Thursday, February 26
Up early this morning and as we left the room found that the cold breakfast buffet (hard-boiled eggs, sliced fruit, and breads) was ready. Seems the woman who set it up had some business to attend to and came in early to put the buffet out. So, we grabbed some of the goodies and looked around the inn. There were pictures and information about the history of many of the ranches in the area. Also, pictures and memorabilia about race horses. The owner of the inn had been one of the owners of the greatest race horse of all time, Secretariat.
We saw several Common Ravens on the way to the Nature Conservancy's Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve and a flock of Chipping Sparrows near the entrance. The preserve has a new Visitor Center and we were greeted by a very friendly and knowledgeable volunteer who explained much about the uniqueness and value of the preserve. It is home to a very large and old stand of cottonwoods (some about 150 years old). This is a habitat that is disappearing. He said that the trees were not reproducing and would soon disappear because diversion of the waters from the river had changed the conditions necessary for new trees to take root. The seedlings need a cycle of flooding and dryness to regenerate. We admired a flock of Lazuli Buntings that the volunteer put in his scope. We also saw male and female Anna's Hummingbirds at a feeder.
I asked the volunteer if there were any hotspots and he mentioned Patagonia Lake State Park for the Trogon and another area for a Rose-throated Becard. He drew what at the time seemed like a sufficiently detailed map. However, I explained that I meant at this preserve and he said that there were birds there and that the people who didn't see them were just not good birders. With that bit of encouragement, we went off on the Railroad Trail.
Saw a small herd of Whitetail Deer, a Great Blue Heron and not much more. Joan started pointing out squirrels. We both remembered the volunteer's comments about good birders at the same time. It must have really been "eating" at us and we started thinking of ways we could sneak out without his seeing us. Things did begin to improve eventually. On a different trail we saw a pair of Kestrels, some White-breasted Nuthatches, a pair of Gila Woodpeckers, Bewick's Wrens, and a Song Sparrow which was much redder than our eastern ones. There was one area that was fairly busy with sparrows and I picked up an Abert's Towhee there. Joan didn't see that one and it made up for my missing the Green-tailed Towhee the day before. This one was a lifer for me; the Green-tailed Towhee wouldn't have been. Now we were seeing Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and added Inca Dove to our list. Saw a dark Red-tailed Hawk perched in a tree—the Harlan's Hawk subspecies. These were some nice sightings, but still not all we hoped to see. Fortunately, a different volunteer was at the center so we didn't have to explain our birding abilities (or lack thereof).
Stopped off at Mrs. Paton's right outside the sanctuary. She is an elderly woman who welcomes visitors to view the hummingbird feeders in her yard. She has benches and tables out for the public. Each feeder is numbered so viewers can tell others where a bird is. Since it was not hummingbird season, there were only two feeders out. A male and female Anna's Hummingbird took turns visiting one. Then the bird we were waiting for came in—a Violet-crowned Hummingbird. Rather drab; its orange bill made identification of this lifer easy. The Violet-crowned would disappear for a while and then come back. Suddenly, it caught the light and its head shown brilliantly. Amazing how this drab bird turned into a beauty! A Western Lady (butterfly) also stopped at the feeder. Other visitors to the yard included a deer which had jumped a fence, Verdin, House Finch, and our only Steller's Jay of the trip.
Had an enjoyable lunch at Santos Mexican Cafe in Patagonia—now we had a choice of flat or rolled enchiladas (earlier in the trip they were all flat which we had never heard of) several corn tortillas laid flat with layers of cheese or chicken on top, covered with green or red chilies. And lemonade.
Then drove on to search for the Rose-throated Becard on the Anzas Trail. We followed it for quite a while using a map hand-drawn by the preserve volunteer as a guide. Saw very little along the way. Went on and on finding the landmarks longer distances apart than we expected. Came to a man who said he had looked for the bird for three-quarters of an hour but didn't see it. He said the area was only a ¼ mile away. We walked much further than that before we crossed the river where the map said to. Came to a fork in the trail. Think we took the right one. Couldn't find the bird and finally decided to stop. (I have since checked the Arizona RBA and don't think it has been seen for a while after we were there.)
Drove on to Tucson and went to Tucson Mountain Park west of the city. It was getting late, but Joan and I took a walk up a trail and enjoyed the scenery. Beautiful views of the valleys. This park is filled with Saguaro and Cholla cactus. Also Palo Verde trees which I really like. They have green bark and limbs so that the tree can undergo photosynthesis even when it doesn't have leaves. Not too much birdlife there—just Cactus Wrens but a really nice way to end the birding day.
Joan thought that it was nice to be in Tucson, but found the congestion already wearing, especially after being in such isolated places. After checking in to a hotel, we drove down Speedway looking for a restaurant that appealed to us. Couldn't find one so I made a U-turn and spotted a restaurant that I had eaten in several times two years ago when I worked a trade show. I had wanted to go back but couldn't remember the name or location. Serendipity. The Garland Restaurant. Sort of healthy food, but excellent and highly recommended.
Back to the hotel—hot tub not working so we turned in for the night.
Tucson—Arizona
Sonora Desert Museum and Saguaro National Park Beginning of the Trip
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Copyright © 2005 by Joan and Richard Becker