2 April 2014 Wednesday: I was out with Mother Hildegard and two of
her friends this morning in Madera Canyon.
We started off walking the Proctor Road trails and were fortunate to
watch a pair of Zone-tailed Hawks
flying together and interacting as if courting. I had seen a bird at last years Gray Hawk nest
as I was driving up earlier, so we stopped to look but the Gray Hawks were not
to be seen or heard. Up at Madera Kubo we found the wintering Inca Dove still
present and singing. Several hummingbirds,
a beautiful Painted Redstart, and a lone Yellow-eyed Junco were delightful to
watch. At the lodge, more hummingbirds
and the continuing female Cassin’s Finch entertained not only us but also many
folks out for the day. Even though Mother Hildegard already has an impressive
life list, she was able to see several new species this morning and many more
opportunities in the days to come. [She was part of the party that saw the
Slate-throated Redstart at Barfoot Park on the 10th.]
3 April 2014 Thursday: This was a very interesting and productive
day. The first half of the day was spent
with Jen & Justin, from San Francisco, birding Huachuca Canyon. The second half of the day was spent solo in
Miller Canyon target birding.
This was Jen & Justin’s
first trip to southeast Arizona and I felt given the limited time together and
where they were staying, Huachuca Canyon be a good place to start. We arrive at
Camp Coconino Picnic Area in lower Huachuca Canyon around 07:30. There was much bird activity at the wet area
to the north. One of the first birds we saw
was a male Bullock’s Oriole. A female quickly joined him. The local pair of Gray Hawks were calling
near constantly and making quick flyovers until one finally perched out in the
open and gave us prolonged & photographable views. We eventually turned our attention to looking
for the Sinaloa Wren. Within a few
minutes I hear some rustling in the leaves below the swing set along the bank
of the stream. We positioned ourselves
along the path in the streambed and had the wren popup from behind us. The Sinaloa
Wren foraged its way around us coming within about six feet of Jen while
Justin & myself took pictures. We
watched the wren for a good ten minutes before it move far enough away that we
could back away without disturbing it.
From the 1.7-mile picnic area we
walked the jeep trail to the turn around area & dam. There were many interesting birds including a
cackling Elegant Trogon, which Jen
& I briefly saw (glimpse of it flying off) and a Buff-breasted Flycatcher in the wet area just above the 1.7-mile
picnic area.
I left Jen & Justin around
noon. Both appeared very happy with
their first morning birding in southeast Arizona and were looking forward to
pie & tomorrows walk at Casa de San Pedro.
I planned to I take advantage of
this opportunity. I planned to first hike
up Miller Canyon to see the nesting Spotted Owls & Northern Goshawk, then
spend a bit of time at the hummingbird feeders at the Beatty’s & Ash Canyon
B&B hoping for Calliope & Lucifer Hummingbird. The male Spotted Owl was at his prescribed
place. It was an easy find with the
directions provided and with a human mother-daughter duo staring at this
wonderful bird. I continue hiking up
canyon and come across three women, one from Texas & two from South
Carolina. They were in search of
Red-faced Warblers and Eared Quetzals. I
told them that it was a bit early for the warblers and asked them were they got
their quetzal information. The Texan
said that the Audubon Guide they were using said there were quetzals all over
this area. I’m not sure what guide they
were referring to but I smiled and told them that their chances of finding an
Eared Quetzal this day were about the same as finding an Ivory-billed
Woodpecker in east Texas. Above split
rock and the mine shaft, at an elevation of about 6700 feet, I find a flurry of
bird activity. Prior to checking out the
all the little birds, I heard a goshawk call.
While scanning around looking for the source of the call, I see a shadow
pass below and look up in time to see an adult Northern Goshawk fly by at about fifty feet. Too quick for binoculars but didn’t need them
anyway. Numerous Ruby-crowned Kinglets
were flitting through the trees and one Golden-crowned
Kinglet called & gave me a brief but satisfying observation. A warbler sings from across the drainage and
I raise my binoculars to see a Red-faced
Warbler. Then another warbler sings
and I find a Virginia’s Warbler. I also see & hear a Nashville & Grace’s Warblers, and a pair of Greater Pewees. While all this is going on, I’m hearing the
distinctive tiny tin-horn call of Red-breasted
Nuthatches high in the pines & firs.
I eventually see at least two of these nuthatches and photograph one
poorly.
Having spent so much time in
upper Miller Canyon, I bypassed the feeders on the way down and decided to skip
Ash Canyon B&B in favor of trying to get to Benson WTP for the Franklin’s
Gulls report in the morning there. I
tried twice looking for the Scaled Quail that had been reported in the
neighborhood at the base of Miller Canyon.
I guess the mid-day is not a good time.
I arrive at the Benson WTP at
17:15 and the gate was closed. Before I
can start laughing I see a bunch of white things on the water through the
fence. A quick binocular viewing revealed
a bunch of Franklin’s Gulls. I set up the scope from a position that I am
not looking through dead tumbleweed and count sixty-one gulls. I digiscope several images just to verify my
count. I was once familiar with flocks
of hundreds or thousands in eastern Colorado, however seeing more than a few in
Arizona is exciting.
So ends a day with ten new year-birds. Total: 296.
4-5 April 2014 Friday-Saturday: When I started this adventure, I
knew a trip to Yuma County was in order if for nothing else the Black
Rail. I really don’t care for birding
along the Colorado River in Yuma County because of the silt-dust. It gets everywhere. Further research revealed that the
agriculture areas around Yuma are the only places in the state that Ring-necked
Pheasant have been established. The time
was right; I had a few consecutive days with no guiding, pheasants should be
courting, and rails should be calling. I
felt that I needed an evening and a morning in the area for a chance at the
main target species. I attempted to work
out a plan that would include Andrew however between his personal commitments
& my desired timing, this didn’t happen.
