Since migration had been so poor in Mass before we left, we stopped at Mt. Auburn on the way to Logan airport and got to see Cape May and Bay-breasted Warblers (along with teeming hordes of birders, strollers, etc.) Anyway...
We arrived in Tucson in the late afternoon of 5/16/98, and headed out of the terminal to pick up our rental vehicle. Just outside the door were House sparrow (of course), Great-tailed grackle and Mourning dove. We drove to the motel (Smuggler's Inn in NE Tucson, not bad at all) and upon arriving, we were greeted by Gambel's quail and Northern mockingbird in the street outside, and House finches, White-winged doves and Rock doves on the roof. One thing to note about Arizona is that they do not use daylight savings time so sunrise was around 5:30 a.m. and sunset around 7:30 p.m. during our stay. We hit the hotel restaurant for I forget what for dinner since it was so memorable.
Sunday morning we headed out to the "Shannon-Broadway 'Desert'" area (see the Taylor "A Birder's Guide to Southeastern Arizona" from ABA; we also used Davis and Russell's "Finding Birds in Southeast Arizona", Tucson Audubon Society) west of Tucson near sunrise. We found Gila Woodpecker, Cactus wren, Canyon towhee, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Curve-billed thrasher, E. Starling, Rufous-winged sparrow, Pyrrhuloxia, Inca dove, Verdin, Northern cardinal (they really are brighter in AZ), Yellow warbler, Wilson's warbler, and Bronzed cowbird in about 1.5 hours of wandering. Then we headed off to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum for their usual 7:30 am opening time. On the way we encountered many Purple martins in the hills. While at the Desert museum we added Costa's hummingbird (free range), and met a few of the birders we would run into continually during our entire trip. The Desert museum is definitely worth a visit if for no other reason than to see many of the birds you will be looking for in the wild. Here as almost everywhere, visit as early as possible. First, birding is usually dead in midday (often by 10am), second, it is bloody hot in the desert, and third, the Museum is popular.
On the way to our next stop, we saw the first of many Turkey vultures near the tourist trap of Old Tucson. We arrived at the famous cemetery near the San Xavier del Bac Mission (SW of Tucson) in the midday heat. Two Burrowing owls kindly obliged with great looks before we retreated to our air conditioned car. We birded behind the Mission itself and found Abert's towhee before our brains baked and we headed for the car again. Seeking cooler air, we decided to drive up Mt. Lemmon, (NE of Tucson.) This was definitely a high point (no pun intended) as you drive through many biotic zones from lower Sonoran to Rocky Mountain coniferous (with left-over snow banks) on a nice paved road. We made a few stops on the way up and down (never did get to the top since we were running out of daylight) and managed to see: Cassin's kingbird, White-throated swift, Pygmy nuthatch, A. robin, Zone-tailed hawk, Yellow-rumped (Audubon's) warbler, Yellow-eyed junco, White-breasted nuthatch, Red-faced warbler, Pine siskin, Mexican jay, Western tanager, Acorn woodpecker, Black-headed grosbeak, Hepatic tanager, Black vulture, Violet-green swallow, and Steller's jay. It was getting dark so we returned to town for a fun grilled shrimp dinner at a funky chain restaurant called Chuy's.
The next morning, we started off near dawn at the Marana Pecan Grove (NW of Tucson). This was one of our very favorite spots. Starting on the dirt road on the north side of the grove, we walked the north border and then north along a dike until it stopped. We saw Mallard, Red-winged blackbird, Western kingbird, Vermillion flycatcher, Phainopepla, Song sparrow, Lesser goldfinch, Warbling vireo, Cordilleran flycatcher, Killdeer, Hooded oriole, Bell's vireo, Ladderbacked woodpecker, Blue grosbeak, and Common yellowthroat. We then switched over to the south access road and on the way in we saw: Meadowlark sp. (could have been either), sidewinder tracks (well, that's what they looked like), 2 more BURROWING OWLS, and many Horned larks (very pale ssp.). In the grove we saw Townsend's warbler. By then it was pretty toasty so we headed out with more looks at the owls and, just before the main road, Lark sparrow, and what we thought was a Sprague's pipit (pipit stance, pipit behavior, pipit shape but round, almost ploverish head, very pale with pink (not dark) legs, clear belly, streaky breast.) [Upon our return to Mass, I ran this description past an AZ birder and guide and he said no - American pipit. He hasn't seen Sprague's since Feb; they are only found in the grasslands east of Patagonia when they are around. Shows what a lack of local information can do to you. It's going on the list as an American pipit.]
