Arizona May 7-16, 2004 (1 Viewer)

Just back from a trip to South-east Arizona. The areas visited were: Greater Tucson, Saguaro NP east and west, Santa Catalinas, Mount Lemon, Aravaipa Canyon, Santa ritas, Madera canyon, California Gulch, Patagonia lake, Kino springs, Huachucas, Chiricahuas. We had 210 species, 90 of which were lifers for me. Didn't count as lifers those I only heard.

From the top of my head:

Eared grebe
Pied billed grebe
Least grebe
double crested cormorant
neotropic cormorant
turkey vulture
black vulture
great blue heron
green heron
black crowned night heron
snowy egret
great egret
white faced ibis
blue winged teal
green winged teal
cinnamon teal
garganey
malard (mexican duck and normal malard)
wood duck
ruddy duck
northern shoveler
cooper's hawk
sharp shinned hawk
northern goshawk
Harris's Hawk (nesting)
common black hawk (nesting)
gray hawk
swainson's hawk (nesting)
red tailed hawk (nesting)
zone tailed hawk
golden eagle (nesting)
peregrin
prairy falcon (taking a prey apart on a telephone pole)
american kestrel
american coot
common moorhen
gambel's quail
scaled quail
montezuma quail (sitting at my feet! :bounce: )
wild turkey
kildeer
black necked stilt
american avocet
greater yellowlegs
western sandpiper
least sandpiper
baird's sandpiper
spotted sandpiper
long billed dowitcher
marbled godwit
wilson's phalarope
ring billed gull
common ground dove
inca dove
mourning dove
white winged dove
band tailed pigeon
greater roadrunner
great horned owl
whiskered screech owl
Elf Owl
burrowing owl
northern pygmy owl (heard only)
western screech owl (heard only)
buff collared nightjar
lesser nighthawk (hunting during the day!)
common poorwill
whippoorwill (heard only)
white throated swift
magnificent hummingbird
blue throated hummingbird
costa's hummingbird
anna's hummingbird
broad billed hummingbird
broad tailed hummingbird
calliope hummingbird
violet crowned hummingbird
black chinned hummingbird
(hybrid magnificent / berryline hummingbird)
acorn woodpecker
gila woodpecker
red naped sapsucker
gilded flicker
(red shafted) northern flicker
ladder backed woodpecker
arizona woodpecker
hairy woodpecker
northern beardles tyrannulet
olive sided flycatcher
western wood peewee
greater peewee
Hammond's flycatcher
cordileran flycatcher
dusky flycatcher
buff breasted flycatcher
black phoebe
say's phoebe
vermillion flycatcher
brown crested flycatcher
ash throated flycatcher
dusky capped flycatcher
sulphur bellied flycatcher
thick billed kingbird
western kingbird
cassin's kingbird
loggerhead shrike
plumbeous vireo
bell's vireo
hutton's vireo
warbling vireo
common raven
chihuahan raven
mexican jay
western scrub jay
steller's jay
horned lark
purple martin
barn swallow
cliff swallow
cave swallow! (1 among a large mixed group of swallows)
northern rough winged swallow
bank swallow
violet green swallow
mountain chickadee
mexican chickadee
juniper titmouse
bridled titmouse
verdin
bushtit
red breatsed nuthatch
white breatsed nuthatch
pygmy nuthatch
brown creeper
cactus wren
canyon wren
rock wren
house wren
bewick's wren
black tailed gnatcatcher
blue grey gnatcatcher
western bluebird
american robin
hermit thrush
swainson's thrush (heard only)
northern mockingbird
curve billed thrasher
bendire's thrasher
crissal thrasher
european starling
phainopepla
yellow warbler
orange crowned warbler
grace's warbler
townsend's warbler
hermit warbler
lucy's warbler
yellow-rumped warbler
black throated gery warbler
red faced warbler
painted redstart
common yellowthroat
macgillivray's warbler
wilson's warbler
yellow breasted chat
olive warbler
hepatic tanager
summer tanager
western tanager
flame colored tanager
green tailed towhee
spotted towhee
abert's towhee
canyon towhee
rufous winged sparrow
botteri's sparrow
rufous crowned sparrow
chipping sparrow
black chinned sparrow (heard only)
lark sparrow
black throated sparrow
song sparrow
white crowned sparrow
dark eyed junco
yellow eyed junco
northern cardinal
pyrrhuloxia
black headed grosbeak
blue grosbeak
lazuli bunting
red winged blackbird
yellow headed blackbird
eastern meadowlark
great tailed grackle
brown headed cowbird
bronzed cowbird
bullock's oriole
scott's oriole
hooded oriole
house finch
american goldfinch
lesser goldfinch
red crossbill
house sparrow

210 species in 10 days? I'm going for a lie down.

Darrenom said:

210 species in 10 days? I'm going for a lie down.

