When flipping through their North American Sibley Guide, all birders eventually take note of a tantalizing pattern... so many beautiful, special birds whose color-coded ranges only enter the United States in the far southwest corner of the country. In fact, many of these birds only occur in the United States in the deserts, scrublands, and “Sky Island” mountain ranges of Southeastern Arizona. This is especially true of a colorful rainbow of hummingbirds and an assortment of other species that are found more readily in Sonoran Mexico and in the Sierra Madres of that country, well south of the border. After hearing lots of stories from other birders about the wonders of the deserts and mountains of Arizona, Rachel and I decided that we just had to get out there – sooner than later! With the limits of my school holidays, we asked around, did some research, and focused on summer vacation in late July for our trip. The monsoon rains should be getting underway, sparrows should be singing, hummingbirds should be buzzing around, and just about all the regular breeding birds would be lifers for us anyway! This is the story of our first birding trip to Southeast Arizona (and out West), which will certainly not be our last. Click HERE to skip the story and view our bird list and photos.
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DAY 1
Saturday, July 21
Our flight took us from Atlanta to a 45-minute layover in Denver, and finally down to the small airport in Tucson, Arizona late in the morning. As we made our approach, I was amazed at how different and beautiful the dry, tan eroded desert landscape was compared with the green forests and fields that I am accustomed to in the eastern United States. We picked up our rental car and were happy to find it was a Toyota Highlander, with good ground clearance and gas mileage. Our first stop was at Target, where we picked up a cheap cooler, water, and snacks for the trip. Using our ABA Guide, we headed off for our first day of birding, starting at a residential area with some remnant desert habitat along Shannon Road.
When we parked, the first thing we noted was that there had been a lot more development since the publication of the book – even though it had just been reprinted in 2005. Still, as Arizona first-timers we found several cool birds to chase. The first was the ubiquitous GILA WOODPECKER, and a few WHITE-WINGED DOVES along the wires. Rachel saw a GREATER ROADRUNNER dart into some thorny bushes, so we headed over that way. A CACTUS WREN appeared, fluffed up, and scolded us, and a PHAINOPEPLA and a WESTERN TANAGER made brief appearances at the tops of trees before moving on. A sparrow song caught our attention, and we found a RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROW on a wire singing; we enjoyed watching it as it came down and foraged on the ground. At the same time, we heard a tiny chip coming from the brush. Soon we were treated to the sight of a VERDIN feeding its young! I got my first chance to play with our brand new toy, a Canon 30D and 100-400mm zoom lens – this was both fun and frustrating at times, learning a new camera while birding such an awesome destination. A PYRRULOXIA came to investigate as I gingerly avoided being pricked by all manner of thorns and cactus. It was really heating up, so we cruised the surrounding streets in the comfort of the vehicle. We were thrilled to see an entire clan of GAMBEL'S QUAIL skittering across the road, with various ages of young in tow! These guys were one of our favorites of the trip, very visible and cute, and seemingly popping out all over the place. A CURVE-BILLED THRASHER, BRONZED COWBIRD, MOURNING DOVE, a soaring TURKEY VULTURE, and a calling GILDED FLICKER in the distance rounded out the birds at our first Arizona birding stop as we headed off in the direction of the Sonora Desert Museum.
The suburbs gave way to scattered homes, and finally we found ourselves in the true desert, and it was simply beautiful. Neither of us had ever seen a landscape like this before... steep, jagged, orange hills bristling with huge saguaro cactus like so many giant green toothpicks stuck in the ground. We spent some time at a nice roadside vista for views and a few photos.
Just down the road, we really enjoyed our visit to the Sonora Desert Museum. Along with lots of gorgeous strategically-planted specimens and animals in artificial habitats, we also enjoyed the natural wildlife that is attracted to this man-made oasis. The views of the surrounding desert are incredible, and the flowers, trees, and cacti will knock your socks off! So what if the birds within the enclosures are not “countable” per ABA guidelines – here was an interesting variety of species that we enjoyed viewing at close range, including CACTUS WREN, BLACK-NECKED STILT, HOODED ORIOLE, WESTERN TANAGER, and perhaps my favorite – the endangered “MASKED” NORTHERN BOBWHITE, a male and female who were clearing a depression in the dirt to take a nap in. We also enjoyed wandering around their enclosed hummingbird habitat, where several typical southwestern species were darting around, sometimes right by our heads! Along the trails, we had pretty good looks at a PHAINOPEPLA and a CACTUS WREN, and saw our first of many “two-tone” squirrels, who posed very cooperatively while munching in a scrubby tree. Several PURPLE MARTINS were cruising around overhead, and we watched a BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER feeding up in a thorn tree. In addition to the birds, we visited several mammals in various enclosures, including a Black Bear taking a break from the heat, a few Coyotes, and a pair of gorgeous Mountain Lions. We rounded out our visit with a PYRRULOXIA and a couple NORTHERN CARDINALS for a neat comparison. Rachel picked up a cool hat from the gift shop, and seeing as how this was our only day planned in the Tucson area we decided to make an attempt to hit the Santa Catalina Mountains before dark.
