2006 Tour Narrative
One of the nicest aspects of birding in Southeastern Arizona in December is the weather, and this year’s trip typified how nice it could be relative to the rest of the country - every day was clear, and the daily temperatures were in the 60’s and 70’s! It really couldn’t be beat! Birdwise, it was an excellent year for both sparrows and raptors - especially after the above-normal summer monsoons, which made the grasslands and thickets rich with food and it was as well an above average year for unusual birds.
We began around Tucson, checking ponds, and then driving northwest of town to the Santa Cruz Flats. The Avra Valley Sewage Treatment Plant was alive with ducks, with close scope views of virtually all the duck species that winter in Arizona; seeing lots of Canvasbacks was especially delightful. These ponds also attract non-ducks, and it was here that we saw our first Greater Roadrunner, several Vermilion Flycatchers and all three species of Phoebes - Say’s, Black, and an out-of-range Eastern! A Peregrine screaming around chasing doves and ducks was also a treat. After lunch we wended our way up the Santa Cruz Flats west of Picacho Peak, an area excellent for raptors and agricultural lands birds, but the primary target was Mountain Plovers, which we found easily and studied well. Other goodies that afternoon included several Crested Caracaras - a rarity in the area - as well as Ferruginous Hawk, Mountain Bluebirds, a Burrowing Owl, Western Meadowlarks and lots of Horned Larks.
During the next two days we birded south of Tucson along the Santa Cruz River drainage, at Arivaca Cienega, at Patagonia Lake, and in the San Rafael and Sonoita Grasslands. We began with a quick jaunt into Madera Canyon. The higher elevation canyons are rather quiet this time of year, but we did manage to find a mixed species flock with Bridled Titmice, Gray-headed Dark-eyed Juncos, Hutton’s Vireo and a splendid adult Painted Redstart. Mexican Jays and Acorn Woodpeckers provided the backdrop. On the way into Madera we stopped and saw Rufous-winged Sparrow, and several Phainopeplas were sitting up guarding their patches of mistletoe. Arivaca Cienega is always a lovely place to bird. Highlights here included close views of a small group of Lawrence’s Goldfinches, a nice study of a Swamp Sparrow, close looks at Green-tailed Towhee and several sparrow species, and a very responsive Virginia Rail. Along the Anza Trail on the Santa Cruz, we found a wintering Plumbeous Vireo, and at Peña Blanca Lake we had wonderful views of a Canyon Wren, and another stunning Painted Redstart.
Patagonia Lake is always a special place on a winter birding trip to southern Arizona. On the lake itself, we found Neotropic and Double-crested Cormorants, a nice flock of Common Mergansers, and several Western Grebes but our mission for the morning was to find one of the now ever-present Black-capped Gnatcatchers. We had great success, getting point-blank looks at a female. Another big highlight for that day was locating (with the help of other friendly birders) the wintering male Elegant Trogon - what a bird! A Sora was spotted working the edge of the marsh, as were several Marsh Wrens, a few Gray and Hammond’s Flycatchers, both Rufous-crowned and Black-throated Sparrows, as well as both Gila and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers. A swing through Harshaw Canyon yielded brief views of an Eastern Bluebird but the real treat was a group of Montezuma Quail on the road - including a stunning male. The grasslands are beautiful this time of year, and we saw a flock of Chestnut-collared Longspurs - including one on the fence - and lots of sparrows. Using the van as a blind we were able to get point-blank views of Grasshopper, Cassin’s, Vesper, and Savannah Sparrows, as well as Loggerhead Shrikes, and the “Lillian’s” form of Eastern Meadowlark. One of our favorite moments was the scope views of a perched Merlin.
The last two days of the trip were based out of Sierra Vista, and included a day in the Sulphur Springs Valley, and birding along the San Pedro River. The Sulphur Springs Valley is simply a wonderful place in the winter. My favorite experience of the trip was spotting groups of Sandhill Cranes flying through the valley, and driving the van to directly under their path and getting out to watch flock after flock of cranes circling up the valley, and passing right over head calling - in the end we estimated at least 5000! At Whitewater Draw we saw a wintering flock of Snow Geese, with a few Ross’s Geese mixed in. In the willows there, we located a Palm Warbler (a rarity in Arizona), and in the desert scrub nearby, we found both Bendire’s and Crissal Thrashers, and a very cooperative Sage Sparrow not to mention the hundreds and hundreds of Lark Buntings and sparrows along the fence lines! Raptors were quite abundant this year, and included numerous Ferruginous Hawks, a few Golden Eagles, and a distant Prairie Falcon. What a fabulous place to bird in the winter.
The San Pedro River was a relaxing place to end the week of birding. Our goal was to find the wintering Green Kingfishers at Kingfisher Pond, and we did see both the male and female well in the scope as they hunted for fish along the edge of the pond! Lots of sparrows (again) and local specialties such as Abert’s Towhee made the morning even more enjoyable. We ended up going to Saguaro National Park on the way back to Tucson, where we managed to catch up with Black-tailed Gnatcatcher and Gilded Flicker, and finished off our birding along the Santa Cruz River, where we saw a large wintering flock of Black-necked Stilts and numerous ducks. Our trip total of about 150 species was, I believe, the highest total ever for this trip.
Gary Rosenberg
Updated: December 2006