Sierra Vista, Cochise County, Arizona and a spur of the moment stop in Pinal County AZ


Day #1 Saturday, September 23, 2017
We departed the East Valley of Phoenix early enough to get a decent start on the birding trails at the San Pedro House in Sierra Vista. (8:25 a.m.)

As Kathleen McCoy, Hinde Silver and I reached the San Pedro River trail, the local birding group caught up to us so we stayed with them for awhile. Adding so many more eyes to the field, trail, river and cottonwood trees had us swinging our binoculars first one way and then the other as someone would call out a sighting. “ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER in the short mesquite.”  “LAZULI BUNTING at river’s edge taking a bath.”  “BLUE GROSBEAK.” And, on and on it joyfully went.

Young LAZULI BUNTING at San Pedro River
Adult male LAZULI BUNTING  [from my files]

BLUE GROSBEAK
I was a bit disappointed that we had turned toward the bridge. My target bird was upstream (San Pedro flows North to South; Mexico mountains to Winkleman where it flows into the Gila River.) But I, too, follow the birds and they were all around us. Eventually, a man noted that time was elapsing and he wanted to see the LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH, also my target bird. A few of us split from the main group to follow this man upstream.

Just as I heard the bird’s first definitive “chip”, Richard one of the group leaders arrived and spotted our target bird but it flew off. He followed the bird upstream, as did we. I began to hear the “chip” repeatedly and finally Richard stopped with the bird showing beautifully on a downward bending peeled thick limb close to the water across the narrow river. At a distance of about 20 feet downstream from the bird, I still had my clearest view ever of a LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH! And, then! It was gone.

Again, I heard the chip so I stayed still. Soon, the bird popped out into clear view on a big fallen log on the opposite bank directly in front of three of us. So in awe of my sighting, I was too slow with the camera. 

LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH  [Internet Photo]
While Hinde, Kathleen and I headed further along the river trail toward Kingfisher Pond, the main bird-walk group went elsewhere. Soon, though, Judy from Tucson Audubon caught up and joined us. She had been with Hinde and me when the LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH showed itself directly across the San Pedro River from us!

Not a single duck paddled on Kingfisher Pond. But lots of other birds got our immediate attention. Two GRAY HAWKs calling to one another intrigued us. But then we got distracted with the whinny of a SORA (chicken-like marsh bird) and the sight of a male COMMON YELLOWTHROAT.  

SORA  [file photo]
COMMON YELLOWTHROAT  [file photo]
We had moved closer to the GRAY HAWKS so their calls seemed less conversational. “PEOPLE!  PEOPLE!  PEOPLE!”  A screaming quality had entered their whistling communication.

We searched the trees for them. Finally, I just laughed. I said, “I’m looking at a pair of yellow feet and legs but the rest of the hawk is behind a thick limb.” As they searched for the bird, it lifted off and flew over us. It was an adult with light gray short wide underwings and boldly banded black and white tail showing very clearly under the darkish cloud above us. 

The second hawk took off from its perch to follow the adult. It flew directly past us! I gasped; it looked like a Northern Goshawk face! But the body was not that bird. This was a juvenile GRAY HAWK with a tail as long as a Cooper’s Hawk with many thin bands across it. Its white rump is actually the first band on the top of that tail (as also on the adult where it appears to be part of the rest of its black and white barred tail). 

Adult GRAY HAWK  [my photo files]
Juvenile GRAY HAWK  [Internet Photo} showing its brown back, spotted chest & belly and white cheek
We enjoyed more birds in the trees around the pond: WILSON'S WARBLER, YELLOW-RUMPED (Audubon's) WARBLER, LINCOLN'S SPARROW and BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER.

What a morning it had been! We wished Judy the best on her return to Tucson as we moved up the highway (Rt. 90) a bit toward town. At midday, we stopped at the EOP (Environmental Operation Project) where viewers stand on a platform to view the wastewater treatment plant ponds. Reeds were so high, no water was obvious. The only ducks that lifted and flew back and forth were MALLARDs. A GREAT EGRET did show itself and several kingbirds (both WESTERN and CASSIN'S) were flycatching over the grassy area below the deck. We ate our lunch there.

By 1:00 p.m., we had reached Mary Jo's Ash Canyon B&B where her side yard full of feeders was being inundated with so many varieties of hummingbirds, I didn't sit down for half an hour until I got a handle on the many species.