After skirting across the northern end of the city through some unanticipated suburban traffic, we made our way across the low, flat desert landscape and eventually up to the climbing, winding Santa Catalina Highway into more gorgeous scenery. The natural beauty of the warm-colored rocks and cactus-covered cliffs was made even more dramatic by ominous dark clouds and distant flashes of lightning – sure enough, a monsoon rainstorm was on its way! We managed to make it to our first planned stop at the Molina Basin campground before the sky opened up. We parked and started wandering around. Soon we found a PHAINOPEPLA atop a tree, a pair of HOODED ORIOLES, a CASSIN’S KINGBIRD, and a few HOUSE FINCHES. While I was trying in vain to scrounge up a Black-chinned Sparrow I instead scared some kind of large snake (or huge lizard) that zipped into a pile of rocks, and Rachel saw her first ARIZONA WOODPECKER. The weather continued to deteriorate, with wind now whipping through the trees and lightning strikes and thunder which ricocheted through the landscape over the emphatic, descending cries of a CANYON WREN spilling down from high above. Just as the rain began to fall we saw a small group of scrub jays high in the hills, most likely MEXICAN JAYS. I thought maybe if we headed uphill to other planned quick-stops for the early evening we would avoid the downpour, but these flickers of hope were quickly extinguished by a deluge of biblical proportions! It was actually kind of scary to be introduced to this seasonal phenomenon of daily heavy rains way up there along the curves and shear drops of the Santa Catalina Highway. As the storm clouds ushered in darkness a bit ahead of schedule, we decided to find a safe place to turn around and head to our hotel which was well over an hour away in the city of Sierra Vista.
As we came down from the hills, the rain continued to get heavier. At one point, it cleared enough for us to see across the flat expanse of desert far below, where the city of Tucson – which we were able to see clearly on the way up – was completely obscured by a massive, visible surge of water pouring from the storm in the sky like a faucet. And we knew there was no way around it! We made our way through the worst of it, where standing water covered the road in spots and gushed like torrents down the side of the streets and sometimes right across them in washes. We were glad to have a higher clearance vehicle, but still would not have even tried to cross a couple times if we had not seen locals already doing so in lower passenger vehicles. The storm finally behind us, we made our way out to Sierra Vista and crashed as soon as we got into the room, ready for our first full day of Southeast Arizona birding in the morning!
DAY 2
Sunday, July 22
“Identification, please,” the friendly MP greeted us at the checkpoint to enter Fort Huachuca. After a quick and easy check-in, we cruised into the fort following the description in the ABA Guide to birding SE Arizona. We soon got to the road where we turned left to head in the direction of Garden Canyon and Scheelite Canyon, and were soon distracted by a flurry of birds scattering off the road and into the low scrubby habitat we were now in. We were soon smiling ear to ear as we hopped out of the car to gorgeous looks at BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS, maybe our favorite sparrow – so pretty, with their black, white, and gray facial pattern that is at the same time both simple and striking to behold. A CURVE-BILLED THRASHER soon entered the scene while several WESTERN KINGBIRDS worked the tops of the trees and power lines in the area. We also saw a few LARK SPARROWS feeding on bare open ground.
We drove a little further and noticed a fly-catchy bird swoop across the road and end up on the bare branches of a tree next to some maintenance structures and interesting signs designating various training courses for military personnel. This proved to be a SAY’S PHOEBE, a pretty bird even from a distance. While we were checking out the Phoebe, a CANYON TOWHEE perched at the top of a snag for nice views. A thin chip note soon distracted us from across the road, and we had a few fleeting glimpses at what we knew was a pair of LUCY’S WARBLERS, but they left something to be desired – like a better view. Other birds in the area included VERMILION FLYCATCHER, BULLOCK’S ORIOLE, WESTERN TANAGER, BLUE GROSBEAK, EASTERN MEADOWLARK, LESSER GOLDFINCH, BEWICK’S WREN and GREATER ROADRUNNER, and PHAINOPEPLA. We were perplexed by a song for a long time at one stop, and again just down the road, but we could not get binos on the singer to save our lives… it sounded a lot like a House Wren to me. After much scanning with the scope, we finally found a tiny RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW singing from a tall agave bloom 200 yards away! Luckily, we enjoyed some closer looks at one singing near the road later. Not long afterwards we were also treated to our first BOTTERI’S SPARROWS singing away, and a pair of ACORN WOODPECKERS was hanging out and flycatching from some power poles. The towering agave blooms all around attracted scores of hummers. Once we finally made our way up to the Upper Picnic Area we quickly heard and saw a HUTTON’S VIREO, and I was distracted by some persistent, wheezing calls that turned out to be a pair of juvenile COOPER’S HAWKS. Cool, but at the same time we hoped they had not scared off any good passerines! Not to worry, we soon got nice looks at a PLUMBEOUS VIREO and a HEPATIC TANAGER in the vicinity. We put on our new hydration backpacks and started exploring the area on foot. Not far down the road we encountered some unique calls and got a quick look at a SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHER, and we also had WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER, a male and female BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, and we heard the familiar “piti-tuck!” call of a SUMMER TANAGER.
