California Gulch/Warsaw Canyon confluence, etc. in Santa Cruz and Pima Counties, AZ

Saturday/Sunday: July 7 & 8, 2018

Saturday, July 7, 2018

Having invited Lois Lorenz to join me for a rare visit to bird the confluence of California Gulch & Warsaw Canyon with the Tucson Audubon group on Saturday afternoon and evening, we decided to add some additional birding around that special adventure.

Some three weeks had elapsed since Lois and I had dipped on our search for the ROSE-THROATED BECARD, so we set that as our first stop on Saturday morning. 

Arriving at the deAnza Trail in Tubac at 8:25 a.m., I was more properly prepared for finding the rarity than on our first attempt. Being met with a proud GREATER ROADRUNNER carrying breakfast is always a good omen!

GREATER ROADRUNNER

Soon after embarking on the correct trail (thank you, Bryan and Tracy), we birded our way northward. There were other somewhat rare birds we were hopeful to see. But I wasn’t expecting to hear one so soon -- a YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO calling from within a tall dense cottonwood tree. Another answered from fairly close by. We saw the answering one fly into the big cottonwood confirming what we already knew from hearing them: 

2 YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO!

YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO
Photo taken last July in Madera Canyon (no leaves makes for better photos)

SUMMER TANAGER, DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER, GRAY HAWK and COMMON YELLOWTHROAT delighted us as we continued walking north.

SUMMER TANAGER [from my files 2017]

GRAY HAWK  [from my files]

COMMON YELLOWTHROAT  [from my files]

After walking quite a distance and still not coming upon our target bird, I took a baby step in using GPS. I opened an App on my phone called: “Where Am I” that provides a GPS coordinate for right where I stand. Comparing that to a coordinate posted the previous day, I determined we had a short distance farther to walk north, and then, probably east.  At our northern spot, we immediately heard other birders east of us. Gail was quite friendly and pointed out the two “old” nests to us. We watched, then, for quite some time as both the male and the female ROSE-THROATED BECARD came into their old nest. This tropical bird has been found in each of the past few years at several locations north of Mexico, mostly in Arizona. Currently, another pair is along the deAnza trail farther south in Tumacacori.

BECARD Nest directly above the trail

Male ROSE-THROATED BECARD

Female ROSE-THROATED BECARD

Having enjoyed our target bird, we returned to the car and headed over to Patagonia to check out the Paton Center for Hummingbirds (Paton's yard).  A mid-day arrival provided an interesting "cooling" technique of some GAMBEL'S QUAIL.

Mama is digging a hole in the moist ground (near pond) for her young (and some not so young) to stay cool.
Thought some of these looked like Scaled Quail but am not accustomed to seeing young ones.

Not certain how many young are beneath Mama, but two adolescents are also above the tinier ones

The VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD is almost always a sure sighting at this location and it did not disappoint.

VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD

With clouds gathering and our time running along, we drove back to Green Valley, had an early check-in at our motel, gathered what we needed for our Tucson Audubon Trip, then rested for ten minutes!  

Five cars headed out from McD's in Green Valley at 3:30 with clouds, heavy with moisture, gathering overhead.  Melody Kehl had organized us into specific cars and 20 or more of us reached our destination an hour and a half later. Fortunately, Lois and I were in Melody's car that gave us a smooth ride over the rough, sometimes rocky or washboard dirt roads.

About ten miles north of the border, we had entered a beautiful hilly area of mountains and canyons. We entered via Warsaw Canyon since Melody didn't know the water levels at California Gulch which is, essentially, a drainage (that flows down the roads).

Ah! An opening where the cars parked; birders set up their chairs in an observation circle in front of the rock where our target bird usually visits once it gets dark. Target: BUFF-COLLARED NIGHTJAR.

Still light, we ate our own food for dinner, then wandered around the immediate area searching for FIVE-STRIPED SPARROW and whatever else showed up. I heard, but didn't see, two of the FIVE-STRIPED SPARROWs. About twenty big heavy drops of rain fell, but that was the extent of our "shower" for the evening. 

Then, we saw a creature I thought did not exist -- an Antelope Jackrabbit! It is huge!

Much bigger than our usual Black-tailed Jackrabbits.

Antelope Jackrabbit at a nearby salt lick  (Jackalope?)

As dusk turned darker, LESSER NIGHTHAWK were the first to show up. Nighttime photos are not my forte so I spent my time observing when the target BUFF-COLLARED NIGHTJARs put in an appearance at two separate rocks. We watched for a considerable amount of time; then, left the birds to enjoy their night free of our interlude.

So, the successful field trip was over!  Yay!  The best sighting I've ever had of that bird! The collar was very visible as I followed the bird's movements.

After loading everything back in the cars, we headed out the way we had entered. Oh, one thing. We had come down hill to reach the confluence of Warsaw Canyon and California Gulch. Now, one of the vehicles had trouble getting up the hill in an unfamiliar rental car, with an out-of-state driver not accustomed to our "hills".  

Getting five cars turned around on that narrow Warsaw Canyon Road was quite a feat and took some time. Melody knows that territory thoroughly, had checked the weather several times to make sure we could stay without risk, and handled our situation with calm.  

