May 15 & 16, 2019
Day #1: Wednesday, May 15th
With a 4 a.m. departure from AJ, we missed the start of the bird walk at San Pedro House and Trails by 30 minutes.
Knowing it was a long shot, we hoped to catch up to their group, but we stayed so close to the river we didn't connect.
What a day we had! When WESTERN TANAGERs are in almost every section of the trail on a light breezy clear-sky day, it is delightful beyond description -- both hearing and seeing them! (11 altogether)
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| Male WESTERN TANAGER [photo from my files] |
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| Female WESTERN TANAGER [photo from my files] |
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT were vocalizing throughout the tall cottonwoods and short mesquite trees.
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| YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT (saw 10 of these beautiful mimics) |
SONG SPARROW were common beside the San Pedro River (that runs North from Mexico).
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| Notice how well these SOSP blend into their habitat. |
Both VERMILION FLYCATCHER and CASSIN'S KINGBIRD were out and about snatching insects from the air. Tending to alight on high open branches, they were difficult to bring into focus on the new camera I'm using for the first time.
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| VERMILION FLYCATCHER |
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| CASSIN'S KINGBIRD - [from my files] |
At Kingfisher Pond, we found only this GREAT BLUE HERON active at this time of day.
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| GREAT BLUE HERON - late morning at Kingfisher Pond |
While eating lunch on the grounds around San Pedro House, we saw several more good birds including a BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK and COMMON GROUND DOVE. (file photos)
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| female BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK |
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| Male BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK |
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| COMMON GROUND-DOVE |
Wrapping up at San Pedro House at 12:30 p.m., we drove over to the main entrance to Fort Huachuca to renew our Gate Pass for easy passage tomorrow.
An early dinner at Pizzeria Mimosa (where we again were served with biodegradeable drinking straws made from pasta) was delicious. Then, we met the woman (owner or manager) who was showing us (she's a birder) and trying to find ways to prevent MEXICAN CLIFF SWALLOW from building nests on her recently-repainted entranceway.
We had seen the small flock of swallows while eating but didn't realize we were looking at something special! I hadn't been able to ID them from inside as they looked like miniature Tree Swallows (showing very dark blue back on their much smaller body) but hadn't been able to see the chestnut forehead or the rump of this special subspecies of our usual Cliff Swallow. So dinner there, gave us a new species, too!
Arriving at Mary Jo's very visitor-friendly bird sanctuary shortly after that, we were surprised to see so many cars at 5 p.m. Was it possible the MONTEZUMA QUAIL were showing?? Yes!! Hinde was able to get a decent view for a LIFE sighting. A very skittish and camouflaged bird, it is one of the most sought-after birds in Arizona.
This is a photo I took in 2014, also in Sierra Vista.
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MONTEZUMA QUAIL (male)
A lucky photo I took in 2014 on a visit to Sierra Visit |
Spectacular Hummingbirds like to visit the many feeders at Mary Jo's yard. Among them is one of my favorites, the BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRD, below.
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| BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRD |
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| LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER (male with red cap raised) |
And this little gem of a hummingbird showed itself at dusk to "tank up" for the night. This is a LUCIFER HUMMINGBIRD.
Until I get a better handle on my new camera, I'll post below a photo for this bird from last year.
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| LUCIFER HUMMINGBIRD with its tongue extending beyond its curved bill (2018) |
Day #2, Thursday, May 16th:
After an early breakfast, we arrived at Huachuca Canyon's Lower Picnic Area a bit before 7:00 a.m. -- a great time to connect with birds. MEXICAN JAY, WESTERN & CASSIN'S KINGBIRD, and a PLUMBEOUS VIREO feeding her young were early sightings.
We were surprised to find the gate to the road still locked, so we had walked up to the picnic area. Soon other birders followed and for those going all the way to the top parking lot it was a good rise over 1.7 miles. We walked just a bit over a mile. Just as we walked away from the picnic area I heard and spotted my FOS (first of season) WESTERN WOOD PEWEE.
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| WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE |
Soon after that as we still walked up and away from the picnic area, I had my best sighting of the trip: a NORTHERN GOSHAWK barreling down the roadway about 20' above my head looking like a bullet-train. A CASSIN'S KINGBIRD had been chasing it but at this juncture a MEXICAN JAY flew in and took up the chase. Having experienced this bird much too close for comfort one year in Miller Canyon (my mistake of entering the lower canyon near its unknown nesting spot). Then, onn its third round of trying to divert me from the area, I thought it was going to lift my hat from my head; I ducked. ...And got out of there. It watched me for a long time...so I do know the bird...even when it is flying directly towards me!
Whew! What a thrill for both Hinde and I.
Not very much later, two birds circled in the sky. Both turned out to be ZONE-TAILED HAWK, another good sighting for there.
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| ZONE-TAILED HAWK - Soaring (2014) |
Continuing up-canyon, we were hoping to find the recently reported ELEGANT TROGON. It has a very usual "bark" call. When I heard it, I called to Hinde and motioned to be quiet. They sound far away but can be just ten feet away. This one was farther but still easily seen with the naked eye if you could pick it out from the dense vegetation around it.
Our first sighting was a rear view, but notice below the green back, the long copper-colored tail.
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| male ELEGANT TROGON 4/16/19 Huachuca Canyon |
We would see this same bird in another setting - facing us but behind leaves, naturally.
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| Male ELEGANT TROGON |
When we returned down canyon from as far as we went, we came across another male at a different location. Still buried in dense growth, this was my best close-up photo of a bird that seems to want to be seen, but yet hides!
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| Male ELEGANT TROGON. |
We also witnessed many other expected birds with the SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHER being another FOS bird for me.
Weather had been wonderfully clear and reasonably cool for our two days and we came home feeling refreshed and maybe even a little refurbished by nature.
Until I venture out again. . .
E-bird lists below. Just click to view.
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View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S56355765
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S56405806