Next we continued to the parking area for Scheelite Canyon, the infamous area for viewing Spotted Owls roosting. A gorgeous WESTERN TANAGER serenaded us as we got out of the car and hiked to the trailhead. Soon after we got on the trail, a very sweaty and very kind birder and his son were coming out. He gave us some valuable intelligence about that day’s roosting spot for the pair of owls; we thanked him and started the climb. We got quite a workout as we climbed up into the soaring canyon, criss-crossing the dry streambed and stopping from time to time to take in the scenery and some much-needed air. Rachel posed at a small cave known as “Jaws” for a photo op. We saw TURKEY VULTURES soaring above, and noisy groups of MEXICAN JAYS were cruising around the tree tops. We passed "Ship Rock," and through the trees the views were getting better the higher we climbed. When we got to the spot where the trail split and we were supposed to head to the right to reach the owls, a beautiful PAINTED REDSTART curiously examined us and sang a few times. I finally got to see an ARIZONA WOODPECKER, and we also heard and finally saw a CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER. Just beyond this point, the trail got very muddy, narrow, and steep. Rachel took a break and I went up to scout for the owls; she found a cool grasshopper and a blue-throated lizard as she explored the lower fork of the trail. The right fork of the “trail” became nothing more than a boulder-strewn vertical streambed after a while and the going was tough and sweaty. A pair of SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS effortlessly flew up the valley, stopping briefly over my head as if to say, “This isn’t so hard, man!” I made out a thin, weak song that reminded me of a warbler. When I caught the movement, I thought perhaps it would be another Redstart. Instead, I raised my binos to a wonderful RED-FACED WARBLER. At least two birds were darting around foraging, and one sat for more than a minute preening… but not in full view – doh! Try as I might, I just could not find the owls anywhere, despite the good intentions of the birder who told us where to look. I headed down to tell Rachel about the birds I had seen. Taking our time to clamber back up the right fork, we decided this was our only shot for those owls so we better try again. Plus, Rachel was about to smack me since she had not yet seen a Red-faced Warbler. Though we searched and searched, neither the owls nor the warbler were to be found. But we had quite a consolation prize! As I was sitting on a boulder having a granola bar, a large bird wafted down the canyon to perch in a tall pine tree… and almost immediately it began a repetitive, barking call. I think the hair on both of our necks stood on end simultaneously – it was the unmistakable call we had listened to on our CDs over and over, an ELEGANT TROGON! We were finally able to get some good views of this gorgeous bird, though it deftly eluded a photo opportunity for Rachel. We had already noted that once again the sky had turned gray and clouds were rolling in, so we began our careful descent very happy to have seen this incredible, sought-after bird on our first full day of birding Arizona.
The rain started with about 45 minutes between us and the car, not heavy but just enough of a drizzle to be annoying. We decided to pack up the camera in my Camelbak and sealed up the rain cover. As these things go, within five minutes Rachel quietly but emphatically called “quail, quail, quail!” Sure enough, through mist-covered glasses and binos, we quickly caught a glimpse of the amazing harlequin face pattern and speckled, chunky body of a male MONTEZUMA QUAIL and his mate scooting up the gravel slope to our right… another bird that people travel from near and far to find in Arizona but which is not seen on every visit. Back at the vehicle, we were wet but very satisfied with our adventure so far. We ended our visit at Ft. Huachuca by encountering a small family group of fluffy-crested SCALED QUAIL who ran across the road and disappeared into the brush before we could scramble for the camera once again… Arizona certainly keeps you on your toes!
We left the fort and made a quick stop at the Ramsey Canyon Inn just to make sure we knew how to get out there; we were participating in a Huachuca Audubon Society walk there in the morning. We enjoyed the company of a few virtually tame MEXICAN JAYS and noisy ACORN WOODPECKERS in the parking lot, and though we staked it out for a while, a rumored Berylline Hummingbird did not appear at the feeders. We did enjoy many hummers battling it out over the sugary feast including both BLACK-CHINNED and BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRDS. The rain had let up by now, so we headed to our final stop for the day to spend some time watching the hummingbird feeders at Mary Joe Ballatore’s Ash Canyon B & B.
We happily contributed $10 to the box on the gate and were soon greeted by Mary Joe herself, our friendly and knowledgeable host. She sat down with us and we proceeded to enjoy top-notch Arizona hummer entertainment from comfortable lawn chairs only a few yards from an array of feeders, each labeled with letters to make calling out birds easier. We saw aggressive, dive-bombing ANNA’S HUMMINGBIRDS along with BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRDS (one with a deformed bill), and BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRDS feeding all around us. Two MEXCIAN JAYS perched in a century plant nearby, while other birds visited her feeding stations, the surrounding trees, and power lines including LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER, LESSER GOLDFINCH, CANYON TOWHEE, HOUSE FINCH, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, WHITE-WINGED DOVE, CASSIN’S KINGBIRD, and ACORN WOODPECKER. A couple of WILD TURKEYS gobbled from their roosting tree nearby. Finally, as the light was fading, I saw a hummingbird with a strongly curved bill and called, “Feeder G!” Taking a nice, long drink was an amazing male LUCIFER HUMMINGBIRD, one of Mary Joe’s special visitors that we had hoped so much to see! As it flew away from the feeder, it turned for just a moment to reveal a flash of its scalloped magenta gorget. It then perched in a nearby bush where we could watch it through some leaves. It came in for a couple more feedings before we said our goodbyes and left with the backdrop of an intense anvil-shaped cumulonimbus cloud lit up by the sun’s last rays high in the upper atmosphere. To top off our long day of incredible birding adventures, on the way out I caught a glimpse of a glowing orb on the shoulder of the gravel road to the B & B, and we hopped out of the car to find a COMMON POORWILL cooperatively perched on the ground and allowing a very close approach!