We worked our way south picking up Northern rough-winged swallow, Black-chinned hummingbird, Greater roadrunner, and Barn swallow at crossings of the "Santa Cruz River" (this one actually had some water in it unlike most rivers out there.) Since this was our last day in Tucson, we bit the bullet and spent part of the early afternoon driving through Saguarro National Park (West). The car thermometer read 107F so we drove a little, hopped out to listen and look, hopped back in to the A/C and repeated. Using this whimpy technique, we added Gilded flicker, Black-tailed gnatcatcher, Ash throated Flycatcher and Black-throated Sparrow, one bird per stop. It took a couple more to add American kestrel. Then we headed for Madera Canyon.
We were running late and literally hopped out of the car, were handed the keys to our room at the Santa Rita Lodge and zoomed off for the bird walk we had signed up for weeks before. The evening walk was lead by Jack Murray (well-known ex-Massachusetts birder.) We began at the Proctor Road parking lot and worked the trail up canyon seeing: Bewick's wren, Rufous-crowned sparrow, nesting Strickland's woodpecker, Western wood pewee, Summer tanager, and Common raven. We then hung around the ramada (a roofed, wall-less structure) at the parking lot, watching and listening for night birds as it was growing darker. One Common nighthawk flew by. A small owl landed at our feet and then disappeared before anyone could really focus on it. Soon we could hear Common poorwill and Western screech owls calling. We then headed up to the Santa Rita Lodge parking lot to look for Elf Owls. We got to watch an adult feed a juvenile, and then located the same or another juvenile a bit later at very close range. In the background Whipporwills were calling. All in all, a nice introduction to the canyon.
The next morning (5/19) we got up and birded a bit around the lodge area. We saw: Sulfur bellied flycatcher, Black phoebe, Scott's oriole, Broadbilled hummingbird, Dusky-capped flycatcher, Bridled titmouse (sounds like a weird chickadee), and Magnificent hummingbird. Then, we hooked up with Jack Murray's morning walk at 7 am. We drove to Florida wash below the mouth of Madera canyon and walked a dirt road that cuts across the wash area. In addition to some of grasslands/desert birds already mentioned (like Costa's hummer and rufous-winged sparrow), we saw Botteri's sparrow and Lucy's warbler. We then returned to the lodge area to bird the trail across the stream and saw Plumbeous vireo, Red-shafted flicker, and Hutton's vireo. Back at the Lodge after Jack's walk, we saw Band-tailed pigeon, Anna's hummingbird, and Brown-headed cowbird during a prolonged early afternoon relax period. In the afternoon, we set out up canyon (drive to the end, park and climb) in search of rumored trogons. We headed up Vault Mine Trail and saw Painted redstart and House wren but no trogons. We set up in the covered picnic area at the lodge to plan our next foray when a thundering herd of birders headed past us for the trail across the stream, muttering the T-word. We gave chase. We had no luck just then, although others saw or heard a bird. We were persistent though and kept moving up canyon. After about 150 yds. a male Elegant trogon flashed over and landed nearby. What an improbable-looking bird!
That evening, the usual crowd assembled in the parking lot for the owl show. First we heard, but did not see Whiskered screech owl, then elf owls emerged from their phone pole next to cabin 1 and finally the western screeches started up (all between 7 and 7:45). We weren't ready to call it quits just yet, so we drove down canyon towards the nearest town (for those who haven't been there, Madera Canyon is something like 20 miles from ANYTHING - bring in food, fill up with gas, etc.) checking the roads. We had a common poorwill doing acrobatics in the headlight beams from ground perches. Tiny reflections in the road turned out to be some pretty decent sized spiders, doing whatever spiders do in the night. At the edge of "civilization", as deduced by huge street lights, Lesser nighthawks were having a feast. Finally, we gave up and headed back for supper and bed.
