South-east Arizona, June-July 2017

     This is the first of my series of blogs to track my journey to 1000 bird species. A trip to one of the South American countries would help me cross 1000 too quickly. So, I'm going to make it more exciting by birding only within US and India. 

     South-east Arizona is one of the best spots in US for birds. It has a lot of bird species that can be found only here within US. It also shares come species with south Texas and west Texas. This makes my job easier, as I can just focus on the birds that aren't in Texas. I had birded a couple of sky islands after memorial day last year - Madera Canyon (Santa Rita Mountains) and Ramsey Canyon (Huachuca Mountains). So I already had Elegant Trogon, Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, Bridled Titmouse, Arizona Woodpecker and Broad-billed Hummingbird. I had seen Greater Pewee and Flame-colored Tanager (this was good because they make an annual appearance in AZ) in Refugio county,TX. Here is some info about the sky-islands of south-east AZ - https://skyisland.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=50d9dfd6886a48038549cb71aced1e5e

To see the remaining birds, I need at least two more visits - I made the first one around July 4th weekend this year. Due to the bad roads, I rented an SUV. I made it a priority to go after the rarities and out-of-the-way places and leave the easier ones for later. Chiricahua Mountains is the only place for Mexican Chickadee, and it is out-of-the way. The rarities were Tufted Flycatcher, Rufous-capped Warbler, Rose-throated Becard, Buff-collared Nightjar, and Slate-throated Redstart.

Here is the link to the photo album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/57507254@N04/albums/72157685934478066

Day 1:

     I arrived at Phoenix,AZ at 9:15 am, and was on the road by 10:10 am. I wanted to have a good breakfast - Pongal at Woodlands recommended by a friend. The restaurant opens at 11:00 am, so I decided to bird before it gets even hotter in the day. It was already 105 F. I headed to Desert Botanical Gardens which was close to the airport to bird for about an hour. It wasn't a good decision which I realized as soon as I got out of the car. The entry for the park was $25 which I felt was not worth it. I birded around the park a little to see if I could get a Gilded Flicker, but realized this was not a good time to bird at all in the desert. I had seen Gambel's Quails earlier, but they were fleeting glimpses. I saw a family with young ones here. Here is the list - https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37869516. The main agenda for the trip was south-east AZ specialties, so I quickly went to the restaurant and continued on my way to Tucson. I saw multiple dust-devils along I10, and had a close view of one of them - it was actually scary to look at one 10 feet away! I made a brief birding by car at Santa Cruz flats - brief because here too I realized this is not the time to bird. Bendire's Trashers can be found relatively easily in spring when climate is better and they are singing. It can also be found close to Phoenix. Here is the list - https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37872905. I wanted to bird higher elevations of Mt. Lemmon for a few warblers. 'Sabino Dam and downstream riparian' was on the way, and I wanted to check it out. Unfortunately it was a gated community, and needs appointment to bird. ebird hotspot should have a '(private)' - at least that's what I see in TX. I headed to my first proper birding destination 'Rose Canyon and Lake' at Mt.Lemmon (Santa Catalina Mountains). The temperature cooled down as I went up from the desert floor where it was 107F. I saw the temperature come down gradually while driving up. At Rose Canyon campground I saw Yellow-eyed Junco, which was bird 896 - a juvenile begging for food from an adult. Here is the checklist: https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37879356. I continued to drive up and took a detour at Incinerator Ridge which did not produce any new birds. I went further up to the higher section of trails where the temperature dropped to 71 F. I hiked a trail for about 0.5 miles and came back after sunset - https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37878012.

Day 2:

