7/24/2013 Wednesday: I was
spending a nice morning scouting Montosa and Madera Canyons for an upcoming
client. I heard and saw the Five-striped
Sparrow in Montosa. I saw the two
Violet-crowned Hummingbirds at Madera Kubo however missed the suspected
White-eared & Berylline Hummingbirds.
As I am walking from Madera Kubo back to my truck at the Amphitheater
Parking Area I receive a message from Andrew, “STRE in Huachuca Cyn”. Once I get out of the canyon I check email
and find that Melody Kehl has reported a Slate-throated Redstart above the 1.7
mile parking area in Huachuca Canyon.
Andrew is not able to go, I have to decide whether I want to try on
Thursday or head over immediately. At
11:30 I turn right onto Box Canyon Road, every rabbit scatters and the dust
cloud takes hours to settle.
I arrive at the 1.7-mile picnic/parking area at 12:49
without speeding on any of the highways.
Mine is the only vehicle there, could I be the first to respond to the
posting? I hike up the streambed and the jeep trail looking for the dam
referenced in the report. I have been to
the dam before but do not remember exactly where it is. I pass several trogons, two families
actually, that had I taken a little time I could have had some neat
photographs. But there is something else
destined to be photographed today. At
0.6 mile above where I parked, I find another vehicle parked in a second
turnaround parking area. There Arlene
& Doug Ripley are also searching for the Slate-throated Redstart. Arlene informs me that we are not the first responders;
a bunch of birders has already come and gone.
She also tells me about a bear attacking someone’s vehicle back where I
have parked. Nothing I can do about it
now. Arlene and I walk up the north side
of the creek bed while Doug travels within the creek bed. Upon reaching a second small dam Arlene spots
a redstart foraging directly over my head.
I look up and through my binoculars witness the tail fanned with the
pattern of the Slate-throated Redstart.
I try to raise the camera when it flies and then lands on the trunk of a
Sycamore. I snap off a half dozen images
and it flies again. All three of us get
wonderful looks at the celebrated bird. We follow it for the next eight to ten
minutes, watching and photographing it.
Then it disappears. We probably
could have re-found it had we not began chatting and simply felt very
satisfied. Doug & Arlene leave and I
casually resume searching for the bird for several minutes. I notice I have internet access so I post to
the listserve and then begin the walk back down to my truck. My head is in the clouds. As I walk down the canyon, I hear trogons
calling but do not give them much attention.
I watch a butterfly that seems to be leading me down the trail. I try taking a few pictures of this yet to be
identified butterfly, but again my thoughts are on the Slate-throated
Redstart. Another totally unexpected
lifer that I missed a few months ago, my last North American Wood-warbler until
we discover another one north of the border, and a really special bird.
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| Slate-throated Redstart - 7/24/2013 Huachuca Canyon, Cochise County, AZ |
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