DAY 3
Monday, July 23
We started our day at the Nature Conservancy’s preserve in Ramsey Canyon, where a Huachuca Audubon walk was to take place. Before we got started, we spent some more time watching the feeders at the Ramsey Canyon Inn (which was for sale at the time). We saw the same species as we had the day before, but in addition we saw at least one striking MAGNIFICENT HUMMINGBIRD and finally had some views of the BERYLLINE HUMMINGBIRD coming to its preferred feeder in the courtyard; understandably, visitors who are not guests of the inn may not enter this area so we could not get any up-close photographs of this rare species.
We met our trip leaders and an enthusiastic group of birders – both locals and birding tourists like ourselves – and headed up into the canyon on well-maintained trails. We had a chance to network a little bit which was good, and to get some help with our birding by ear. We heard and saw WESTERN WOOD PEWEE, DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER, SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHER, a singing SPOTTED TOWHEE, and HUTTON’S VIREO before long. We had fairly good views of a BAND-TAILED PIGEON flying away over the canyon, and soon discovered the now-familiar calls of another pair of juvenile COOPER’S HAWKS warding off other birds from the immediate area. We were treated to a pair of immature PAINTED REDSTARTS chipping and foraging along a creek, and saw our first BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER of the trip as well. The calls of a CANYON WREN came from high on the walls of the canyon as we wrapped up the trip and exchanged cell phone numbers with one of the group leaders.
Next we were off to explore Carr Canyon and hopefully to find more special birds high in the mountain coniferous forest and in the Madrean pine-oak woodlands on the way up. As we gained elevation, I was reminded of the warnings I received from friends about the hair-pin switchbacks and shear drops of this narrow, rocky road. Still, we managed to become distracted enough by cool birds and beautiful views that it was well worth a few tense moments here and there.
A flock was working along the road at one point, so I turned off the car, set the parking brake and played Northern Pygmy Owl a couple times from the iPod – a trick I learned from my guide in Mexico, except that he was actually trying to whistle the sound due to a technology failure. Immediately we found ourselves in a flurry of excitement and new birds! A ROCK WREN chattered at us as a WESTERN TANAGER came to check out the action, followed quickly by a PLUMBEOUS VIREO and our first BUSHTITS. Down the sheer canyon walls, we spotted a beautiful SCOTT’S ORIOLE perched in a pine snag. A RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW and a HEPATIC TANAGER also made their presence known, and just then Rachel got on a warbler that she did not recognize well but correctly called a VIRGINIA’S WARBLER. The bird then played hide-and-seek with us for an agonizingly long time – which was probably only 15 seconds in reality – before finally giving us good enough views to feel certain of the ID. We continued to climb into the high reaches of the Huachuca Mountains until we reached the completely different habitat of the coniferous forest. It was actually chilly as we got out of the car at the Reef Townsite Campground, and (naturally) the wind was kicking around and a bank of low wet clouds was moving in. We put on our rain shells and started wandering around, sometimes on foot and sometimes in the vehicle. The birding was a little slow but here and there we stumbled onto some good finds such as GREATER PEWEE and GRACE’S WARBLER, and we got to see our first of many YELLOW-EYED JUNCOS. We made our way out to the Ramsey Vista Campground and started down the trail to Comfort Spring, hoping for a Buff-breasted Flycatcher which we had been looking so hard for the whole time we were up there. WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS catapulted through the air in the canyon below, while TURKEY VULTURES soared higher up. The views were as awesome as the heights were intimidating, and with the weather deteriorating Rachel headed back to the car as my stubborn insistence on finding the flycatchers sent me jogging down the rocky path to the spring. When I got there, I did get to see a couple more BAND-TAILED PIGEONS and a cool butterfly, but no flycatchers. Gusts of wind charged up the canyon walls, so almost as soon as I got down there I had to start huffing it back up the trail (Buff-breasted Flycatcher thus became my first Arizona nemesis bird). The rain was light but cold, and was blowing into my face horizontally; I had to stuff the camera into my rain shell to keep it dry. At the exact moment I crested the ridge and saw the car, the clouds unleashed their fury and I was incredibly thankful that Rachel had pulled right up to the trailhead as I dove inside to take refuge from the downpour. The trip down the steep canyon walls was perhaps a bit more harrowing than it had been going up, with runoff pouring down the rocks in tumbling orange cascades. As we neared the bottom, the rain slowed and a pretty picture lay before us of the valley below with multiple storm clouds dumping rain onto the landscape.
