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The tour van heads toward the source of Arizona's second spring - a towering monsoon thunderstorm.
This tour of one of the most unique areas of the United States is timed to sample the peak diversity of breeding species in the region. Late summer monsoon rains drive this "second spring" that creates such beneficial conditions for hummingbirds, desert dwellers, grassland sparrows, and montane species as well. On our ten-day trip, we sampled all of the area's major habitat types, roving from the lowland Sonoran Desert of Tucson all the way up to high-elevation conifer forests in the Chiricahua Mountains.
We started off with an introduction to desert birding in the foothills of the Tucson Mountains on the west side of Tucson. Gilded Flicker provided a species highlight here, though we stuck around long enough to sample a nice cross-section of desert species. After a nice Mexican dinner, we set up for a dusk watch along the Santa Cruz River in northwest Tucson, and as the rain mostly held off, we were rewarded with a show of a few Lesser Nighthawks and the exodus of tens of thousands of Mexican Free-tailed Bats from under a bridge.
The next day found us sampling the Mexican rarity delights of the Santa Rita Mountains in the form of a Plain-capped Starthroat and a Black-capped Gnatcatcher. After lunch, we stopped to scan for Mississippi Kites in St. David before continuing south to the city of Sierra Vista, spread out beneath the phenomenal Huachuca Mountain skyline. A hike up Miller Canyon led to an adult and two juvenile Mexican Spotted Owls, as well as myriad hummingbirds capped off with a splendid male White-eared Hummingbird at the Beatty's feeders.
After a good night's rest in Sierra Vista, the group drove onto Fort Huachuca and up into Huachuca Canyon. Though access to the canyons is changeable, we had no issues except for a checkpoint staffed by a mother Black Bear and her arboreal cub. After she was satisfied with our documents, mama bear jumped onto a tree trunk and we continued on up-canyon, destined to see striking Sulphur-bellied and Buff-breasted Flycatchers in addition to several Elegant Trogons and a pair of marvelously confiding Montezuma Quail. After an afternoon siesta we checked out a few sites around Sierra Vista including Mary Jo Ballator's feeders at the Ash Canyon B&B, where we saw both a stunning male Lucifer Hummingbird and a bizarre hybrid Lucifer x Costa's (one of Tom's favorites for the trip!). The evening wasn't over, though, and we stuck it out in Miller Canyon for some night birding. In addition to several scorpions and a flyover of the International Space Station, we were able to track down Common Poorwill, Whiskered Screech-Owl, and even Elf Owl for views.
An early start the following day had the group hiking into Hunter Canyon, where we enjoyed a Northern Pygmy-Owl, Virginia's Warbler, and close looks at the star of the day, Rufous-capped Warbler. From there we drove east toward the Chihuahuan Desert, stopping to study shorebirds at Lake Cochise and Willcox on the way. Willcox provided us with great numbers of Black-necked Stilts, American Avocets, and Long-billed Curlews in addition to spinning Wilson's Phalaropes and even a scarce juvenile Semipalmated Sandpiper trying to blend in with other peeps. While a welcome boost to the diversity for the trip, Willcox wasn't our day's primary destination, and we continued on into New Mexico before hooking down south around to Portal on the east side of the stunningly beautiful Chiricahua Mountains.
The Southwestern Research Station, up-canyon from Portal in Cave Creek Canyon, was our Chiricahuan home for three nights of the tour. We spent time exploring the high conifer forest for flocks of warblers, nuthatches, and Mexican Chickadees. Afternoons were spent watching hummingbird and seed feeders (and punctuated with welcome siestas in the heat of the day). We headed out into the desert grasslands between Portal and Rodeo, New Mexico to find Bendire's and Crissal Thrashers, Scaled Quail, and a host of grassland sparrows. Night explorations helped us track down several Great Plains Toads, two tiny juvenile Mohave Rattlesnakes, and an incredible little Western Spotted Skunk (a major highlight for Chris).
All too soon it was time to leave the Chiricahuas, but we headed west anyway, stopping in Willcox again to scan the placid waters of Lake Cochise for new migrants (and breeders - this time we found nesting Tropical Kingbirds along the edge of the golf course) before continuing on to the Patagonia area. We arrived in time to see Violet-crowned Hummingbird and Zone-tailed Hawk before retiring to our hotel in Rio Rico for the evening.
The long evening of rest was important, as we had an early morning start to make it out to California Gulch before the heat of the day set in. A picnic breakfast at Pena Blanca Lake helped us greet the day, and then it was a curvy trip on dirt roads until we reached the top of "the Gulch." Five-striped Sparrows and Varied Buntings performed exceedingly well, and we made it back to Rio Rico for lunch. Our afternoon birding was cut short by monsoon thunderstorms, but not before we had close views of a splendid soaring Common Black Hawk at Patagonia Lake State Park, the answer to one of Marion's trip wishes.