Mary Jo's side yard with hummers buzzing around all the feeders
Water feature in backyard of Ash Canyon B&B with lilies blooming
ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD (male)

When we weren't watching hummingbirds, we could observe the birds scratching on the ground or at suet or seed feeders.
CANYON TOWHEE (above and below)

INCA DOVE
BEWICK'S WREN
But, still the hummingbirds flocked to the feeders.

Obviously, I was seated poorly to get a clear photo of the RIVOLI HUMMINGBIRD (formerly MAGNIFICENT) but did catch a female RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD in the process. Note the significant difference in size!

Always looking for the greatest rarity at any birding spot, we did see the continuing rare southern species, LUCIFER HUMMINGBIRD, but I got no photos.

RIVOLI'S HUMMINGBIRD showing its magnificent colors 
After two hours there, we moved on to Ramsey Canyon. Birds were unbelievably quiet. During the hour it took us to walk up the canyon, around Bledsoe Loop and back, we managed to collect all of five (5) species. 

L-R: Kathleen and Hinde at the old chimney
Most exciting were the thirty-one (31) WILD TURKEYs. 

WILD TURKEY (above and below)
Coues' White-tailed Deer (buck)
The Coues' White-tailed Deer and a White-nosed Coatimundi were the other highlights so we didn't leave disappointed.

We pulled into Brown Canyon Ranch on our way out from Ramsey Canyon where we picked up a few more interesting birds before heading out for a bite to eat.

Day 2 Sunday, September 24, 2017
The first stop on my agenda for today was a canyon I love but hadn't visited for over two years. It's on Fort Huachuca. Security was tightened at the Army Base then and we could no longer just show our Arizona driver's license to enter. The Base relocated its entryway and required all visitors to stop and fill out a form to gain entrance. Although other birders assured me it was no big deal, I had procrastinated until now. Today, we would go on the base and up Huachuca Canyon.

The Visitor's Entrance Center was small but efficient and we were the only ones present at 8:00 a.m. this Sunday morning. After filling out a form, the guard took our photo and then, surprisingly, gave us a pass for one year's entrance. Yay!

With only the entrance road changed, it was easy to find my way through the Army Base to the canyon road. But what a road! Once again, my Honda Insight became the jeep of the day as it found a line between rocks to make it all the way to the "parking lot".

Having never birded Huachuca Canyon in September, I was surprised to find so few birds. I'll assume the recent post in eBird was done by ear since the number of physical birds in our presence seemed slim.

After 0.8 miles up the Canyon, we decided to work our way back (1.6 miles total) and discovered we had seen some very good birds - just not gobs of any one species.  Except for WILD TURKEYS @14.

ACORN WOODPECKERs, NORTHERN RED-SHAFTED FLICKERs and MEXICAN JAYs were fairly common back and forth over the trail. But we spotted only One (1) BAND-TAILED PIGEON (a forest pigeon).

Butterflies and dragonflies were everywhere. Many times we lifted our binoculars to the movement of these insects thinking they were birds!

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (that's the name I located on the internet)
Unsure.  Perhaps a Sootywing?  Help appreciated.
I heard tanagers several times and we came up with a single SUMMER TANAGER (male) and two WESTERN TANAGER (male and female).

Kathleen had never seen a PAINTED REDSTART and was thrilled with seeing that colorful bird.
PAINTED REDSTART  [file photo]
We saw several warblers and a small flock of bushtits, but our best sighting for me was the INDIGO BUNTING.

INDIGO BUNTING
[file photo provided by Mark Moore when I visited my sister in Western Pennsylvania a few years ago.]
With the rough road (heavy rains and washouts), the drive back down to civilization (the Army Base) took almost as long as going up. When we were far up on the trail, a man with his daughter asked if we (all women) were the ones that came up in that little car.  Yes!
He just smiled and shook his head.

Since Huachuca Canyon was my only plan for the day, I improvised for a stop on the way back home. I wanted to check out El Rio Open Space in north Tucson to see if it would be worth a stop when I next visit some birding spots in Tucson. We spent twenty (20) minutes there but with no water at all in the depression that holds overflow from the Santa Cruz River, no waterfowl were present.