Rachel quickly scanned our ABA guide for a cool spot to end our day since the rains which had chased us from the mountains were generally headed north. She stumbled onto San Pedro House, and we got out there in about 30 minutes; it was cool to actually see the storms to our southwest that we had just “escaped,” but the gusting winds informed us that they would eventually catch up to us again after nightfall. This nice area of riparian habitat along the San Pedro River, with its mammoth cottonwood trees and lush scrubby habitat, was really interesting and we were glad Rachel found it and that we decided last-minute to include it in our trip.
We found both WESTERN and CASSIN’S KINGBIRDS working the wide open habitat along with a pretty male VERMILION FLYCATCHER. Rachel stalked a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, and soon we stumbled onto an ABERT’S TOWHEE. We made our way slowly to a small oxbow pond and there we saw a GREEN HERON, “Mexican” MALLARDS, a GREAT BLUE HERON, and our first BLACK PHOEBE. BARN SWALLOWS and NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS were swooping around the area, and other birds included CURVE-BILLED THRASHER, YELLOW WARBLER, SUMMER TANAGER, WESTERN TANAGER, GILA WOODPECKER, SAY’S PHOEBE, WHITE-WINGED DOVE, and COMMON GROUND DOVE. I became obsessed with getting a more satisfactory look at a LUCY’S WARBLER and chased one all over the place while Rachel found some nice photo ops. Back at the little building we were happy they provided a hose because we probably had three pounds of mud clinging to our shoes. As dusk approached, Rachel staked out the hummingbird feeders which were swarming with BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRDS while I wandered the entrance road checking out a singing BLUE GROSBEAK, SONG SPARROWS, and a BOTTERI’S SPARROW that kept playing hide-and-seek until I finally found his favorite singing perch. It was about this time that I spotted the first LESSER NIGHHAWK at some distance. I was not happy with the look I had, and so I began scanning the horizon hoping another would come through. Two more, and I finally felt that the rounded tip of the wing was a sure thing (though Common Nighthawk would be rare here, I really wanted to feel sure about the ID). Over the next 30 minutes, an event unfolded in front of us that proved there was no worry getting good looks at this species. A flock about approximately 22 birds converged over the huge cottonwood trees next to the building and right above our heads, performing twisting acrobatics as they feasted on some tiny insect that was forming clouds over the trees. Some birds came down and passed by us at less than 20 feet off the ground. What a nice surprise to end another cool day birding in Arizona.
DAY 4
Tuesday, July 24
Today we woke up painfully early to make the road trip out to the Chiricahua Mountains. We had originally decided they were just too far off the beaten path, but too many exciting stories from other birders – and the prospect of more interesting high elevation specialties – persuaded us to make the pilgrimage and we both agree that it was one of our favorite destinations of the whole trip!
Along the roads through the deserts at the bottom of the state we were reminded of our proximity to the Mexican border by scores of Border Patrol vehicles and even a helicopter that was patrolling the open cattle grazing country. We came across many SWAINSON’S HAWKS and CHIHUAHUAN RAVENS in the semi-desert grassland habitat as we cruised up Hwy 80 from Douglas towards Portal, hoping a Golden Eagle would show up but we did not see one. We finally reached Portal and its surrounding chihuahuan desertscrub landscape, the eastern gateway to the Chiricahuas. Instead of stopping here in the early hours, we immediately began another climb into the vastly different world of Sierra Madrean pine-oak woodland elevated far above the deserts below.
We stopped first at a spot near East Turkey Creek where a Crescent-chested Warbler had been seen over a week previous. Though this bird had departed (and its off-spring, as it had apparently bred here), we found lots of birds right away that grabbed our attention. The first was a flock which included BRIDLED TITMICE, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, and our first of many MEXICAN CHICKADEES for the day; this is a hard species to find in the US except at specific spots like the Chiricahuas. A HUTTON’S VIREO kept up a constant din of calls while I got distracted by a vireo up the hill. I left the road bed and kept following it until I finally came across a WARBLING VIREO smacking its breakfast against a branch before chomping it down. In this area we also found WESTERN WOOD PEWEE, DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER, and BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD.
Next we headed up to the Rustler Park area. We could see a wide open vista through a glade of huge coniferous trees so we parked and hopped out, munching on trail mix. A moment later, our chins hit the ground while our spirits hit the sky! This area quickly became one of my favorite outdoor experiences of all time. We soaked up a gorgeous mountain meadow full of blooming wildflowers and butterflies, and the views around us were staggering. As we took it all in, we also began enjoying the special birds of this habitat – STELLER’S JAY, PYGMY NUTHATCHES, OLIVE WARBLER, GRACE’S WARBLER, CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, YELLOW-EYED JUNCO, BAND-TAILED PIGEON, AMERICAN ROBIN, TURKEY VULTURE, HOUSE WREN (at least one “Brown-throated” subspecies), and more. We got to hear HERMIT THRUSHES singing, which was really cool. Rachel yelled from downhill as I tried in vain to get a picture of an Empid, “Oh my God! What was that?!” You gotta love it when a birder says something like that, you almost get whiplash trying to see what they’ve got… she then described seeing a tiny all-orange-and-red hummingbird with a dark wing that had buzzed her head, a full-blown male RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD! After a pleasant picnic lunch during which we were courted by several STELLER’S JAYS and YELLOW-EYED JUNCOS, we continued to tour the area down to another pretty mountain meadow with a beautiful view up to Barfoot Lookout. Among other birds in this area we saw a striking male WESTERN TANAGER, more MEXICAN CHICKADEES, TURKEY VULTURES, a croaking group of COMMON RAVENS, and a HEPATIC TANAGER. We explored this wonderful habitat at several more stops, and even found a couple soaring ZONE-TAILED HAWKS, one of which wafted directly over the sunroof to reveal its identity when we were about to dismiss it as a TV! We climbed up to the fire lookout station on Barfoot Lookout and spent a little while conjuring very hard but failed to spot the rare, locally-breeding Short-tailed Hawks; I did not get enough intelligence to know where the nest was, though I had heard it was visible from this vantage point. The vistas of the highest reaches of the Chiricahua Mountains left an impression on both of us that we will always remember, and we will be sure to return here one day.