Early the next morning, we began in Patagonia again, this time finding Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet at the famed Roadside Rest before venturing to Sonoita for a loop through the grasslands of Las Cienegas. Here we found many sparrows, two Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, and a spectacular confrontation between a huge adult Golden Eagle and some very bold Swainson's Hawks. A return trip to Pena Blanca Lake netted us a nice group of migrant songbirds including Gray Flycatcher, MacGillivray's Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, and Western Tanager. Our post-siesta sights were set on Madera Canyon, but we weren't able to pull out a Greater Pewee before the light left the mountains behind for the day. We picnicked in the canyon, staying after dark to try for Buff-collared Nightjar and other night birds. While we couldn't nail down a Buff-collared, we did hear Common Poorwill and Mexican Whip-poor-will, and we had awesome looks at a beautiful (and rare) Tiger Rattlesnake and two Western Screech-Owls.
On the last day of the tour, we found a few more waterbird species like Cinnamon Teal and Sora by birding the Amado Pond, Sweetwater Wetlands, and Christopher Columbus Park before ending up back at the Tucson Airport mid-day.
We had an awesome time birding (and herping and mammaling and butterflying...) with everyone. For Chris, this was an excellent opportunity to showcase the extreme diversity of special habitats and birds in his backyard, and for Tom, it was exciting to gain experience guiding with Chris and such a delightful group of people. We're both pleased that the weather, the birds, and the Spotted Skunk all conspired to create such a good trip. Thank you all!
--Chris & Tom
KEYS FOR THIS LIST
One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant
BIRDS
Montezuma Quail proved to be unusually easy to find on this tour. We were all delighted to have repeated opportunities to study this dramatic, skulky quail. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.
Common Black Hawks are rare in summer in Southeastern Arizona now, so we were lucky to catch up with this one at Patagonia Lake. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.
We saw lots of doves on this tour, with no species more abundant than the White-winged Dove. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.
We waited until late in the trip, but finally found a few Western Screech-Owls in the riparian corridor in Lower Florida Canyon. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.
While there are some exceptions, Whiskered Screech-Owls (here, with the pale greenish bill) tend to occur at somewhat higher elevations and in denser forest types than Western Screech-Owls. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.
Most Elf Owls in Arizona become quiet and tough to track down in August. We managed to hear several and see two. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.
Mexican Spotted Owls are often difficult to locate, but a pair in Miller Canyon has a habit of sitting near a trail, often with youngsters (like this juvenile) nearby. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.
We only saw one Calliope Hummingbird, but she put on quite a show, aggressively duking it out with her larger relatives for space at a sugar water feeder. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.
The male White-eared Hummingbird that we saw in Miller Canyon was probably one of only a handful of its species north of the Mexican border this summer. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.
The feeders at the Southwestern Research Station were dominated by Blue-throated Hummingbirds, the largest hummer species that we have in the US. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.
We had many opportunities to sort out the differences between Cassin's and Western Kingbird. Individual kingbirds, however, were a bit more bellicose in sorting out their own differences (here, Cassin's at top, Western below). Photo by guide Tom Johnson.
Most birders see their first US Thick-billed Kingbirds in Patagonia; we were fortunate to observe a nesting pair with young in Portal, an unusual location for this species. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.
Despite habitat loss from a 2011 fire in the Chiricahuas, we had no trouble finding Mexican Chickadees. In fact, their chatters often signaled the presence of multiple species of warblers and other songbirds in mixed flock scenarios. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.
We lucked into a Juniper Titmouse attending seed feeders in Portal. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.
Bendire's Thrashers were nesting near the town of Rodeo, New Mexico. Chris even managed to make some high quality recordings of this species' "chuck" call, which isn't heard terribly often. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.
Here, the group happily reflects on the magic of the South Fork Cave Creek Canyon and wonders if they'll ever see another European Starling. [Post script - We finally saw a starling on Day 7]. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.
A stunning Rufous-capped Warbler performed well for the group on a hike up Hunter Canyon in the Huachuca Mountains. Photo by guide Chris Benesh.
Red-faced Warbler was one of the most striking of the montane warblers we watched in high elevation forest in the Chiricahua Mountains. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.
The target of our hike into California Gulch was this Five-striped Sparrow. We had some excellent views of this thornscrub specialist on the northern edge of its range here in southern Arizona. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.
A Hooded Oriole fed in the yard outside our rooms at the Southwestern Research Station in scenic Cave Creek Canyon. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.
Our first night in Tucson ended with a vigil of a bridge over the Santa Cruz River. We watched tens of thousands of Brazilian Free-tailed Bats exit their day roost as the river swelled to its banks due to recent rain. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.
MAMMALS
This adult Black Bear glared warily at our tour van, guarding her tree-climbing cub. Eventually she also headed up a tree and we proceeded up Huachuca Canyon. Photo by guide Chris Benesh.
The tour's mammal highlight was certainly this Western Spotted Skunk that accompanied our after-dinner checklist compilations at the Southwestern Research Station. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.
Crowning the tour's herp list, this Tiger Rattlesnake was warming itself on a road near the Santa Rita Mountains at night during an owling excursion. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Totals for the tour: 214 bird taxa and 18 mammal taxa