The narrow road proved tough for turning around, but Melody managed while most others backed up far enough to give them more space without fear of going over an edge. I think Eric backed down the whole distance to our start spot (or close to it) and then, we were off again to head out via California Gulch since it was still quite dry and wasn't as steep.

As we moved in that direction, we came upon some people. Melody stopped; apparently she had seen and talked to them earlier in the evening. I couldn't believe my eyes. What are these Phoenix area birders doing here in this remote, desolate and rugged country? Well, birding, of course. It was Laura Ellis, Caleb S. and a friend of theirs, Josh. What a surprise! We were interrupting their excitement over a tarantula!  

And, then we were off to Green Valley arriving around 11 p.m.

Sunday, July 8, 2018

After 119 days with no measurable rain in our desert area, the monsoon arrived Monday in Apache Junction with attitude....and loss of electricity for several hours as I write this blog. When power was restored, my internet was not ready to perform.

So, here goes, on Tuesday, to wrap up our very successful visit to Pima and Santa Cruz Counties.
Having talked with some folks on our field trip about the stake out for the FIVE-STRIPED SPARROW in Box Canyon, we felt confident about finding its location. Only once had I traveled that road - from its opposite end on AZ Route 83 - and didn't realize that after the paved Greaterville Road ended, the dirt road became Box Canyon.

The FIVE-STRIPED SPARROW would be a Life Bird for Lois. Having seen it several times, I could take it by sound but she needed a good view. Entering Box Canyon at 7:30 a.m., we were stunned by its beauty. Amazing how driving a road from a different direction can stimulate attention. Whether it was another CASSIN'S KINGBIRD on an overhead wire or another one of about seven White-tailed Deer, we were loving the lushness of this desert canyon that had obviously enjoyed sufficient rain in the not too-distant past.

CASSIN'S KINGBIRD

White-tailed Deer

TURKEY VULTUREs fighting over breakfast in the road.
Thank you, scavengers for keeping our roadkill cleaned up.

As you already know, my camera always stops for a VERMILION FLYCATCHER

Mostly, what amazed us on this drive was the green ocotillo. In dry conditions, it is a sad looking bunch of thorny sticks rising out of the ground. We drove through forests of ocotillo fully leafed out.

Ocotillo - only a few in bloom but all were green!

At the stake-out for our target sparrow, we came upon two Tucson birders: Gail who had slept over in her car because of the lateness of getting back to Green Valley; and Diane T. who often posts on the listserv.  They had waited at the stake-out spot for a couple hours before seeing the FIVE-STRIPED SPARROW. They gave us a description of its behavior. By the time they explained that, Lois had found the bird - her Life Bird - the FIVE-STRIPED SPARROW. Its behavior followed the precise pattern described by the other birders. It came up from the low part of the canyon to our right, bush to bush; then it lifted over our heads, landed in its preferred bush and proceeded to forage on the upside of the canyon. It was still doing that when all four of us left the area. Not only a great sighting, but a good behavioral one at that. Lucky for us, the other two birders were still there when we arrived.
Also, not a small thing, we heard MONTEZUMA QUAIL while at the stake-out.

Box Canyon Road joins paved Greaterville Road soon before ending at AZ Route 83 close to Las Cienegas grasslands, our second destination. Already 10 a.m., by the time we entered at the north end, birds were quiet. We drove into Empire Ranch which usually harbors a few species; this time, a new species for the trip = HORNED LARKs.  Again, a male VERMILION FLYCATCHER captured my camera.

VERMILION FLYCATCHER

First-year female VERMILION FLYCATCHER

Continuing, then, to drive all the way through the grasslands, we headed out on the South entrance/exit road where we finally started hearing a few BOTTERI'S SPARROWs.
A stop at Cottonwood Tank about half-way down the 8-mile south road was well worth it with a lot of good sightings:  BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER, COMMON YELLOW-THROAT, LARK SPARROW, RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW and a BLUE GROSBEAK.

BLUE GROSBEAK perched on edge of tank

Continuing forward, we eventually heard our first-of-season CASSIN'S SPARROW. Music to our ears! They arrive with the monsoon and the sky was full of cumulus clouds. Not only did the bird sing, we enjoyed its skylarking, too.

CASSIN'S SPARROW

We heard only three of these "monsoon birds" but the time is here, so they appear to be moving in and setting up territory about two miles prior to the end of the South Entrance.

CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS kept us company throughout the grasslands.  Since they are more rare than what we see in the desert, I was happy with that.

CASSIN'S KINGBIRD - wings out; mouth open much of the time - keeping cool

We finished up with a few more unsuccessful runs for possible birds before heading home, arriving around 3:30 p.m.

What a great birding trip - meeting so many other good birders, including Shelli and adult daughter, Meghin, doing a Big Year (for themselves).

Lois and I collected 74 species from eight locations, mostly Year Birds for me but Lois got several Lifers.

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View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S47088748

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S47089127

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S47089466

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S47089846

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S47089956

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S47090163

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S47090305

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S47090415