We descended along the gravel roads into the tiny settlement of Paradise and made a stop at some feeders. Here we found some cool birds like PINE SISKIN, HOUSE FINCH, and LESSER GOLDFINCH, and RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, though we missed Juniper Titmouse which we had hoped would be here. As we completed a loop through the desert back towards Portal it seemed as if we could not drive more than a quarter of a mile at a time without stopping to take photos of the monumental burnt orange cliffs and hoodoos towering above the spiny vegetation of the desert below. Wow.
We ended our day relaxing and watching the feeders at “Dave’s Place” on Crissal Lane in Portal. Though the property’s namesake Thrasher did not show up, we didn’t really care. We got to watch the sun going down behind the peaks of the Chiricahuas as another slate-gray storm moved in from the opposite direction… and all the while wonderful western birds enjoyed their dinner right in front of us. BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS (including an immature), GAMBEL’S QUAIL, CANYON TOWHEE, CURVE-BILLED THRASHER, CACTUS WREN, PYRRULOXIA (including an immature), WHITE-WINGED DOVE, BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD, LESSER GOLDFINCH, and NORTHERN CARDINAL some of the visitors that evening. We took a cut-through route along State-Line Road, which runs between New Mexico and Arizona, with the last light of the day fading. We though maybe we’d flush a Bendire’s Thrasher here (rumored to be in the area) but instead every time we opened a window we caught a massive dose of wind-blown desert sand! We did manage to find a LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE and a family of SCALED QUAIL headed for cover before another evening’s round of monsoon rains cooled off the desert and we began trekking back west to Sierra Vista, giving a quick call to the Beatty’s Guest Ranch to let them know we’d be stopping by first thing in the morning.
DAY 5
Wednesday, July 25
When we arrived at the guest ranch we parked in the wrong area (for guests, not hummer watchers) but they were very nice and said they had the room so we could stay. We paid the $10 fee to get in and walked along a dirt trail through their pretty piece of heaven with apple groves and free-range chickens along the way. We found the extensive hummingbird viewing area that they keep very well-maintained and took front seats all by ourselves, under the shade of a small tent.
Immediately we were impressed by the numbers of hummingbirds swarming the 10+ feeders that hung all around us. There were iridescent blue-green BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRDS and beautiful BROAD-TAILED and BLACK-CHINNED varieties. Hummers were everywhere! After about five minutes, a clicking sound came in from our left… it reminded me of something I heard 2-3 times in Mexico earlier that summer. Sure enough, one of our primary targets that morning came in to a feeder hanging not even three yards away – a stunning male WHITE-EARED HUMMINGBIRD! This turned out to be his feeder of choice and we were able to observe him during several visits. Before we left (prompted by a very fumbly, noisy photographer who announced his presence like a freight train), we also got our first great looks at an incredible MAGNIFICENT HUMMINGBIRD, coming in like a helicopter to assert his position at a feeder.
From there we began our “transfer day” towards the Santa Rita Mountains, making our first stop at the famous Patton home and Sonoita Creek Reserve. We found that even though it looked like pretty deep mud, we made the ford across the creek bed to reach the Patton’s without a problem. We found a few PHAINOPEPLA, and then I remembered a tip from a birder the day before who had shown up at the Nighthawk show. I turned around to look at a group of tall trees across the road and low and behold, there at the top of some dead branches right where it should be was a THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD! We just had enough time to grab the scope and take a look before the bird moved to another unseen perch not to return again while we were there – sweet! We spent a while watching the feeders behind the house, enjoying many BLACK-CHINNED and BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRDS before the special visitor to this location showed up in all its glory – a VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD. Rachel attempted several photos, but yet another dark sky had been forming overhead and the light was very low. After we enjoyed 4-5 visits from this pretty bird, which had been the most common hummer in Cuernavaca where I stayed in Mexico, a steady drizzle started coming down. We managed to bird in the rain along the road to the reserve for about an hour before it started coming down pretty hard. We found our first VARIED BUNTING, along with other cool birds like YELLOW WARBLER, YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, BEWICK’S WREN, BLUE GROSBEAK, SUMMER TANAGER, BLACK PHOEBE, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, and a few others. Then the bottom fell out of the sky. We got back to the creek and though it was still “dry,” big pools of water now filled the ruts and we decided to attempt to find a back way that we had heard about on the Audubon walk. We couldn’t find it, and returned to the wash less than five minutes later to find that what had been a ford was now a full-blown, raging torrent of brown muddy water blasting by in massive, surging waves. “Holy…” we both thought and probably yelled, thinking of what could have happened if we had been crossing the wash as it came roaring down the channel, a quintessential flash flood. Remembering the birder’s number I got on our walk, I called him up to get better directions. Coincidentally, he and his friend were having lunch right there in Patagonia with their wives after a morning of birding! We made our way through some deep mud and back roads and met them there, happy to dry off and get some hot Mexican food.
