September 4 – Arizona, Third Time’s a Charm

So here we are on another Friday night flight and for the third time this year we will spend the weekend in the birder Mecca of Southeast Arizona. Leaving Tucson we drove east on I-10 to spend the night in Wilcox. Next morning, a short drive took us to Lake Cochise where we arranged to meet a group from the Tucson Audubon. On the way in we flushed a flock of 10 Scaled Quail and scoping the lake we saw Northern Shoveler , Green-winged Teal and quite a few American Avocet.  There were also a  large group of spinning Wilson’s Phalarope with three Red-necked Phalarope mixed in. Included in the birds along the edges of the lake were many Black-necked Stilts, Least and Western Sandpiper and three life bird Baird’s Sandpiper while swirling overhead were Violet-green, Cliff, Barn and Tree Swallows.

 

After an hour or so the Tucson Audubon group mounted up and headed to one of our most anticipated birding locations, the Chiricahua Mountains. This National Monument was the sacred home to the roaming Apache tribes lead by the famous Indian warriors Cochise and Geronimo. We agree this mountain range is the most beautiful of all the Arizona Sky Islands. Turns out that the birding is pretty famous here as well and at the base we saw a couple of Swainson’s Hawk, Rock and Canyon Wren plus Black-throated and Rufous-winged Sparrow. Driving up the west side on the forest road, (a high clearance vehicle is recommended), we stopped at Pinery Canyon to see Black-throated Gray and Hermit Warbler, Yellow-eyed Junco and Bridled Titmouse. The birding jewel of these mountains, Rustler Park is where we found Pygmy Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Red Crossbill and an amazing pair of Mexican Chickadees, another life bird for us. Joining us on the ride was a really nice young couple, Marina and Adrian from Phoenix, who were thrilled to see all these different species. After dropping them back at their vehicle we drove south on Hwy 191 to McNeal, AZ and a place called Whitewater Draw. The draw is an oasis in the surrounding desert landscape, where there seemed to be Cassin’s and Western Kingbirds on most every fencepost. Walking the trail around the draw we saw a Vermillion Flycatcher, lots of Blue Grosbeak, a few Lark Sparrow and Lazuli Bunting.

Our next stop was the historical Western mining town of Tombstone, made famous by Doc Holiday and The Earp brothers at the Ok Corral gunfight. Tombstone makes the most of it’s history with citizens dressing in late 1800’s costumes and a Main street lined with saloons like Big Nose Kate’s and the Crystal Palace.  Walking from our room at the Trail Rider’s Inn, our destination was one of the local favorite hangouts on Toughnut Street called the Dragoon Saloon. The policy here, as it has been since the old days is to check your guns at the door and that is exactly what a local dance hall girl did before stepping up for a drink at the bar. We met some very interesting people here, including Jack Feather who builds custom hearses. Many of his customers are Harley riders, but his most famous hearse was the one built for the 150th anniversary of the President Lincoln assassination. We bought shots for our new friends and watched a gorgeous sunset over the Dragoon Mountains while listening to a kick-ass rock band called Nowhere Fast.

We got up early as usual and took our coffee with us for the ride to Ramsey Canyon to meet with our bird guide, Jeff Babson. On the way we stopped at the Charleston bridge on the San Pedro river to pick up a couple of Black-tailed Gnatcatchers.  The days main target was the Tufted Flycatcher, a very rare bird that has reportedly been nesting in the canyon this season. Jeff led us into the Ramsey Canyon Preserve for a four mile round trip hike over somewhat difficult terrain. We paced ourselves for the walk and brought along plenty of water which is especially important in the Arizona heat.  On the trail in we saw many birds including Acorn and Arizona Woodpeckers, Blue-throated and Anna’s Hummingbird, Olive-sided and Cordilleran Flycatcher and Plumbeous Vireo.  At the stakeout there were several other birders and after probably 15 minutes of searching we found our target, a pair of Tufted Flycatchers. On the way down we saw a variety of Warblers including Olive, Townsend’s, Hermit and Wilson’s. Unfortunately we dipped on the coveted Red-faced Warbler, but that’s how this birding thing goes and we just have to be patient and know our time to see one will come.

Next it’s time to check out some Hummingbirds and there is no place better than at Beatty’s Guest Ranch in Miller Canyon. There are several banks of feeders and we saw an incredible seven species, Broad-billed, Magnificent, Black-chinned, Rufous, Calliope, Broad-tailed and Anna’s. Next stop is a place we have been to before and always enjoy, the feeders of the Ash Canyon B&B. Here are no less than six Lucifer Hummingbirds. Also seen were a Canyon Towhee and a Black-headed Grosbeak. It has been a great day of birding, as it always is with Jeff Babson, but the sun was setting so we made our way back to the Ramsey Canyon Inn where we spent the night and made plans for our final day of the year in Arizona. Perhaps there is another life bird or two waiting somewhere out there.

In the morning, on the way out we stopped at Brown Canyon Ranch where we found Curved-billed Thrasher, Canyon and Abert’s Towhee, Pyrrhuloxia and a flock of Lesser Goldfinch. Continuing down Hwy 92 we eventually located the trail to Hunter Canyon and after an unexpectedly strenuous hike up the trail we were rewarded with a very distant and fleeting view of the Slate-throated Redstart that everyone has been talking about.  Had much better views of the Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay, Greater Roadrunner and a bonus beautiful male Elegant Trogon. Leaving Hunter Canyon we drove up the mountain at Carr Canyon and at the Reef Townsite campground found Western Wood-Pewee, Yellow-eyed Junco, Painted Redstart and a Zone-tailed Hawk soaring overhead.

For lunch we were both thinking Mexican food and there is no better place in Sierra Vista than the family owned La Casita Restaurant. The place was filled with locals and everything on the menu looked amazing. Our meal was awesome and we wish we had an eatery like this at home. No time for an afternoon siesta though and it’s back to birding at the Las Cienegas conservation area where we found 20 Lark Sparrows, Cassin’s Sparrow and Eastern Meadowlarks. With just a few hours left before we needed to be at the airport one bird remained on our needs list, the Gilded Flicker. Arriving at the location of a recent sighting on East Andrada Road in Vail, AZ, we immediately saw a group of Saguaro cactus with many holes drilled into them, obvious signs of woodpecker activity. We were there for just a few minutes before we saw a pair of Gilded Flickers. These are birds we have been looking for on our many trips to Arizona and we could not think of a better way to end this amazing birding weekend. What a trip! 112 species with 13 life birds.

 

Next up: California Seabirds and More

Trip : Total Species:  112  Year Birds:  20  Life Birds: 13

2015 : Year Birds: 423   Life Birds: 57

Here’s the list: 2015 Bird List