February 07: Jake Mohlmann on his just-completed winter tour of Southeast Arizona
The week was much colder than usual with snow and ice.
The Huachuca Mountains were lovely with their snowy coat
It reached a low of eight degrees one morning, which turned our courtyard fountain into an ice sculpture!
Brrrrrr.....
But this made our five nights of amazing meals and top-notch comfort even more delightful.
Casa de San Pedro is a superb place to come home to after a chilly day in the field
Despite the frigid temperatures and snowy conditions the birds performed famously. We began by looking for a very rare visitor to North America and successfully connected with a Rufous-backed Robin that ended up feeding at our feet!
Rufous-backed Robin at (almost) arm's length
An amazing 21 species of sparrows were seen well including the range-restricted Rufous-winged, fleet-footed Sagebrush, and often unseen Fox Sparrow.
A handsome "Red" Fox Sparrow, not often seen in southeastern Arizona
The Patagonia area was surveyed through intermittent snow squalls that did not seem to effect bird activity one bit. On the contrary, the birds seemed to be low down and easily viewed including close-ups of several Wilson’s Snipe, Cassin’s and Plumbeous Vireos, and our exciting find of several Black-capped Gnatcatchers. Perhaps the highlight of the tour for some was when our host at Casa de San Pedro spotted two male Montezuma Quail feeding 20 feet from where we were having breakfast, only the second time in 10 years these beauties have been seen at our lodge!
Montezuema Quail from our breakfast window, perhaps driven to our feeders by the cold and snow.
Portal is a must-see for any visiting birder to southeast Arizona and it didn’t disappoint. Cave Creek Canyon produced Blue-throated Hummingbird, Arizona Woodpecker, and a pair of Mexican Chickadees. Six distinct regions were explored and produced and amazing141 species of birds…not bad for the middle of winter!
Posted: February 07, 2016