We made a quick, wet, and quiet stop at another famed area, a rest area on Hwy 82 south of the town. We did add PEREGRINE FALCON to our trip list here, along with a BELL’S VIREO, WESTERN TANAGER, PHAINOPEPLA, and YELLOW WARBLER.
Then it was on to Kino Springs and the golf course. In the parking lot we found an adorable fledgling CASSIN’S KINGBIRD all puffed up on a branch near its parents. Here and at the ponds, we found SORA, BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING DUCK, AMERICAN COOT, two pairs of GRAY HAWKS (and a juvenile), SONG SPARROW, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, an early LAZULI BUNTING, BELL’S VIREO, HOODED ORIOLE, PHAINOPEPLA, GREAT BLUE HERON, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, and HOUSE FINCH. After searching through several kingbirds, we finally found one perched that had a notched tail. Though this was not definitive, when the bird took a new perch it began making distinct trilling calls that gave it away as a TROPICAL KINGBIRD. It was joined by at least one more. I would not have felt so instinctively that the call was right if this had not been one of the most common “trash birds” in Cuernavaca a month and a half before. That trip to Mexico has proven many times over how valuable that kind of exposure to birds can be when you are in a new place.
We then headed north to make a quick stop at the Anza Trail where we had RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROWS singing, yet another pair of immature COOPER’S HAWKS, SAY’S PHOEBE, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, HOUSE WREN, CHIHUAHUAN RAVEN, BELL’S VIREO, BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRD, GREATER ROADRUNNER, WESTERN KINGBIRD, and LESSER GOLDFINCH among a few others.
Finally, after a stop for groceries, we checked into the Santa Rita Lodge in Madera Canyon for our last few days of adventures in Arizona. We had a few singing BOTTERI’S SPARROWS on the road out there, and we ended the day staking out an ELF OWL who lived in a power pole outside our cabin. Finally, with hardly any light left, we could just make out his tiny shape dropping down into the woods for a night of foraging, producing many “Ah’s” from the small group of birders who had also been waiting for him, despite not really getting to observe him.
DAY 6
Thursday, July 26
It was so nice being able to wake up, look right outside your window and watch RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS, BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRDS, and BRIDLED TITMICE feeding! This is the life… I could probably live at the Santa Rita Lodge year-round and never get tired of the scenery, the atmosphere, and the birds! Of course, I suppose many people say this about their favorite vacation spots… so let me make sure I have a lottery ticket this week just in case!
We did not have to get up too early, either, because the great birding is right there at your doorstep. We headed uphill on Madera Canyon Road just a bit and stopped at Madera Kubo to search for a Flame-colored Tanager that had been singing and frequenting a jelly feeder there; this guy turned out to be a nemesis for us because despite several stops here we never did see him despite other birder’s seemingly endless comments like, “What? But I was just there… he was right there!” Oh, well. It was a nice place anyway, with a beautiful nesting pair of HOODED ORIOLES tending to their unseen young in a cool hanging nest, and scads of hummingbirds at the feeders including MAGNIFICENT, BROAD-BILLED, BLACK-CHINNED, and BROAD-TAILED. Noisy ACORN WOODPECKERS roamed about the property as well, one of our favorites. We hung out for a little while and then headed uphill into Madera Canyon.
On the way, we spotted some movement on our left, a larger bird had moved from one tree to another. We both got our binos on it at the same time and realized it was an ELEGANT TROGON! We couldn’t believe we had just pulled up next to this gorgeous bird. Rachel jumped out and got a few photos as it flew across the road, called a few times, and then moved on. Wow!
We parked at the picturesque trailhead and started exploring the Hopkins Fork Trail. We found SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS, HUTTON’S VIREO, DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER, MEXICAN JAY, BROWN CREEPER, WESTERN WOOD PEWEE, CORDILLERN FLYCATCHER, YELLOW-EYED JUNCO, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, and even a ZONE-TAILED HAWK which soared over the parking lot as we took a documentary photo of our rental car license plate for fun.
We ended the day by first staking out the Flame-colored Tanager, which again rewarded us with a consolation prize – this time, a nesting BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD that Rachel found across the street. Then we headed down to explore the Proctor Trails in a very different desert habitat. The area had burned during the previous year and evidence of this fire was all around. Still, some of the scrubby habitat was spared and in other places was already making a comeback. We had just missed the extremely rare Black-capped Gnatcatcher, which had fledged its young and moved on just days before we arrived. However, we found lots of neat birds like BELL’S VIREO, BLUE GROSBEAK, LARK SPARROW, BLACK-THROATED SPARROW, BOTTERI’S SPARROW, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, WESTERN KINGBIRD, BEWICK’S WREN, NORTHERN CARDINAL, VARIED BUNTING, and a CANYON WREN singing on the surrounding cliffs. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing and taking photos of a beautiful Arizona sunset, as the moon rose behind Mt. Wrightson.
