR birding as rewarding as I have. It’s a great way to bird greener and more economically while exploring areas in your own extended neighborhood. Now get out there!

This seemingly dead magical eucalyptus surrounded by grassland is where Merlin, Prairie Falcon, and Peregrine Falcon have been seen in my circle.

Common Black Hawk was new to both my 5MRs. Photo by Ned Harris

Brian Nicholas is a birding enthusiast who has lived in Tucson for over 20 years. While starting as a neighborhood birder, he has also participated in Pima County big years, recording a personal best 356 species in 2020. Brian is a long-time volunteer for Tucson Audubon as an Important Bird Areas bird surveyor and field trip leader.