     I started driving up Mt.Lemmon and made a short stop at Hitchock campground which wansn't birdy - https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S38000050. I drove up to the higher elevations and hiked a bit on the upper trails. It was very birdy - https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37887960. I wanted a Red-faced Warbler, and could not get it. I met a couple of birders who recommended other spots for it on Mt.Lemmon. I went to Summerhaven and got it after a short walk along a stream. Red-faced Warbler was bird 897. Here is the list - https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37888838. I left Mt.Lemmon, had lunch at Tucson and drove to Huachuca Mountains. My first stop was at Hunter Canyon where a week earlier a singing Rufous-capped Warbler was reported. It required a short hike, and once I did not find it in a few minutes, I decided to head back as it was terribly hot. Here is the list - https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37893308. The place was at a lower elevation, and so I wanted to go up for tree cover and lower temperature. I drove up the unmaintained roads to Carr Canyon-Reef Townsite Campground. I walked around the campground looking high up at the pine trees for movements. Grace's and Olive Warblers occur here. Just before sunset I got to see a movement high up, and it was a Grace's Warbler for bird 898. Soon I found a couple of tiny empids - Buff-breasted Flycatchers were bird 899. Here is the list - https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37917669. I headed down the mountain on the bad road. Coming down was easier. I headed to Green Valley,AZ for my next day's birding.

Day 3:

     I went to the south west part of south-east AZ. My main target was Rose-throated Becard, which was nesting at Tumacacori NHP - De Anza Trail. I arrived at 8:15 am. As I was parking, I saw a woodpecker knocking wood. Gila Woodpecker was bird 900. There was a lot of bird activity around the entrance, where I spent the next half-an-hour. Lucy's Warbler was bird 901. I changed to shoes, and put sunscreen. I had to walk on desert scrub in the heat. When the gate opened at 9 am, I got directions of the nest location of Becard and started the hike. I knew that this hike would produce some of the low-hanging fruits. I got Rufous-winged Sparrows for bird 902, and Phainopeplas for bird 903 at the Orchards. I saw even more of Phainopeplas later throughout the park. A couple of other birders guided me to the nest location quickly. I could see glimpses of a bird flying into the nest from the bottom, and before I could put binocs, it was gone. I saw another birder coming out of a different trail which I took to see the nest at a closer distance. I saw a male Rose-throated Becard high up on a tree for bird 904. I headed back and got better looks at Lucy's Warblers. A young one was begging for food from it's parent. I was glad that I did the hike as soon as the park opened. It was terribly hot by now. Here is the list: -https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37904667. I crossed a border check-post and headed to Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, which was also a desert. Fortunately it was located on a stream with huge trees on the sides. So there was shade. The stream had no water though. I walked a little along the trails looking for a Thick-billed Kingbird. I had to head to Green Valley,AZ to meet a group to head to California Gulch. So, I was limited by time and headed back to the car. I found a Zone-tailed Hawk on the way back for bird 905. I walked just a little bit at Arivaca Cienega - it was really hot and with time constraints I headed back to Green Valley after passing through a border check-post. Here is the checklist - https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S38000144. I was supposed to meet Tucson Audubon Society for a trip to California Gulch for Five-striped Sparrow and Buff-collared Nightjar. The roads to CA gulch are bad with no cell coverage, and I was advised not to go alone for safety reasons. I waited from 1:40 pm until 2:20 pm after a quick lunch at Safeway. The instructions for me was to come to Safeway Parking lot. There was no sign of the group. I messaged the organizer at 1:55 and got no respose until the next day. Apparently they met on the 'backside' of Safeway! I was terribly disappointed. I drove to Sierra Vista the previous day and came to Green Valley to optimize my trip for this. The next day, I emailed the organizer (who was a bird guide) to try my luck to see if she knows anyone going to CA gulch with whom I could tag along. She said she is guiding some people that day, and it would cost $150! I decided to postpone Five-striped Sparrow and the Nightjar for another trip. I decided to go to Florida Canyon to see if I could get a Rufous-capped Warbler. I put coordinates and headed after the heat went down a little. I was at the wrong trail until a guy who was maintaining what looked like a guest house told me the correct trail to take. Unfortunately the ebird reports had comments like 'found at the usual spot' which wasn't helping. The gps location put by one of them took me to another location. I learnt that I had to go off-trail to catch another trail. This trail further branches off, and you need to know which one to take! I spent the rest of the evening here, but did not find the warbler. Here is the list - https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37917666. I flushed Quails twice, and I had a feeling they were Montazuma Quails, but I cannot count them without proper looks. The morning was fantastic with six lifers, but the evening was a disappointment. This is common in bird chases if you just consider finding new birds. I drove to Nogales to bird at Patagonia the next day.

