[Dave B Smith]

Birding in S.E. Arizona

Last week (May 4,5,6, 2004) we took a short vacation in S.E. Arizona. We had a full three days of birding and what great birding it was! We started in Tucson the afternoon that we arrived and got a number of the desert scrub species including Cactus Wren, Gila Woodpecker, and the cute little Verdin, as well as the Common Raven. My favorite of this group was the Cactus Wren. While they were generally in the Saguaros, they also spent some time walking on the ground. Well walking isn’t quite the right word to describe their movement. Maybe I should say “waddling”. It was amusing watching them!

We stayed in Green Valley and got up early next morning to bird in the wash right behind the Inn where we were staying. The first bird we found was the Gambel’s Quail. This was my overall favorite of the trip. We had very close views of males calling, hens with their chicks in tow, and small groups feeding. They were almost cartoon-like as they hurried past crossing the pathway.

After a good breakfast we went up to Madera Canyon and stopped first at the Santa Rita Lodge feeding station. This was loaded with birds although we only found three hummers there. Then we walked the paths behind the lodge and found the Bridled Titmouse (another stunning little bird), Acorn Woodpeckers, and several Empidonax flycatchers. It was now getting to be mid day and even at this high elevation of about 5500 feet it was 93 degrees. We ate our packed lunch and decided to hike to the top of the canyon to look for the Elegant Trogon. As we started up the trail, we met a number of folks coming down and no one had seen the trogon. As we got about a mile up, we heard it calling in the distance. Trying to get closer, my wife managed to flush a Common Poorwill. What a bonus! But the trogon had moved further off so we continued up the trail. After picking up a number of warblers, we decided it was time to start back down. Soon after, we heard the Trogon calling again, this time moving towards us. We waited and it finally flew right over our heads and perched nearby with a clear view! Well, this just made my wife’s day. The Trogons are her favorite family and this was a colorful male. We had good views for about 15 minutes until it moved on. It was late so we returned to town in search of dinner.

The next day, we decided to do some more desert birding around Tucson. First we again checked the wash behind our Inn and the entrance road to the Canyon. We picked up some Sparrows, Vireos, Pyrrhuloxia, Phainopeplas and an Abert’s Towhee. Then we headed to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum to bird their grounds. We picked up a Northern Cardinal, Northern Flicker, and more Phainopeplas. Then at 100 degrees, we decided to go to town to cool off a bit. We had a good lunch at the Taqueria Juanito’s and then caught a good movie. After that we headed back outdoors to the Sabino Canyon Park on the North-east side of the city. This was a very nice park with both desert scrub and riparian habitat. We found the Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Gila Woodpeckers, Verdin, Curve-billed Thrasher and lots of Mourning as well as White-winged Doves. We also saw our first Jackrabbit of the trip as well as a smaller rabbit, Western Chipmunks, deer and lots of lizards.

The last day we decided to try a new location and randomly picked one of the birding hotspots off of a map I had downloaded from the internet. We headed for the Buenos Aires NWR just south of our hotel. We arrived at the Eastern section of the NWR near Arivaca. This was riparian habitat and we got lots of birds here including Black Phoebe, Yellow-breasted Chat, Gray Hawk, White-crowned Sparrow, and Western and Cassin’s Kingbirds. We also ran into two other local birders here who gave us some suggestions for other nearby sites. This was something new to us to actually encounter other birders! We followed their suggestions and then headed for Patagonia (Arizona). We went first to a rest stop outside of town where we found about 5 other groups of birders as well as Thick-billed Kingbird and White-throated Swift. Then on to a private house in Patagonia where a lady has set up hummingbird feeders and a shaded viewing area in her back yard! Talk about welcoming other birders! We got three lifers in her backyard, Anna’s and Violet-crowned Hummingbirds and Ladder-backed Woodpecker.

We then had lunch in town where we also picked up Barn Swallow in their courtyard and then headed out to Sonoita Creek at Patagonia Lake. Here we found the Black-capped Gnatcatcher that has bred there the last two seasons, as well as one of the birders that we had seen earlier in the day. Also picked up two life ducks and a Lincoln’s Sparrow.

All in all, it was one of the best birding trips we have taken and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for great birds and clean, well maintained, natural areas for hiking and bird watching.

Following is the complete list of birds seen. The 35 lifer’s have an asterisk:
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Mallard
Cinnamon Teal *
Ruddy Duck *
Gambel's Quail *
Great Blue Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Gray Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
American Coot
Rock Pigeon
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Inca Dove
Greater Roadrunner
Lesser Nighthawk
Common Poorwill *
White-throated Swift *
Broad-billed Hummingbird
Violet-crowned Hummingbird *
Blue-throated Hummingbird *
Magnificent Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Anna's Hummingbird *
Elegant Trogon
Acorn Woodpecker
Gila Woodpecker *
Ladder-backed Woodpecker *
Northern Flicker
Gray Flycatcher *
Black Phoebe *
Say's Phoebe *
Vermilion Flycatcher
Dusky-capped Flycatcher
Brown-crested Flycatcher *
Cassin's Kingbird
Thick-billed Kingbird
Western Kingbird *
Loggerhead Shrike
Bell's Vireo *
Blue-headed Vireo *
Mexican Jay *
Common Raven
Tree Swallow *
Barn Swallow
Bridled Titmouse *
Verdin *
White-breasted Nuthatch
Cactus Wren *
Rock Wren
Bewick's Wren *
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher *
Black-capped Gnatcatcher *
Northern Mockingbird
Curve-billed Thrasher
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Phainopepla *
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
Painted Redstart
Yellow-breasted Chat *
Summer Tanager
Western Tanager
Abert's Towhee *
Rufous-winged Sparrow *
Black-throated Sparrow *
Song Sparrow *
Lincoln's Sparrow *
White-crowned Sparrow *
Northern Cardinal
Pyrrhuloxia *
Black-headed Grosbeak
Red-winged Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Bronzed Cowbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Bullock's Oriole *

[Grousemore]

What a great list of birds,Dave and all in three days!
Enjoyed your report and added S.E.Arizona to my ever growing list of places to visit.

[Charles Harper]

Good work, Dave. Wonderful variety of habitats in SE Arizona, isn't there? You oughtta stick this thread in the USA/Arizona subforum.

[Katy Penland]

Here's a link to a brief summary from one of our members who just returned from SE Arizona (who might be induced to write a longer trip report shortly; no pressure ). It's post #7 from Niels.

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread....849#post448849