Road Trip Reports

SOUTHEAST ARIZONA
by Jimmy Woodard  

Day One- July 29, 2004  

Max Fuller, Nealand Hill & I left OKC on Thursday, July 29^th heading for a birding trip to southeast Arizona.  We drove to Socorro, NM to our motel and after a brief nap we spent the evening at Bosque del Apache NWR.  This was my first visit to Bosque since 1988.  Many things had changed and for the better.  The visitor’s center had moved and it was much nicer.  The grounds had been landscaped for wildlife and all the refuge roads had been improved plus wildlife viewing areas had been added.  

Nealand Hill

Birds seen were Roadrunner, White-faced Ibis, Clark’s Grebe, Black-crowned Night Heron, Gambel’s Quail, Black-chinned and Rufous Hummers, Black Phoebe, Ladder-backed WP, Phainopepla and Lesser Nighthawk.   The nighthawk was a lifer for Max.  The Clark’s Grebe swam right underneath us as we stood on a boardwalk over a marsh.   

Day Two- July 30  

An early start brought us to the Bosque visitor’s center where dozens of hummers were hitting the multiple feeders.  A gorgeous male Calliope made several trips to the feeders much to our delight.  As we departed the area, we found a pair of Golden Eagles perched side by side on a telephone pole crossbar.  

Further south, we birded several areas in Elephant Butte.  The yards with native scrub and mesquite made for good birding.  We added Cactus Wren, Curve-billed & Sage Thrasher, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Verdin and Shrike to our list.   

After lunch, we made it to Rodeo, NM on the Arizona border where we found a Bendire’s Thrasher (lifer for me) after much searching near the cotton gin.  With the afternoon heat baking the desert, we looked up to see a Zone-tailed Hawk flying over which was a lifer for Max.  Finally, about 3 PM local time, we made it to Portal where I hadn’t been in 16 years.  Portal is truly the gateway to almost unlimited birding possibilities.  

After checking into the Portal Lodge, we immediately hit the birding trail.  Cave Creek and the Portal area quickly produced Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, Western Pewee, Acorn & Arizona WP, Painted Redstart, Lesser Goldfinch, Mexican Jay, Bridled Titmouse, Black-throated Sparrow, Blue-throated & Violet-crowned Hummers, Band-tailed Pigeon and Plumbeous Vireo.  After a great BBQ dinner, we went owling and found several Whiskered Screech Owls and Poorwill.  

Day Three- July 31  

We got out early and birded around Portal.  At Dave Jasper’s feeders we found a male Painted Bunting which caused quite a stir among the local birders.  It’s a good bird for Arizona.  Other birds we saw were Hooded Oriole, Pyrrhuloxia, Violet-green Swallow and Scrub Jay.  

Jimmy Woodard, Nealand Hill and Max Fuller.

After a late breakfast, we headed into the Chiricahua Mountains to Barfoot Park.  We tried for the Short-tailed Hawk but it had already got up and left.  We did see several flocks of birds including Mexican Chickadee, Olive & Grace’s Warblers, Pygmy & Red-breasted Nuthatches, Yellow-eyed Junco, Bushtit, Virginia Warbler and Hermit Thrush. 

We met up with Garey Harritt and picnicked at Barfoot Junction.  We birded our way back down the mountain to Herb Martyr and John Hands Campgrounds and then the road to Paradise.  We stopped at the George Walker House, a birding B&B.  We had Broad-tailed Hummer, Summer Tanager, Band-tailed Pigeon and Rock Wren here.

 Day Four- Aug. 1  

We were up and out early to try for Crissal Thrasher and Black-chinned Sparrow.  We missed on the thrasher and got a brief, backlit view of the sparrow.  

 We hurried on toward Barfoot to be in position for the Short-tailed Hawk.  Near the top, Max got his first look at a lone Band-tailed Pigeon perched atop of a tall, dead pine tree.  His nemesis bird was finally found.   

At the park, I climbed the ½ mile trail up to the observation platform while the boys stayed down below near an open meadow in Barfoot Park.  At 8:45 AM, the hawk rose from somewhere east of us and soared repeatedly over me at the park.  Down below, Nealand & Max were enjoying close up views of birds coming to bathe and drink at a pool of water.  Some birds they saw were Mexican Chickadee, Bridled Titmouse, Olive & Red-faced Warblers, Band-tailed Pigeon and two Hermit Warblers, a surprise lifer for both of them.  I found essentially the same birds including one Hermit Warbler mixed in several flocks as I hiked back down to meet them.   

We enjoyed cool and misty weather as we birded back down the mountain.  We hiked up Cave Creek a mile or so and enjoyed a roving feeding flock of birds that included Hutton’s Vireo, Black-throated Gray Warblers, Painted Redstart and lots of Bridled Titmouse.  We also had a pair of Varied Buntings as we ended the day at Dave Jasper’s feeders.  

Day Five- Aug. 2  

We birded the road to Paradise and Turkey Creek Road and found Black-tailed Gnatcatcher and Rufous-crowned Sparrow.  We bid goodbye to Portal and headed for Sierra Vista by way of Douglas and Bisbee.  We made a brief visit to the San Pedro House along the river and found Vermilion Flycatcher and lots of Common Ground Doves.  

After checking into our motel, we went to Beatty’s B&B in Miller Canyon.  We hoped for a White-eared Hummingbird that was being seen but we didn’t find it.  We did get nice looks at Magnificent, Broad-billed and Anna’s Hummers.  We dodged rainstorms as we headed a few miles south to Ash Canyon B&B.  After several downpours and lightening displays, we enjoyed a male Lucifer Hummer right at 7 PM as the sun tried to come out.  

