Wednesday, February 25
Up early on another cold morning—had to scrape the ice off the car again. Headed out of the motel in the wrong direction but that gave us the sighting a Sharp-shinned Hawk as a trip bird.
We drove down Miller Canyon Road on our way to (you guessed it) Miller Canyon, in the Huachuca Mountains. Saw some of the common local birds Curve-billed Thrasher, Cactus Wren, Mourning Dove. The Mexican Jays started in again at the entrance to the canyon. Joan decided that they were very brave when in a flock, but rather timid when alone. We heard bird song that sounded towhee-like to Joan and when we tracked it down, discovered it came from Bewick's Wrens. It was a sound we would become quite familiar with during the rest of the trip. Heard another bird singing and although we could tell which tree it was coming from, we had difficulty locating the source. Finally, I saw some bright yellow in the tree and we identified the Lesser Goldfinch (I think the Lesser is definitely a misnomer). Can't understand how something that bright can remain hidden. Then we found a Rufous-crowned Sparrow—another bird I had seen only once before.
Started on a trail up the canyon. Once again, the Ruby-crowned Kinglets were everywhere. There were good numbers of White-breasted Nuthatches also as well as Gray-headed Juncos. Saw enough American Robins to forget about my having seen only a couple all year before the trip. Again, Bridled Titmice and Brown Creepers were seen on the way down. I watched quite a few trees while we unsuccessfully looked for a singing vireo. On the road out of the canyon, we found a Canyon Towhee.
Our next stop was Ramsey Canyon where the Nature Conservancy has a preserve that is noted for its hummingbirds. February is not exactly hummingbird season and there were none at the feeders while we were there. We were told that one was showing up every couple of hours, but we didn't wait around for it. Walked the trails and guess what—we were inundated with Ruby-crowned Kinglets. Saw another Brown Creeper—amazing how few Joan and I have seen back east. We met a couple from Canada and they told us they had just seen a Golden Eagle. We scanned the skies to no avail. They also said that the woman had seen a red and black and white bird and couldn't identify it. My immediate reply, "Painted Redstart." Joan was fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of it; I wasn't that lucky. They also mentioned that they heard there was an Elegant Trogon at Patagonia Lake State Park.
Came to the point where the guide book says that "But a warning is in order: This is emphatically not a walk for the faint-hearted or for those who are out of shape." The couple went on and one of us decided to go on, the other one decided to follow her. At the beginning of the trail we heard a series of flat "keks" and saw a hawk. We voted on the identification and came up with Cooper's Hawk. However, the sound was coming from a different tree and we decided that it was its mate. Later another woman said that she had seen two hawks in that area. As we worked our way up, we all welcomed the closely-placed (but not closely-enough-placed) benches where we would stop to catch our breath. We wondered where the older woman with a cane who passed us could have gone. Finally, one of us realized that we weren't seeing anything and he said that it would be more profitable if we left and went birding somewhere else (and possibly see a trogon). Fortunately, the other one agreed. Saw a Hermit Thrush and a Mourning Cloak (butterfly) on the way out.
We saw "Grazing prevents blazing" signs. The locals use this as a good excuse to promote cattle grazing not realizing (or caring) that brush fires keep the plains as plains. Overgrazing allows shrubs to take hold and the grasses disappear. Maybe they'll catch on one of these years.
Stopped for sandwiches at Sunny's "D" Delight in Huachuca City. The best part of the restaurant was its name. Saw an American Kestrel, Red-tailed Hawk, and Great-tailed Grackles along the way. We had some trouble finding a motel the night before because of our late arrival, so stopped to get a room at the Sonoita Inn when we passed it. This had been recommended in one of the guide books. It shouldn't have been! Although the rooms were very nice, it was expensive. The clerk made a big deal about asking whether we wanted a room facing southeast or southwest. It didn't really matter since both overlooked the parking lot. Furthermore, we were told that there would be no staff on duty after 8:00 p.m. and that the continental breakfast wasn't served until 8:00 a.m. Certainly no self-respecting birder would hang around waiting for breakfast at that hour. (Since we weren't planning on having breakfast there, they gave us coupons to get coffee and a croissant at a nearby store.) Furthermore, it was about 15 miles from the "good" birding areas.
Drove down to Patagonia where we stopped at the Patagonia Roadside Rest Area world famous for the Patagonia Roadside Rest Area effect. For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, this area is about ten miles from the Mexican border. Years ago, a birder found a rare bird nesting in the area and the effect of this was to bring more birders who then found more rare birds. Anyhow, it is still a good spot to find good birds. We didn't find any rare birds there but did see a good assortment of the local stuff. Actually, we didn't spend too much time there as were in a hurry to get to Patagonia Lake State Park.
Aside from general birding, we were told to look for an Elegant Trogon and a Rufous-backed Robin at the park. In the excitement of the Trogon quest, we both forgot about the Robin. The general birding produced more Ruby-crowned Kinglets (ho-hum), a Vermillion Flycatcher, Bridled Titmice, both Audubon's and Myrtle Warblers, Gila Woodpecker, Double-crested Cormorant and Ruddy Duck. Joan saw a Green-tailed Towhee. The quest for the trogon produced nothing except cattle. We walked along the stream where we thought the trogon would be and wound up in muddy banks. A herd of cows with their calves soon came along and we felt we should leave the stream to them. (Besides they probably had scared all the wildlife off anyhow.) We worked our way back and spoke with some people who suggested that we cross the stream and try another area. The result was similar except that we didn't run into any cows there.
By now it was getting dark so we left the park (we later heard that neither the Trogon nor the Robin was seen that day.) In the town of Patagonia we ate dinner at the Stage Stop Inn. Can't remember what we ate but it was good. Our waitress was a rather young lady, and when we asked her what beer she recommended, she told us she was too young to serve beer. After dinner, we checked with her about the cost of staying at the inn. Although too late to change our reservations, there was room at the inn, it was significantly less expensive, and was closer to the action. Can't understand why the guide book didn't recommend staying there. We spoke with the rather young lady about the area and herself. She said that her father had been a rancher and that she missed riding. She said that most of her friends were "little cowboys" (her words). After that, we left the hotel and drove back to Sonoita and turned in for the night.
Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve
and Tucson Mountain Park Beginning of the Trip
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Copyright © 2005 by Joan and Richard Becker