So, we continued west on I-10 toward Phoenix. As we neared Red Rock exit, I explained that on my last several runs to Santa Cruz Flats, I hadn't visited the Feed Lots. They may stink but birds are plentiful. With two fairly new birders in the car, I thought I might be able to share one of my favorites with them. Lark Buntings are often in the grasses across the narrow paved road from the feedlots. But the desert was bare; no grass at all; and no Lark Buntings.

So we contented ourselves with birding out the car window with binoculars trained on the mesquite trees in front of the feedlot fence. If I shook just one tree, at least 10 MORNING DOVES, 35 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS, a half dozen GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE and 10 BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS would fall out. Within that dense gathering of birds were some small birds, so I focused on them. What I saw took my breath! I was looking at a female DICKCISSEL. I recalled that other birders were seeing them migrating through so I didn't discount my sighting but looked at all the details -- that added up to exactly what I had called. Unfortunately, my camera was in the trunk for the ride home. But, I had no question about that bird and I was thrilled!

You can check out all our bird lists by clicking on the links below.
75 species from 8 locations.

We were surprised at the mild temperatures upon our return to Tempe and home (85°F).

Our adventurous weekend had been superb!

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View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39381567






View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39382742





View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39383617
View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39383763
View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39384027
















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Coon Bluff Recreation Area along the Lower Salt River, Maricopa County, AZ

Tuesday, September 19, 2017
With birder friends, Kathleen McCoy and Beth Whittam, I pulled into Coon Bluff Rec Area around 6 a.m.

 Barely light when we began birding, we were thrilled to see, up on the ridge west of us, a lone wild horse posing between two mesquite trees. Too distant; too dark for photo op even though it was "picture perfect".

 One of our first sightings that I'll return to later was at the river close to the bluff. A hard chip or chirp was not quite like an Abert's Towhee (nor Northern Cardinal) and I had no idea what might be down on the small island below us. But when we heard many chirps all at once, we couldn't believe our eyes. It was a highlight that I'll talk about at the end of this blog.

 Meanwhile, both women were seeing birds they can't always identify. Going out with birders a bit more practiced helps people new to birding get a handle on the birds around them.
Kathleen had never seen a VERMILION FLYCATCHER (below). We would see at least five (5) of them in our three hours of birding Coon Bluff. I doubt Kathleen will forget this species!


The female Vermilions were also out and about but too distant for good photos. They are exquisitely colored -- brown on top with a touch of peach-color located on its lower belly and vent (area between its legs). Thus, it is camouflaged on the nest, but shows its subtle beauty when perched.

The BLACK PHOEBE was present whenever we were close to the river. Two pair of them appeared to be hawking insects from the smorgasbord of them right above the water. It's voice was our constant companion.
BLACK PHOEBE
Our resident woodpecker, the GILA was drumming on the mesquite limbs where a female allowed a photo (below). With no red on the back of its head to indicate "male", this female was prepared to take off.


One of my favorite birds is the little BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER. A desert bird, it is less well known than the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Our tiny desert bird rarely sits still but when I'm lucky, I snag a photo.
BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER
We capped off the day laughing when we were treated to a rare sight. A first-year juvenile COOPER'S HAWK was "perfecting" its skill at catching prey. There were some ground squirrels running around. We watched the young COOPER'S HAWK make at least three attempts to catch that squirrel, but it never came up clean with it. The squirrel would hunker down among the weeds at the base of a mesquite until it felt it might be safe...not knowing that the Cooper's was on the ground just beyond the tree. But, try as it might, it didn't make a successful catch while we watched. A sibling flew in once from elsewhere in the mesquite bosque, perhaps thinking it could share some food from this one, but it flew off immediately when the noise of wings in the weeds did not result in food for one, let alone two hawks. We felt fortunate to have witnessed this hawk's learning curve.

COOPER'S HAWK (two above photos)
My best bird of the day was the BELTED KINGFISHER, mainly because it was my First of this Season or (f.o.s.) sighting since they had departed for the summer. Hard to photograph, the photo below is from my files. And, I'll post another file photo of a female so you can see the difference.
Male BELTED KINGFISHER with one blue/grey band across its chst
Female BELTED KINGFISHER has two very rufous belts across its white belly.
And, now, back to our delightful discovery in the early morning in the river below the bluff. Who knew that River Otter chatted up a storm? Oh, how they played!  In lieu of my horrible photo, I went online to find something similar to what we saw right below the bluff. Three river otter rolled, played and chirped like nothing I've witnessed before.

