Sunday, March 21, 2021
When Sochetra Ly told me we’d be hiking the trail, I suspected it might be the more wilderness trail I had never birded previously. Following him in my car, I was glad when he drove past a very muddy trailhead for the rugged trail. We continued on for some time into the remote lovely Peppersauce Canyon Campground located on the North side (backside) of the Catalina Mountains in Tucson. Full of tall old sycamore and walnut trees, many campsites were full on this early Sunday morning.
The odd name came about by an 1880's prospector, Alex McKay who claimed his hot sauce went missing while he was camping in the area; thus the name: Peppersauce Canyon.
Peppersauce Creek supposedly flows through the area but as with many desert creeks, there were only one or two places where water had gathered or mud was present. But this invisible waterway can become a raging torrent during monsoons or big rains. We hiked the same trail I had hiked five (5) years ago! Time flies--it didn't seem that far in the past.
Families were camping in the primitive sites along the road we birded. Sochetra heard birds way beyond my hearing ability. When birds were close by I was better at the ID but quickly realized that with my lack of almost daily birding this year (Covid), I couldn’t ID some of the calls that sounded very familiar! Dang!
Walking 4.3 miles round trip on the road up and away from the general campground, we managed to find 32 species, some of which are less common so, adding to my file collection, I took extra photos of the RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW and BUSHTIT. Many birds were so quick, I’d be standing directly under the tree where the bird was moving and most times, I still missed.
Birds are named below each photo.
An invigorating two and a half hours of birding felt good. When we wrapped up, Sochetra continued on toward Tucson in search of a specific bird; I stopped by Oracle State Park where very gusty winds arrived. After eating a bit of lunch, I spent some time just enjoying and breathing in the wide-open spaces.
As always, check the link below if you want to see our full eBird list.
Till next time I venture out!
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https://ebird.org/checklist/S83864242
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