Day 4:

     

     I got up early, and by 6 am I was at Patagonia Lake State Park. I walked on a trail through a gate to prevent Mountain Lions to come into the camping territory. It was a nice place to spend time early in the morning. Here is the list - https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37926039. Next, I headed to Patagonia Roadside Rest Area for a Thick-billed Kingbird. I spent some 45 minutes and just when I was about to leave I found Thick-billed Kingbird for bird 906. Here is the list - https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37926117. The next stop was Patons Center for Hummingbirds for Violet-crowned Hummingbird. As soon as I arrived at the feeders I found one for bird 907. I spent some time walking and more time sitting on a table watching birds coming to the feeders. At another feeder I found Abert's Towhee for bird 908. Here is the list - https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37927125. I had a good breakfast and coffee at a local restaurant. I decided to try for a Tufted Flycatcher at Upper Ramsey Canyon and drove to the topmost campground at Huachuca Mountains. It required a hike down for about 0.7 miles to the nesting location. I spent good time at the location, and walked around back and forth. There was no sign of them. I waited out a hail-storm which I predicted to be short based on the clouds. There was a cracking thunder close by! Here is a  video of the small hails: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTmzee1pPRg. After the rain stopped, I searched a bit more. I started getting the feeling that the young ones had fledged and the birds had left the nest. Some more clouds were coming in with lighting. I knew this would be big. I quickly started climbing up. Half-way up it started raining, and the sky was filled with lighting. I made it back safely to the car. Here is the list - https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37934072. I rested a while and made a descent to Reef Townsite campsite, and relaxed a bit. Temperature was 61 F and it turned windy. I did not prepare for this! I went down to the desert floor for a late lunch, where the temperature was warmer. After lunch I made a quick stop at Miller Canyon-Beatty's Guest Ranch, where I walked a little bit - https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S38000213. Except for the feeders there was little activity. I started the drive to the south-east corner of AZ for finding the Mexican Chickadee the next day. The drive with the storm clouds clearing and the sunset was pleasant. I arrived at Wilcox,AZ for the night. The sweet smell of rain on the desert was good! During the night, the call of the Cordilleran Flycatcher filled my mind!

Day 5:

    I started early and went towards Barfoot Park. This was located at Chiricahua Mountains. I stopped at a place where a Slate-throated Redstart was nesting, but I was one week too late. The birds had left from what I heard from another birder later. I continued my drive to Barfoot Park when I saw Mexican Chickadee for bird 909. I saw most birds during the drive up, and found little at the actual park. Here is the list - https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37949049. I headed down to Portal on the other side for lunch. Since it was on the desert floor, it was hot. After a good lunch, I started driving back up. I stopped at all the campgrounds at Cave Creek Canyon - https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37956998. It was terribly hot even at this elevation, and I could see monsoon clouds developing. By now, I was able to judge that the clouds will get bigger to produce a thunderstorm based on my previous day's experience. I was more interesting in exploring the place since I drove all the way for just one bird which I got quickly. I stopped briefly at Southwestern Research Station which looked like a cool place at mid-elevation to relax. Temperature was back to a bearable level at this elevation. I continued up to Barfoot park when it started pouring. It turned to hail, and the hail size became bigger. It got me scared for a while. One, it was making a huge noise on the car. Two, the roads were dirt roads, and I did not know if I could go down safely. Here are a couple of videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLOLD2D-rQ0, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLV1wezfvjI&spfreload=5. I waited this out by stopping on the road. After the hail sizes went down, I continued to Barfoot Park. I got down to walk a little bit when it started raining again. It was 51F now. I went to the nearby Rustler Park which was at a higher elevation. There was more hail on the ground, and it was magical to see the scenary. Portal was at 110 F! The rain stopped completely and I headed back to Barfoot Park - I walked a bit on the campgrounds and relaxed. Here is the list - https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37956997. I did not see the Mexican Chickadees again. I started the descent before sunset, and had a beautiful sky for the drive down. A Lesser Nighthawk followed my headlights for a while. I headed to Sierra Vista,AZ for the night with rain and lighting along the way with the sweet smell of rain on the hot desert ground!