It's my understanding that the southwestern subspecies of river otter is extinct or not known to be alive. In the 1980's some North American river otter were released into the Verde River and here they were in the Salt! They were around last season, also, so they must be an established population. 

 Lots of good memories this morning!
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San Carlos Reservoir, Gila & Pinal Counties, Arizona

Monday, September 18, 2017
Having already secured our permits*, Hinde Silver and I entered the road leading to San Carlos Memorial. 

 What?? Since when is this road not bladed and smooth? Again, I had traveled out to the San Carlos Reservoir for some good birding in my own little hybrid car and come face to face with deep gully-like ruts in deep sand on a road that had always been bladed and easy driving before. Having learned from my last experience out there that my vehicle is no match for sandy, deeply rutted roads (from summer rains and winds) I needed to turn back to the main road (Coolidge Dam Road a/k/a IR3). Bummer.

 Having intended to spend at least two hours or more at the flat Memorial site, I could only imagine the sparrows I was missing in the grasses and weeds around the place. The Memorial itself is a reminder of the dislocation of the tribe from beside the Gila River when the Coolidge Dam was built and their previous village submerged. Being unable to proceed on the deep-sand road was nothing compared to what they experienced.

 Being fed by the Gila River, San Carlos reservoir (lake) is about 23 miles long and is home to waterfowl, raptors and birds that we don't always see near our more developed cities and towns closer to Phoenix. So, I re-adjusted my thinking, picked up my notes from my last exploration there and found a more stony dirt road that carried us all the way to this north side of the lake in Gila County. With coves on both sides, I hoped to find some sandpipers or long-legged water birds but none were present. Spotting scope got a good work out here.

 The reservoir was filled with many many grebes, both WESTERN and CLARK'S GREBES.
Difficult birds to identify when new to birding, the two grebes appear to be very similar but can be discerned by several differing characteristics. In mating plumage, identification is easier than right now when they are in basic or winter plumage. The red eye of the WESTERN GREBE is surrounded by its black head feathers while the CLARK'S GREBE (in basic plumage) has its black cap run right up to the mid-red eye; it doesn't come below the eye. Details, details. The WESTERN'S bill is a more olive and duller yellow than the CLARK'S GREBE - second photo below. 
WESTERN GREBE 
CLARK'S GREBE - note the brighter yellow bill
It looks simple when you see the photos of the differences but its a stretch to call them correctly in the field when they swim about in shade and sun light.

 Although we had counted a couple LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE on utility wires as we drove toward the lake, one flew into a bushy shrub at cliff's edge directly in front of us and started calling. Heard it immediately, swung around and snapped a few photos. 
LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE
A few sparrow were active here, too: VESPER, BREWERS and BLACK-THROATED, the latter being one of my favorites and it was the most prevalent sparrow of the day.
BLACK-THROATED SPARROW (2)
After two hours along the lake, still enjoying clear skies and light breezes, we moved along to the Coolidge Dam area where we found more WESTERN and CLARK'S GREBES, a DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT and a GREAT BLUE HERON.
DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT
GREAT BLUE HERON far below us from our perch on the road above
My photography moment of the day occurred near the dam. First, I found a ZONE-TAILED HAWK flying with a small group of TURKEY VULTURES. Somewhat smaller than the vultures, the Zonie stood out despite its similarly bi-colored underwing. The one white band showing across its tail screamed ZONE-TAILED. 

ZONE-TAILED HAWK - two above photos. This one is crossing under a utility wire
When an OSPREY flew in and perched on a utility pole not far distant, I laughed because it looked as if it had cupped feet.
OSPREY close to insulators on utility pole
While I was attentive to the OSPREY above, another flew in across the road from this one and gave it a look.
OSPREY
OSPREY (same bird as above with head turned opposite direction)
Pursuing, then, more passable roadways into the lake from its south side (Pinal County), we lucked out with two roads that got us somewhat close from where we spotted a BALD EAGLE flying overhead but, try as we did, no shorebirds, gulls or terns materialized. 