In the morning we drove down canyon from the lodge, stopping briefly by the side of the road for Bushtit and a 15 minute rain (rain in May - weird.) Then we took the Bog Springs trail up the side of the canyon. Just as we were reaching the spot where another trail split off we heard a trogon and investigated. It was another male, using the booming call that can be heard for maybe 100 yards (as opposed to the softer call good for 50 ft.). We got decent looks and decided to walk down this small wash towards the bird to try for a photo. Susan noticed an obstruction and so we changed our plans for a 15" rattlesnake of some type. I mean, why bother the poor thing? Anyways, we headed up the trail to the spring and added Black-throated gray warbler and Grace's warbler. Due to a close encounter with the ground on the way back, we spent the rest of the day lazing around by the Lodge feeders (one of us with ice packs), adding Broad-tailed and Blue-throated hummingbirds. Late that afternoon we repeated our walk in the Florida wash area, but only added black-tailed rattlesnake to our list (scared the stuffing out of some British birders who were walking in the wash; we heard the yelp and came running. This one was about 5 feet long with 10 rattles. Cool.)
For those who are wondering about buff-collared nightjars - don't. Jack Murray told us with some disgust that tape- and light-toting birders had ruined the famous Florida wash area and the birds had not been there for 2 years. 'Nuff said.
We set off the next morning (5/21) towards Patagonia, following the gravel road toward the east side of the Santa Rita Mountains. Interesting road. Luckily we didn't meet anyone on any of the really blind curves. Out on AZ 83 heading towards Sonoita we stopped to admire Cliff swallows, and then a Loggerhead shrike. In Sonoita itself (don't blink), we stopped at the post office to mail postcards and saw a Say's phoebe. It was actually feeding young in a nest on top of a light on the front of the post office. We rolled into Patagonia and went straight to the Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve of The Nature Conservancy for the 7:30am opening. This place is GREAT in the morning but became pretty dead by 10am. We added Black-bellied whistling ducks, Yellow-bellied chats (lots! - Susan's all time favorite bird), Great blue heron, Lazuli bunting, Tropical kingbird, Gray hawks, Thickbilled kingbird, a Great horned owl chick, and a flyby Mississippi kite (rare but also seen by another birder the next day.) We then drove over to the Paton's house and sat around in the folding chairs, under the sun canopy, chatting with birders we had seen nearly everywhere on the trip. We also saw Violet-crowned hummingbird there (along with lots of broadbilled and blackchinned and one Anna's). A family of WESTERN SCREECH OWLS is in residence this year and one adult and three fuzzy chicks were in plain view. Finally we headed over to the famous Patagonia Roadside Rest Area. There isn't a sign, by the way. Luckily for us, the Rose-throated Becards had come in 3 days earlier and had been actively nest building. Someone had even arranged rocks across the path in the shape of an arrow aiming at the nest. Unfortunately, the wind was pretty gusty that afternoon and, while we saw and identified both the male and female birds, the conditions weren't great. Back across the highway at the rest area, we saw Rock wren and Canyon wren and were treated to flyby gray hawk, Chihuahuan raven and Prairie falcon (another really late bird but unmistakable at close range.) We called it quits early and headed for a well deserved early dinner and margaritas. We stayed at the Stage Stop Hotel in Patagonia. It is the only hotel in Patagonia. Not ridiculous but with no competition but B&B's, neither well appointed nor reasonably priced. We don't really recommend it. If you stay there, check the plumbing in your room first. The pool was murky and untempting. The food was just okay but the margaritas were acceptable (hey, anything with ice would have been acceptable).
The next morning we hit the Roadside rest area again early for much better looks at the becards and nice views of a thickbilled kingbird nest. Then we were off to Kino Springs. Around the ponds there we added American coot, Ruddy ducks, Double-crested cormorant, Black-crowned night heron, and Common ground dove. Another interesting sight was a gray hawk being ridden (literally) by one really irritated kingbird. Could have been a tropical as at least one was there. It was getting hot and less birdy again so we headed off to our next location, the Ramsey Canyon Inn.