Day 6:

     After dinner at Chipotle, I slept early to bird the Carr Canyon of Huachuca Mountains again. Someone reported Tufted Flycatcher at Reef Campsite. I however knew it was a matter of luck, and they could be at any place in that mountain around that elevation. I spent the morning in the campground and found good birds - https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37966223. I got better views of Zone-tailed Hawks, Buff-breasted Flycatchers, and Grace's Warbler. Tufted Flycatcher was a no-show. Rufous-capped Warbler was again reported at Florida Canyon of Santa Rita Mountains yesterday. I however wanted to try for it in the evening when temperature is bearable. So, I headed to the Santa Rita lodge feeders. I did not hope to see new birds, but wanted to relax by looking at the hummingbirds and other nice birds like the Varied Bunting. ebird flagged Black Phoebe as rare - https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37969639. The area was filled with noisy non-birders and it was unlike the silence I experienced during my earlier trip. There were monsoon clouds developing and I started hearing thunder. Finally, the non-birders left, and a birder came. After sometime of relaxing I asked him about the Rufous-capped Warbler. He said he got it that morning and told me the directions. He mentioned seeing two adults and an immature, including a singing adult. I immediately went down the mountain and into Florida Canyon. I spent a good time walking around, and took a break by lying down on a dry river bed of stones. I lied down for about 40 minutes. After the sun went behind the canyon walls, I decided to bird again. More walking and standing, and it was not fun anymore. While standing and scanning tiredly, a face appeared about 5 feet away on the trail in between rocks and shrubs. It was a male Montezuma Quail for bird 910. I felt a renewed energy. The male immediately went down and took it's mate with it. I peeped in and did some searching by looking at rocks, but the birds were behind me and they had silently slid away right in front of my eyes! After going back towards the car, I wanted to give one more try for the Quails for better views. I flushed them and they flew to shrubby slopes with gaps in vegetation. This was my best chance of seeing them clearly I thought. The male immediately took off and landed for a fleeting view and started running up when I managed to take an identifiable pic of the beautiful bird. Then it took off again to join it's mate. Now it was sundown and I had a choice of going to Tucson or Phoenix and bird early next day. The other choice was to look for the Rufous-capped Warbler once more. I can always get Gilded Flicker closer to Phoenix some other time. So, I chose the warbler. On the drive back on the dirt road just outside Florida Canyon, I saw a brief view of the Montazuma Quails again, and they were gone in a flash. A lot of Lesser Nighthawks were flying about now. Here is the list - https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37977762. I had spent more than 6 hours here! I took a motel at Green Valley,AZ. There were fireworks at about 9:30 pm for July 4th when I went to Taco Bell for a quick dinner.

Day 7:

     I got up at 4:30 am, headed to Safeway for the Starbucks shop inside. I had a biscotti and coffee which is all I could have at that time. I arrived during sunrise at Florida Canyon. My plan was to start back at 7:30 am as I had a flight to catch at 12:35 pm from Phoenix after breakfast and rental car return. I walked quite a bit, and there was no sign of the warblers. I could not hear them call or sing either. After two times of walking back and forth along the part they were seen at, I walked another trail for a while. Now, it was 7:35 am. I decided that I will make a final attempt and went back to the original trail I was on. I started hearing a bird sing whose call I could not recognize (I had learnt the song of Rufous-capped Warbler earlier on my phone, which was slightly different). It was also coming from the shrubby slopes instead of the creek bed with denser plants and trees. When I put binocs, I could see the rufous cap and yellow throat! Rufous-capped Warbler was bird 911! I was on a high and quickly walked back to my car. On the way back, a birder said he had a Black-capped Gnatcatcher further down the trail, but I had no time. Here is the list - https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37983051. I went back to the motel for breakfast and headed to the airport. 

     I learnt later that Slate-throated Redstart is the same species as the Slate-throated Whitestart that I saw at Ecuador. So one less bird to chase.

Now I need the following from AZ:

Gilded Flicker

Bendire's Thrasher

Olive Warbler

Five-striped Sparrow

Black-capped Gnatcatcher

Buff-collared Nightjar

Tufted Flycatcher

     This trip was refreshing and I felt energized. I made sure I did not drive long hours, and drove little during the nights. I did not do any major hikes as well. This trip got me 16 new species. Most of the time, I was alone. The roads were mostly free, and the trails and campgrounds had few or no people. Temperature was good at the mountains, and the trails and campgrounds were calm and quiet except for small mammals, deer and birds.