 Our final stop on the dividing line between Pinal and Graham counties (the Campground road) delivered a whole string of black and white birds bunched together along a narrow sand spit: DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTs and AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN. There were more of each along the spit and across the lake's center line placing some of them, uncounted on the list, in Gila County.
DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT (larger than Neotropic Cormorant) and AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN


 By day's end, we were thrilled with the results of our explorations but I'll definitely find someone with a higher-clearance vehicle with all-wheel drive the next time! Including our drive time, it was a ten-hour day!
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* 24-hour Recreation Permit is required to bird on San Carlos land. Can be purchased for $10 per person at the new gas station (Chevron?) on the north side of the road just prior to McDonald's on the south AND right before Rt. 60 turns north toward the Salt River Canyon. Permits can also be purchased at the Circle K (also on north side) when you continue forward (instead of turning on Rt. 60) directly toward San Carlos on Route 70.

 To view our bird lists, click the links below:

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39262594


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Granite Reef Recreation Area, Lower Salt River, Maricopa County, Arizona

Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Having met two women new to birding at a recent Bird Walk at Boyce Thompson Arboretum, the three of us agreed to get together on occasion to do some birding. 

Today was the day. I selected Granite Reef Rec Area along the Lower Salt River, a place with which they were unfamiliar, to see what we might find. Because I like to spend a lot of time when I’m at the river, I hadn’t birded there since early summer (too hot) and had no idea what we might find.

Kathleen, Beth and I began birding at 6 a.m.  With no waterfowl immediately obvious on the river, we scanned above Red Mountain (not yet lit up by the sun) and found a small kettle of BLACK VULTUREs. They had seen lots of Turkey Vultures at Boyce Thompson but immediately confirmed the much shorter tail - the best ID mark we had from that distance. Their flatter wing position in flight was somewhat obvious although I've seen TUVUs sometimes rise up that way early in the day. Later, three of the BLACK VULTUREs would fly overhead so that they could then see the all black wing (instead of bi-colored of Turkey Vulture) plus the light primaries at the end of the wings. 

Red Mountain  [photo from my files]
BLACK VULTURE [file photo]
Kathleen commented on having heard a sound coming from the path off the parking lot. I hadn't heard it, but decided to check it out. What we found:




A small band of wild horses were working their way toward the picnic area, having bedded down, apparently, in the mesquite bosque. Two adults had foals following closely and nursing from time to time; the third adult may have been a stallion who waited for the four of them to emerge toward the picnic area. They were fearless, munching their way along, keeping an eye on us as we stood still at the gate. When they passed, we got on with birding!  

Lucky me! My new birding friends liked adventure so we covered the west side quite thoroughly.

How many species do you see?
We didn't want to spook the birds, but the WHITE-FACED IBIS were skittish and lifted into the air, circled a few times and then returned.
WHITE-FACED IBIS
WHITE-FACED IBIS foraged in smaller groups when they returned
SPOTTED SANDPIPER at same location

The weedy areas had lots of sparrows but not the one I was looking to see! They were all LARK SPARROWS -- much more striking in appearance than a Clay-colored Sparrow!

LARK SPARROW [from my files]

Approaching the dam, we had a mature BALD EAGLE fly downstream (west) and disappear off to the north. About the time we started focusing on the birds in the mud below us, another mature BALD EAGLE flew in from the south and followed the same flyway.

BALD EAGLE  [file photo]
In the mud, we had a great look at a male COMMON YELLOWTHROAT (yellow with black mask) and some SONG SPARROWs. A male MaxGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER was also in this general area. An OSPREY perched on the tallest pole on the barge by the dam while two COMMON GALLINULE (Moorhens) swam nearby.

We completed the complete circle of the west side of the picnic area before heading to the east-side trail where we added to our count of GREAT BLUE HERONs and spotted our only NEOTROPIC CORMORANT.

GREAT BLUE HERON twisting to preen
NEOTROPIC CORMORANT looking like it's in serious molt
The horses weren't our only mammal today. As Beth pointed out - Look!  There's another cow coming out from the marsh to the river. Lots of cows over on the land reserved for Native Americans. (Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community)

Then we spotted an unknown bird - no, it was birds, plural: dark round moving balls of mud to our naked eye. Oh, wow! A covey of GAMBLE'S QUAIL drank at the edge of the river - until yet another cow emerged close by.

As any birder knows, although that was the end of our walk, we didn't stop birding until we were back in the car and out of there.  (We don't stop then, either, but we don't count them for this location!)

So glad that Beth and Kathleen got me going and back to one of my favorite spots on the river!

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