DAY 7
Friday, July 27
Though we would be spending our last night back in Madera Canyon, we made a crazy last-minute decision to wake up early and drive all the way north of Tucson to make another attempt to explore the Santa Catalina mountains and Mt. Lemmon, which had thwarted us last time with our first monsoon deluge just as we neared the best birding locations towards the top.
We took our time crossing a residential desert area full of saguaro cactus until we finally found a pair of GILDED FLICKERS, which we had heard earlier in the trip but had not seen yet. We hiked around Molina Basin again, hoping in vain for a Black-chinned Sparrow though the season wasn't quite right. Then we headed up to the Bear Canyon picnic area and quickly found a busy, noisy group of birds including BRIDLED TITMOUSE, BUSHTIT, BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, and HUTTON’S VIREO. We made a stop for some gorgeous views at Windy Point, then headed to the Rose Canyon area. We paid the fee the enter the campground and soon found ourselves enjoying the squeaky calls of PYGMY NUTHATCHES and a pretty male “AUDUBON’S” YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER. As I was following him, Rachel found me, and said, “I just saw the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.” I was both really happy for her, and also wondering what I had missed at the same time. She turned the LCD screen so I could see it, and revealed one of the most incredible sequences of photos I had ever seen. A tiny, fluffy, newly-fledged BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD was waiting on a twig. The parent lands next to its begging young, turns its head, and feeds the little one! I can honestly say I’ve never seen a hummer feed its young or even thought about it, let alone get photos of this amazing interaction. Just for good measure, we got another dose of monsoon rain for about an hour, which kept us from exploring around the lake but gave us time for some snacks.
Higher up, near the Bear Wallow picnic area, we found our first MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES. Rachel got her first looks at a RED-FACED WARBLER, which acted pretty much like my first one – allowing fleeting glimpses through the pines but never coming out into the open! We saw HERMIT THRUSHES and heard their beautiful song, and a few more YELLOW-EYED JUNCOS including a juvenile, and then headed up to the top of Mt. Lemmon to scope the feeders at the Iron Door Restaurant. We saw many hummer species we had already seen, and though we tried to mold them into our first ABA area Blue-throated Hummingbird it was not to be. We made a stop at the gift shop where the ski lift was taking tourists to the summit, and the sky opened up like never before. This time it was a full-blown lightning storm, and we worried for the people who were actually stuck out on the ski lift in the middle of this torrential down-pour. We bought a cute stuffed Gambel’s Quail as a souvenir and to thank them for allowing us to take cover inside, then headed towards the vehicle. The rain had pretty much subsided by this point, and as we watched the feeders at the restaurant for a few more minutes a massive bolt of lightning struck a dead tree less than 200 yards away from us! The crash of thunder was instantaneous and deafening, and echoed through the woods. We looked around at the restaurant patrons who had seen the same thing, and knew that our looks of utter disbelief were mirrored on their faces. Even more incredible, the wet snag was actually steaming… a vivid display of how a wildfire could easily be started if the rain had not soaked the forest already.
We then wound our way down out of the mountains and headed towards Sabino Canyon, our last stop of our Arizona birding odyssey. What a difference to come from humid, cool coniferous forest with ski slopes to searing heat, ocotillo, and saguaro-dominated desert! Our hydration backpacks would really help us here! A lizard eyeballed us before skittering away, and we found a Cactus Wren nest in a bush nearby. We soon found a few birds, including more GILDED FLICKERS, a GAMBEL’S QUAIL who perched out in the open, some bubbly BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS, and our life BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER. We came to an unexpected sign informing us of mountain lions in the area. We were intending to get down to a riparian area where I was determined to add Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet to our Arizona list, but at this point we were both getting really hot. She was a good 50 yards ahead of me as we hiked through the beautiful desert landscape when she turned around to suggest that we head back to the car. Before she had finished her statement, she cut herself off mid-sentence with her eyes wide open. I wheeled myself around hoping to catch a glance of what was behind me but I saw nothing. Rachel ran on tip-toe (if that is possible) over to me and said that, of all the times and places for it to happen, a Mountain Lion had actually loped across the road some 200 yards or so behind us! Convinced now that it was just too hot and late in the day for birding (and maybe the lion sighting had something to do with it, too) we both cautiously but quickly hiked back to the visitor center and headed back south to our cabin in Madera Canyon where we relaxed, enjoyed the feeder birds, and started an early dinner to get rest for our big travel day back to Atlanta in the morning. An evening rainstorm was the background to our meal, an appropriately thematic end to our wonderful first birding adventure to Southeast Arizona.
TOTAL SPECIES: 136
SHARED LIFE BIRDS: 50
OTHER BIRDS: 86
( * = shared first time seen in ABA area)