After sleeping in Friday morning
(Thursday was a long tiring day) I left Green Valley for Yuma mid-day. Once I got on the road I finalized my
plans. I would first check out the area
southwest of Yuma and then get up to Mittry Lake at dusk. Henry D provided valuable information
concerning the timing & whereabouts of the pheasants; dawn & to the
southwest of Yuma. Being unfamiliar with
the area I decided to check it out in the late afternoon before heading up to
Mittry for rails. About thirty-minutes
prior to sunset, I hear a male pheasant crowing from a cornfield. I was not able to get a visual on any
pheasant due to many factors; wind, knee high corn, & bad light. And I am
not even sure of the direction of the sound.
I press on to the south and then see four brown blobs on a dike across a
wheat field. I check out the blobs and
one is a male Ring-necked Pheasant. I grab to the camera and snap a few images of
the blobs. The pheasant is not in the
image. I look again; the pheasant has
walked past three Mallards & now is fifty yards south of them. I take several more pictures making sure the
pheasant is in the image. Wow, a new
year-bird and a new state-bird! Rather
than rushing up to Mittry Lake, I stop for dinner.
I make it to Mittry Lake with
little or no glow from sunlight but plenty of glow from the nearby Yuma Proving
Grounds and the City of Yuma. It is also
very windy with much wind noise – conditions not very conducive for hearing
marsh birds at night. It is also dusty, the thing I dislike most about
Yuma. Oh well, I’m here and will make
the best of the situation. My first stop is Rail Overlook. I can hear Aechmophorus grebes and American
Coot out on the open water of the lake between gusts. At 8 pm I hear the
distinctive pump-call of an American
Bittern. I hear a Clapper Rail but
no Blacks. I check out several other
spots where I’ve had Black Rails calling all night long this time of year, but
not tonight with the blasted wind. I
head back to Rail Overlook, seems the wind is a bit less severe at this
site. Listening, I hear the American
Bittern once again, a Least Bittern starts a long series of calls, and a couple
of Soras sound off. I notice some whitish blobs out in the marsh. Through my
binoculars I think at least some of them are Snowy Egrets. It takes setting up my scope to confirm for
myself 19 Snowy Egret. I eventually find
an out of the way spot where I shutdown for the night. I am hoping the wind dies down before
morning.
I wake up with the sun, which
means I slept-in a bit. However within
minutes I hear several calls of the elusive Black Rail. What was a nice morning got even better when a Merlin flew past, a species I had
somehow missed since the New Year. I
make my way south to Highway 95 with plans to checkout any wet fields before
hitting the road (aka heading home). As
I pull off at the first wet field I find, I notice several curlew-like birds
feeding. Putting the scope of these
birds reveals 25 Whimbrel and one
Long-billed Curlew. Whimbrels outside of
Yuma County are rare and these are early according to eBird reports. I take photographs just to prove to myself
that I not making things up. I also find
two Semipalmated Plovers
nearby. With the exception of the long
drive home this effectively ends a very good trip. Seven new year birds and one new state bird
brings my year total to 303.
7 April 2014 Monday: I went
out with Donna & David from Lampasas, TX.
I have guided this couple twice previously and each time, including
today, have been wonderful. They are
beautiful people with a love of nature.
They are not listers but appreciate anything new. Since each of their visits have been at
different times of the year, there is always something new. We first venture up
Florida Canyon in search of the Rufous-capped Warblers. While searching for the warblers, we flushed
a pair of Montezuma Quail. Not what one
would call a good view but it was my first visual of this species for the
year. Later while we were hearing but
not seeing the warblers, we also heard the male quail calling. In Madera Canyon in the skies over the Santa
Rita Lodge, a pair of Gray Hawks
combines courtship displays with chasing a Red-tailed Hawk. Highlights of a hike up the Carrie Nation
Trail include a nesting Black-chinned Hummingbird and a singing Grace’s Warbler
but no trogon.
8 April 2014 Tuesday: On
second day with Donna & David, we head south to Tubac & Patagonia. Though we never had any spectacular views,
the Sinaloa Wren performed rather
well. Going in and out of the nest many times while we watched. Possibly more exciting for David & Donna
was the nesting Vermilion Flycatcher
at Ron Morriss Park. We head down to Patagonia Lake State Park.
As a guide, I am always excited
to show clients the wonderful Elegant Trogon, even a molting second year male.
Todays encounter will rank as one of the more special encountered I have had
showing this species. First, a couple
that David & Donna had run into at Cave Creek a few days prior tells us
that they have just seen the trogon.
They (the other couple) lead us back to the spot where they saw the
trogon fly across the across the stream.
After thirty minutes of searching and about a hundred yards away I find
the second year male Elegant Trogon perched almost on the ground. After getting
David & Donna onto the bird, it sallies for prey and lands about ten feet
up in a mesquite. We watch and
photograph for quite a while before breaking off and start our walk out, all
smiles. Before we get 200 yards from the
trogon, David recognizes a couple that they had assisted identifying birds at
the Santa Rita Lodge the previous evening.
Still excited himself, David shares news of our observation with this
other couple and then leads the other couple back to the trogon. It is wonderful to see a client get the same thrill
I get while showing others amazing birds.
End the week at 308 species for the year.
