jbnbsn99 and ituri go to Arizona

I'm sitting at the airport, might as well start typing up the trip report. oh, and my flight is delayed once again...

After arriving in Phoenix (6 hours late!), ituri and his family picked me up and we proceeded to Mrs. Ituri's (Virunga) parents' house. We had some quick grub, and we headed out to a bar where Mrs. Ituri's sister was performing in a comedy improv troupe. We laughed ourselves silly for 3 hours while the troupe made it up as they went along. After the comedy was done, we headed to our places of sleeping, and hit the sack. I was already exhausted by this point, so sleep came quickly.

Morning came. Or more properly, 4:30 AM came. I can't with good reason call this truly morning. I got ready for the two day excursion into south Arizona and the beginning of the birding. Everything was ready to go. I had everything I needed.

Our first stop was an agricultural field where Mountain Plovers had been known to congregate. The roads were terrible. It had rained for a few days prior. Rain in Arizona is a big deal apparently. Everything turned to mud, especially the small farm roads. There were a few times when we thought we might have to turn back or risk getting stuck. However, we persevered and made it to the site.

And... I screwed up again.. Evidently, my binoculars had fallen out of my bag back in Phoenix. No binocs for the best birding trip ever. Ugh. The bird gods hate me. Granted, I never attend worship services or pay my tithes, so there's probably a reason.

After searching for about ten minutes, we were about to give up, and we started to drive away. As we drove past the fields, I spotted some small birds off in the distance. We stopped again, just to check, and there they were - between 150 and 200 Mountain Plovers. They were too far to get photos of, but as they were near a few common Killdeers they were easily identifiable.

As this was my first trip in the West birding, I picked up a few other common birds for lifers, like the Common Raven, which amused ituri to no end that I'd never seen one.

Close by the sod farm, we went to another farmstead where Caracaras had been seen. I've had several Caracaras on the year both in South Texas and just outside of Dallas, ituri hadn't. After scanning the horizon for any signs of Caracaras I finally spotted one way off in a stand of trees. We got several other good birds standing by the side of the road including our first of many looks at a Vermilion Flycatcher.

Not a bad start to the trip, but dang, I wished I had my binoculars.

On to the south.
 
jbnbsn99 said:
As this was my first trip in the West birding, I picked up a few other common birds for lifers, like the Common Raven, which amused ituri to no end that I'd never seen one.
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It rather amuses me, too :p
 
I assume I have seen lots of both crows and ravens in my life, but honestly I cannot tell the difference. In fact, I suspect they may be the same bird and birdwatchers call them different things as a huge inside joke to us non-birders.
 
jbnbsn99 said:
And... I screwed up again.. Evidently, my binoculars had fallen out of my bag back in Phoenix. No binocs for the best birding trip ever. Ugh. The bird gods hate me. Granted, I never attend worship services or pay my tithes, so there's probably a reason.
Click to expand...
you should have been me yesterday then! I was sitting in a restaurant in Leshan (that's still in China) and a man and a woman walked past in the street outside selling binoculars! Really odd. Then an hour or so later I came out of the police administration building after picking up my passport with its new visa and there was a different guy standing outside selling binoculars!! Doubly odd.


jbnbsn99 said:
As this was my first trip in the West birding, I picked up a few other common birds for lifers, like the Common Raven, which amused ituri to no end that I'd never seen one.
Click to expand...
don't listen to the others. I also just saw common ravens for the first time a couple of months ago, and they are great birds.
 
Chlidonias said:
I also just saw common ravens for the first time a couple of months ago, and they are great birds.
Click to expand...

They are indeed; I always enjoy my occasional sightings of them in the Northumberland countryside.
 
The Bust

From the agricultural fields, we headed further south. Ituri had been reading reports of a rare Sinaloa Wren on a trail in Tubac. The Sinaloa Wren has only been reported in the USA a grand total of 3 times, so getting one would be a major accomplishment.

The trail was muddy. The last sighting of the bird (earlier that morning) was about 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile from the entrance. We hiked along the trail spotting a few species here and there including Rufous-Winged Sparrows. All the while we had to dodge copious amounts of horse crap. It was remarkable dead in the way of birds. We did find a Bewick's Wren on the trail, which is remarkable close to the Sinaloa, but after a good amout of time, we had to give up on the rare Wren.

Roughly 45 minutes of birding done. Nothing really gained. Plus an hour or so of driving to get there.

Our gamble would have major consequences for the rest of the trip.
 
Patagonia

After our bust in Tubac, we headed further south. There's only so far south you can go in Arizona before you reach Mexico. We were just outside of Nogales, the main border crossing in Mexico. Ituri had followed up on a lead with an Elegant Trogon that was wintering at Patagonia State Park. Trogons are some of the most tropical species that occur in the US, so they would be another great find. They're more common in the summer than the winter, but a solitary male usually winters at Patagonia. We were playing our chances.

Our GPS was routing us through some beautiful country and some less than stellar dirt roads. Turns out the dirt roads may not have been public access. Ummm...yeah, I think we might have accidentally trespassed on someone's private land. We found this out when we found ourselves on the wrong side of a gate. We looked at each other curiously, and Ituri got out, pushed the gate open, and thankfully, no angry rancher shot us.

