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Se Arizona Advice (1 Viewer)

cassowary

Well-known member
Greetings,

I intend to drive down to SE Arizona from Albuquerque and spend a few days birding there next week.

Q: as I havent found a review for either of the guides below (latest editions) I welcome feedback as to which is better or are both good?

the 2005 ABA guide

2007 Finding Birds in SE Arizona 7th Edition

Cheers
 
Mike,
The 2007 Finding Birds in SE Arizona 7th Edition will give you excellent directions to the birding sites. I haven't seen the ABA guide so can't compare. What part of Southeast AZ are you going to? Are you looking for any particular birds?
Lisa
 
Lisa, Hello and thanks for your reply.

I have only just briefly looked at some distribution maps, so haven't planned a route/destinations yet. I am working in Albuquerque for the next couple of months so I will be looking mainly for the AZ specialties and the species that are regional specialties but are easier in SE AZ. Please feel free to let me know of your recommendations.
 
Mike,
Some of the spots I would recommend at this time of year:
1. Madera Canyon - south of Tucson: Flame-colored Tanager, Blue-throated Hummingbird, White-eared Hummingbird, Elegant Trogan, and I've heard there is a pair of Berryline Hummingbirds. All except the Trogan appear to be hanging around the Kubo Gift shop.
2. Fort Huachuca - outside of Sierra Vista. There are two main spots on post the first is Upper Garden Canyon Picnic Area - there has been a couple of pair of nesting Elegant Trogans there the last couple of years, and further up the Canyon are a number of hard to find species. Also up Huachuca Canyon - different hard to finds or local species saw a pair of Sulpher-bellied Flycatchers gathering nest material at the beginning of June.
The next three spots are all south of Sierra Vista:
3. Ramsey Canyon - always good this time of year for hummingbirds, also flycatchers, some hawks, songbirds and warblers.
4. Beatty's Orchard upper Miller Canyon - Definitely good for Hummingbirds (white-eared, magnificent, Broad-billed, and Broad-tailed to name a few), Hawks, and a walk through the upper Miller Canyon trail will give up Red-faced Warblers, and a number of other nice species.
5. Ash Canyon B&B - on Highway 92 turn at Turkey Track Road (run?). This has to be my favorite, sit down and enjoy the birds place. You don't have to stay there to go there. Mary Jo opens her yard from sun-up to sun-down. She has an exceptionally wide variety of species: I've seen 5 different types of woodpeckers in 30 minutes to include the Arizona Woodpecker, and she is one of the few places you can almost be guaranteed a Lucifer's Hummingbird.
6. San Pedro River area: both east and west of Sierra Vista, you can try the San Pedro House area east of the city - it has 2 ponds and the river. And again taking 92 south to Palominas the area behind Casa de San Pedro on the west side of the river OR San Pedro Inn on the east side of the river.
7. Patagonia area - Paton's house for hummingbirds, especially the Violet-crowned; the
Soniota Creek Preserve (not open Mondays and Tuesdays), and the Patagonia Rest Stop west of town - Tropical Kingbirds can be seen there now.
Hopefully this will give you some starters. Let me know if I can be of other help.
Lisa
 
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Lisa, most of the places you listed were just a bit too far for me to drive to this weekend so instead I birded around cave creek (I stayed at Cave Creek Ranch - fantastic place). My favourite sightings were not birds but 2 black bears (my first black bears) a rattle snake(not yet identified) and a group of peccaries. anyway below is my list:

Cave Creek Canyon 4th JulyTrip List

1. Mexican? Mallard 9 – pond south of rodeo
2. Turkey Vulture
3. Coopers Hawk
4. Zone-tailed hawk 1 cave creek
5. Red-tailed hawk
6. Swainsons hawk
7. kestrel
8. prairie falcon 1 en route
9. turkey
10. Gambels quail
11. Montezuma quail 2 flushed cave creek
12. Band-tailed Pigeon 8+
13. mourning dove
14. Whiskered Screech Owl 4(seen) -2 adults 2 juveniles - stakeout
15. Western Screech Owl 2(seen) - stakeout
16. Elf Owl 2+seen 3+heard - stakeouts
17. common nighthawk
18. lesser nighthawk
19. whip-poor-will
20. Elegant trogon 1 male seen 4 heard all - south fork road
21. white throated swift
22. broad-billed hummingbird 10+
23. violet crowned hummingbird 1+ - private garden near portal
24. blue-throated hummingbird 10+
25. magnificent hummingbird 2+
26. black-chinned hummingbird
27. broad-tailed hummingbird
28. northern flicker
29. lewis’s woodpecker 1 (v. rare here)
30. acorn woodpecker
31. ladderbacked woodpecker-2
32. Arizona woodpecker-1+ - cave creek
33. greater pewee 2+
34. western wood pewee
35. buff breasted flycatcher 3 (known site) - nr ranger station
36. black phoebe
37. says phoebe
38. dusky capped flycatcher 10+
39. Ash throated flycatcher
40. brown crested flycatcher 3+
41. sulphur bellied flycatcher 7+
42. cassins kingbird
43. western kingbird
44. loggerhead shrike
45. huttons vireo 8+
46. bells vireo 2
47. plumbeous vireo
48. warbling vireo
49. stellers jay
50. western scrub jay
51. Mexican jay
52. common raven
53. chihuahuan raven
54. violet green swallow
55. rough winged swallow
56. barn swallow
57. bridled titmouse
58. juniper titmouse
59. Mexican chickadee 4+
60. verdin -mainly near portal
61. bushtit
62. white-breasted nuthatch
63. red breasted nuthatch -1
64. pygmy nuthatch
65. brown creeper-1
66. bewicks wren
67. house wren
68. cactus wren
69. blue-grey gnatcatcher
70. American robin
71. hermit thrush
72. mockingbird
73. bendires thrasher -1- state line road
74. curvebilled thrasher
75. crissal thrasher
76. Phainopela pair
77. lucys warbler -1- private garden near portal
78. black throated grey warbler 10+
79. graces warbler-3+
80. painted redstart 10+
81. olive warbler pair – known site
82. western tanager
83. hepatic tanager
84. summer tanager
85. varied bunting 1 male- cave creek garden
86. northern cardinal
87. Pyrrhuloxia 4+
88. Blue Grosbeak
89. black headed grosbeak
90. yellow-eyed junco
91. canyon towhee
92. spotted towhee
93. black throated sparrow
94. white crowned sparrow (orientalis)-1
95. chipping sparrow
96. hooded oriole 4+
97. bullocks oriole
98. scotts oriole 3+
99. red winged blackbird
100. great tailed grackle
101. bronzed cowbird 1 male cave creek
102. brown headed cowbird
103. house finch
104. lesser goldfinch
105. house sparrow

Where I havent put numbers they were common.

Not bad for a spur of the moment trip!!
 
Mike,
Sounds like you had a great weekend. Which Cave Creek? We actually have two of them in Arizona. I'm thinking it was the one near Portal?
Lisa
 
Lisa hello,

thats the one - near Portal; I found the birding community very friendly and helpful there. By the way I got the the 2007 Finding Birds in SE Arizona 7th Edition on your reccomendation and found it excellent, however I wouldnt have seen many of the species without help from local birders. I will try and go further west next month. Anyway I have attached a photo of a buff breasted flycatcher that I took near the ranger station- I am just getting used to my new equipment so I didnt get many good shots.
 

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  • bbf cave creek july 4 08.JPG
    bbf cave creek july 4 08.JPG
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Thanks, Mike. Super shot. I might try and go up there later this week for the day. I've heard they have a Yellow Grosbeak hanging around.
 
Lisa
Just to let you know that although Cassowary could not use your great advise last year , I can, as I will be in the areas you mentioned over Easter. I have the guide, but would welcome any extra advise you may have. We cannot visit Garden Canyon, etc, due to the fact that us Canadians are "foreigners" and are not allowed on the base without lots of red tape, I understand.

Regards

Tony Johnson
 
Tony, Easter is a great time to visit. We still have a lot of Warblers migrating through and the hummingbirds are pretty active. If you want to go up to Garden Canyon or Huachuca Canyon on the post drop me a pm and I'll see what I can do about escorting you in. I took a British couple up last year, and don't think it would be a problem to get you on with me.
Lisa
 
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