Click to expand...

Heck, imagine my surprise when we did the total count for the trip! 8)

We were quite lucky, but still missed some: spotted owl and 5 stripe sparrow. The sparrow we half expected to miss, but given all our effort, missing that darn owl was a real disappointment.

fbeeldens,
I just missed you! I was there for 3 days, leaving on the 7th and we spent a day and a half in Madera Canyon, a day in Tucson, and a day at Arivaca and Patagonia. However, you are much more observant than I am, we ended up with 86 species and NO owls. It is a great area for birding. My biggest disappointment was not finding a Montezuma's Quail, and you with one at your feet; color me green with envy! We did find the Elegant Trogon in Madera Canyon in the late afternoon (after everyone else called it quits for the mid day sun) and the Black-capped Gnatcatcher in Sonoita Creek at Patagonia. We missed about 3 raptors and a half dozen Empidonax species for lack of ability in ID'ing them.

I'd love to hear some of the details about how you found the M. Quail and especially the Owls. You certainly did a great job finding birds with that many in just 10 days.
Did you get your Violet-crowned hummer in Patagonia?

Dave et al.

I spent a month in the Chiricahuas last summer, at the Southwest Research Station. I was there for two solid weeks before I came across my first Montezuma Quail. I'd dipped several times on this bird at Ft. Davis State Park in Texas, though the birds come in to feeders there at various times of year.

Finally, on my way back from a two-day trip to the Huachucas, there was a pair of quail, about two miles from the Station, right on the road. From that point on, I saw the birds about every three days, including birds I flushed between my tent and the dining hall of the Station.

The Violet-crowned HB is a very regular visitor to the Paton's feeders in Patagonia. In fact, many consider that yard to be the #1 spot in the US for that species. The bird has been regular at feeders in Portal, AZ, as well, including during the winter.

Santa Rita Lodge has been the owl spot for a long time. I dipped on the Spotted Owl in Scheelite Canyon, though according to a non-birding friend of mine, "Everybody's seen those owls!"

Oh, well. Just one more reason to make it back there soon.

Steve in Houston

Steve,
Thanks for the info. I got my Violet-crowned in Paton's yard (see my trip report under Arizona). Wish I had known about the Owls at the Santa Rita Lodge, we spent some time there watching at their feeding station. Guess we might run into you in Arizona cause we need to go back also

Wow! Sounds like an amazing trip! You even got the Buff-collared Nightjar, that must have been at that mine where they have been seen recently? You dont have that marked as just heard, did you get to see it?
This coming summer, I am attending the VENT Camp Chiricahua, I can't wait to see some of those species like the Elf Owl, I really hope to also see that Black-capped Gnatcatcher at Patagonia.
Congrads on the 90 lifers, thanks for the report.

Arizona

'llo Dave,

I only caught the quail by chance. Heard something rustling through the grass behind me, and there he was! Trying to sneak past us!
I don't know if someone who has experience with the bird can confirm this, but we initially were "tipped off" by their presence because they started calling in the evening when we were at California Gulch. It might be something to keep an ear out for when there. I noticed while in Arizona that the Gambell's and the scaled quail call quite a bit, so I assume that the montezuma does as well. (Steve, any confirmation on this?)

But you got that gnatcatcher. We ended up spending nearly 2 days looking for that damn bird, and missed it.

We had the elegant trogon in Madera canyon as well, and then another one in the Huachuca's. What a beautiful bird that one is.

Is the violet crowned hummer missing from the list? We did see it in the Patton's garden.

Incidentally I noticed that I forgot to put a couple of birds in the list:

The Elegant trogon (d'oh!), virginia's warbler and eurasian collared dove.

Cheers ,

Filip

Taco said:

Wow! Sounds like an amazing trip! You even got the Buff-collared Nightjar, that must have been at that mine where they have been seen recently? You dont have that marked as just heard, did you get to see it?
This coming summer, I am attending the VENT Camp Chiricahua, I can't wait to see some of those species like the Elf Owl, I really hope to also see that Black-capped Gnatcatcher at Patagonia.
Congrads on the 90 lifers, thanks for the report.

Click to expand...

'llo Taco,

Yep, had the birds at the mine in California Gulch. Saw it as well as heard it.

If you've got time and the opportunity: Madera Canyon in the Santa Rita's is a really good spot for the elf owls. They nest in some of the telegraph poles down at the lodge.

Cheers and have a great stay at the Chiricahua's,

Filip

Steve Gross said:

Dave et al.

I dipped on the Spotted Owl in Scheelite Canyon, though according to a non-birding friend of mine, "Everybody's seen those owls!"

Oh, well. Just one more reason to make it back there soon.

Steve in Houston

Click to expand...

That's pretty much the reaction we got when we told people we'd dipped the owl.

And I do agree. Just one more reason to go back!

Cheers,

Filip