Day Six- Aug. 3  

We again were out early to be in Fort Huachuca by first light.  We quickly found a singing Botteri’s Sparrow very close to the road which was a lifer for Max.  We enjoyed a drive across the grasslands of the base without seeing another car on the road.  We drove past Scheelite Canyon thru the oaks and up into Sawmill Canyon.  Max and I hiked a trail up into the pines and eventually got great looks at a Buff-breasted Flycatcher.  Back at the car, we enjoyed a pair of Greater Pewees.  We also heard Elegant Trogans but never saw them.  

This beautiful morning continued as we drove back down to Beatty’s.  We had been there about 20 minutes when the male White-eared Hummer made a brief visit to a feeder not more than six feet away.  This exquisite hummer visited at 10:07 and again at 10:44 for about 20 seconds.

 We next went to Ramsey Canyon where I took the trail to the overlook and we all spent too much money in the gift shop.  Not much was going on here birdwise.  We did see a dead mountain lion next to the road nearby.   

We took a slow, rough road up into Carr Canyon to the campground at the top.  We enjoyed beautiful views with storms over the mountains all around and a couple of new birds, Evening Grosbeak and Cooper’s Hawk.  

Day Seven- Aug. 4  

We left Sierra Vista early to make the hour drive to our first stop, the infamous Patagonia Rest Stop.  Thick-billed Kingbirds were very vocal and were everywhere.  Max & Nealand got their lifer Varied Bunting, a pair, on the brushy hillside above us.  A Peregrine Falcon streaked over the cliffs toward Patagonia Lake.   

The lake was our next stop where we searched in vain for over two hours to find the Black-capped Gnatcatcher.  We went back to Patagonia for lunch at the Home Plate Café.  We visited the Patton’s feeders where we saw a male Violet-crowned Hummer, Inca Dove and a male Bronzed Cowbird.   

At the Patagonia-Sonoita Nature Preserve, Max and I walked several trails along the creek.  We found Dusky-capped and Brown-crested Flycatchers, Gray Hawks on a nest, Black-bellied Whistling Duck and Lucy’s Warbler.  We went back to Patagonia Lake but struck out on the gnatcatcher again.  

Day Eight- Aug. 5  

We pulled out of Sierra Vista headed for Madera.  On the way we stopped again at Patagonia Lake.  While walking the trail, Max and I looked up to see Janet Duerr and Steve Schafer standing there.  What a small world!  We searched  together and found a male Black-capped Gnatcatcher moving quietly in a mixed flock in a mesquite tree.  As we watched, incredibly, it moved onto a nest displacing a female!  What a great find!!  A group of 18 British birders were coming up the trail and we showed them the bird too.  We also found several Northern Beardless Tyrannulets, Cordilleran Flycatcher and Hooded Oriole.  The tyrannulet was a lifer of Max.   

We birded the scenic Box Canyon Road into Madera and checked into the Santa Rita Lodge.  We later met Garey and his wife Linda at Continental and then drove to California Gulch near the Mexican border.  After a very rough and slow drive into the gulch, we walked a rocky path into the canyon and along a stream.  We didn’t see or hear much.  As we hiked back out, a lone Five-stripped Sparrow perched up above us on the slope.  It called and moved about the canyon as we continued out.  We drove a short way over to an old mine and waited for dusk.  Eventually, we heard a Buff-collared Nightjar calling close by.  It moved around us and called for about ten minutes but we could never get a look at it.  It was a long and slow drive along a winding road back to the lodge.  We got home about 10:30 PM.

 Day Nine- Aug. 6  

After sleeping in till 7 AM, I was in the shower when Max banged on the door and said “there is a bear outside our cabins”.  By the time I got out, it had gone.  

Max & I hiked up a ways along the Old Baldy Trail where we again ran into Steve and Janet.  We were all looking for the Flame-colored Tanager but none of us saw it.  We did find Rufous-winged Sparrow (a lifer for Max) back down the canyon near Florida Wash.  We spent most of the day on the road searching for Ruddy Ground Doves at a feedlot near Red Rock north of Tucson.  We found lots of White-winged and some Collared Doves but no Ground Doves.  It was hot and very windy which made the search a little tougher.  

Next, we took a scenic, hour long drive to Aravaipa Canyon near Mammoth.  This arid, harsh canyon is home to Black Hawks.  They have nested in the trees along the creek at the bottom of this steep canyon.  We saw several Gray Hawks but no Blacks as we endured 100 degree heat for the first and only time on the trip.  

Once back at the lodge, we got a message from Garey about a Berylline Hummer at Ramsey Canyon.  We did a little owling after supper and heard Elf Owls but never could get a look at one.  

Day Ten- Aug. 7  

We birded around the lodge until check-out time.  We had a beautiful male Rose-breasted Grosbeak at a feeder.  We made it to Ramsey about 11:30 AM and decided to wait on the Berylline.  As we waited, we ran into Matt Gearheart, Dave Williams and several other birders from Kansas that I knew.  Small world again!!  We all searched anxiously until 2:15 PM when the bird finally appeared.  A lifer for everybody!  We also saw a pair of Hepatic Tanagers.  

We had to leave for home and the next day and a half was spent en route thru Las Cruces, White Sands, Ruidoso and Roswell and on to Amarillo and home.  

Our species count was 186.  Max had 18 lifers to bring his total to 532.  Nealand had 5 lifers to get to 538.  I also had 5 lifers to bring my list total to 647.   

It was great to finally visit southeast Arizona after sixteen years and see most of the area’s specialty birds.  It was fun to see how things had changed and how some things were still pretty much how I remembered them.  It was another great trip!!