When we arrived we walked right up to where a group of people were staring at a perched White-eared hummingbird, just outside of the gift shop in the preserve. Another target bird hit the dust and we'd hardly stretched out the kinks from the ride. We then checked out the Golden eagle nest on the canyon wall (scope range) and saw (I'm sorry to say) the ugliest baby bird I've ever seen. It wasn't until the next afternoon that we saw an adult come in to the nest. We sauntered up canyon along the trail to the "frog pond" where a pair of trogons were nesting and were greeted by their brilliant colors and uncooth croakings. Elegant trogons are in full supply this year and no one we talked to had missed them. Despite the jokes, these are not trash birds! That evening we had the treat of seeing a whiskered screech owl emerge from a nest hole, coaxed by another calling nearby. Pretty neat.
The next morning (5/23) we walked up canyon early, adding Wild turkey and hermit thrush. We met up with another birder we had been hanging around with and headed for Carr's canyon chasing word of buff-breasted flycatcher. The road up there is not for the faint of heart. While it was in great shape and recently graded, it is one lane with infrequent pull outs and goes from something like 4600 ft to 7400 ft in a couple of miles. Switchback city. This was Memorial Day weekend and the two campgrounds on top were quite busy as was the road. Anyway, we made it up and back okay. At the Reef Townsite campground we saw Greater pewee, Spotted towhee, Buff-breasted flycatcher, Peregrine falcon (another good sighting), and Olive warbler along with NESTING PLUMBEOUS VIREO (pointed out by a young camper) and wb nuts. More b-b flycatchers were at the Ramsey Vista campground along with nesting steller's jay. After dropping off our relieved passenger, we stooged around the housing developments at the mouth of Ramsey Canyon and saw Eastern meadowlark and Bullock's oriole. Then we tried for the Sierra Vista Wastewater Treatment ponds. Although the area is supposedly only open weekdays, the gate was open and we drove in for some quick looks before a guy came by to tell us he was locking the gate. Perfectly nice about it too. We saw Northern shoveler, a female Bufflehead, "Mexican" and regular mallards, Green-winged, Blue-winged and Cinnamon teal, a Great egret, and more killdeer (more late birds and evidence of weird migration). Back at the lodge, we finally saw an adult golden eagle. We sat around for a while admiring the hummers and then headed off with our birder friend for a celebratory dinner of better Mexican food at Ricardo's (turn right at the highway and drive maybe 1.5 mi). Thanks Linda! We got back to the Inn in time to see the whiskered screech and the resident elf owls emerge for their evening activities.
The next morning (5/24) we left Ramsey canyon and birded the San Pedro House area of the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area. Again, this was a great place to visit in the early morning. Aside from many of the birds already mentioned for riparian and grasslands areas, we added Green heron, Scaled quail, Common moorhen, Cassin's sparrow and Northern beardless-tyrannulet. The latter we had heard many times in AZ and earlier in S. Texas but had never actually gotten a good look. Nemesis bird. There we were, talking to some other birders and the thing flew in and perched 10 feet away. Aaarrrggg. Of course, then we saw it or another twice within the next half hour.
After lunch we headed north back towards Tucson and hit a few spots in town. Driving in northeastern Tucson, we found a Harris' hawk on a phone pole, and at Agua Caliente Park (probably interesting in the morning but crowded and noisy at 4:30pm on Memorial Day weekend) we saw an adult peregrine falcon stoop on a great-tailed grackle perched on top of a mesquite, maybe 30 yards away. It missed. We scooted for Catalina State Park (NW of Tucson) in a last shot at two thrashers we had missed (still missing in fact) and turned up a Western Scrub Jay. Finally we headed for dinner at La Parrilla Suiza (another chain but very good Mexico City type food). That was it as we flew out the next morning still straining our eyes for birds near the runway. Susan didn't want to stop again at Mt. Auburn on the way in from Logan Airport.