Patagonia earned its name. The landscape looks exactly like what I've seen of the far southern tip of South America.

Last trail, we traipsed through horse crap: here, cow patties. We hiked here for about 45 minutes or so. Warbler neck was setting in. We were able to pick up a few new species including Gray Flycatcher and Black-Throated Gray Warbler. I picked up a few lifers that Ituri already had like White-Breasted Nuthatch, whereas Ituri picked up Ladder-Backed Woodpecker which I had had several times.

Overall not a bad list of birds, but no Trogon.

By this point in the day, I had picked up 10 lifers. Not too shabby, but nowhere where I wanted to be.
 
Elegant trogons are very colorful, strikingly beautiful birds. I only seriously went looking for one once, with a wildlife enthusiast friend who took me on a hike into Sycamore Canyon. We saw nothing - not only no trogons but really no wildlife of any kind.

I may or may not have caught a glimpse of one a couple years ago at Tumacacori Mission National Historic Park. (This is just down the road from Tubac which was mentioned earlier in the thread). I saw something bright in a tree and tried to follow to get a photo but lost it. I only had my standard zoom with me (as I was photographing a mission), so I would have had to get much closer. I do not count it, not clear enough (not that I have a bird list anyway unlike my brother who has a USA bird count of 700 and a world mammal count of 550).
 
The glory and the chill of Madera

The last two sites failed us in our goals, Madera Canyon wouldn't disappoint. Madera Canyon never dissapoints, at least according to reputation.

Madera Canyon is located in the Santa Rita sky island. A sky island is a remote mountain, or small mountainous area surrounded by vast plains. Think something akin to the Tepui of South America, and that is a sky island. The wildlife in a sky island is completely different than that of the plains below.

We were nearly out of gas, which once again would have major consequences. We ascended the canyon, and the terrain, flora, and climate totally changed. We had several target species, and we hoped to get them all. It was 3:30 in the afternoon, and time was ticking. Deep in the canyon, sunset came sooner. The temperature started dropping quickly.

Before we saw any birds, we found out first mammal. A small heard of Coues White-Tailed Deer were hanging out by the side of the road. Coues are not a full species, but rather an odd subspecies found only in Arizona. It is almost a dwarf deer. It is easily diagnosable in the field. Colin Groves would call it it's own species.

We paid our fee, and made our way to the feeder at the Santa Rita Lodge. When we got there, it was pretty dead. On the ground was an Arizona Gray Squirrel, a new mammal species for me. Slowly, Mexican Jays started to fly in to the feeders. Dozens of them. They turned out to be one of the more common birds there. Then came in the Acorn Woodpeckers. Loads of them. And slowly, the feeders came alive. White-Breasted Nuthatches, Rufous-Winged Sparrows, Lesser Goldfinches, and Yellow-Eyed Juncos (which Ituri saw, but I missed). Other birds started to show up around the lodge: Hammond's Flycatcher, Gila Woodpecker, Western Bluebird. We searched for a reported vagrant Red-Breasted Sapsucker, but it was not seen, and the temperature was dropping.

We were exhausted by this point. The initial plan was to owl the canyon after dark, but it was getting into the upper 30s (Fahrenheit for everyone else in the world), and the car was out of gas, so we made the decision to end right at sunset. As we were heading back to the car, there was a call note that none of us recognized. A bird flew across the road and into the brush. Painted Redstart. A great bird, and very late for them.

Our only regret for Madera Canyon was that we didn't get there earlier. We could have easily skipped Tubac and Patagonia and made up for our losses. Had we gone up the mountain further, we could have gotten Arizona Woodpecker, and had we gone earlier when it was warmer, many species of hummingbirds would be there.

Live and learn.

We headed back down the mountain and back to the city of Tucson.
 
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Monday evening

Since someone has a penchant for spoilers...

We made it to Tucson around 7:00 that night. We were exhausted, but we remembered ArizonaDocent had offered to meet us for dinner, so we took him up on the offer instead of crashing in the LaQuinta. We met AD near downtown at a Mexican restaurant. It was still quite chilly outside, and the restaurant was full, so we had to wait outside for a while before our table was ready. Then the bar opened up, and we proceeded in there. None uf us drink, so the bar wasn't the most exciting place. As AD mentioned, I did get my first taste of mole at the restaurant, and I fell in love with the flavor of chocolate and chili peppers.

We talked zoos and future exhibits that no one is allowed to know about, and birding, and wildlife watching, and food.

We agreed to meet AD at Reid Park in the morning for a tour of the zoo.

At the hotel, we crashed hard.
 
Well, since I've personally met "jbnbsn99", "Ituri" and "Arizona Docent" (the 3 amigos!) I feel compelled to comment on this thread. While it is written in a rambling, slightly bizarre manner, that makes it all the more enjoyable as one never quite knows what it will lead to. Will they actually tour a zoo or simply follow muddy bird tracks into remote areas? Will they find more binoculars? Will they see a lesser-spotted, red-striped, side-coloured bluebird or will they head to the local zoological park? The notion of not knowing makes this thread enlightening.:)
 
snowleopard said:
Well, since I've personally met "jbnbsn99", "Ituri" and "Arizona Docent" (the 3 amigos!) I feel compelled to comment on this thread. While it is written in a rambling, slightly bizarre manner, that makes it all the more enjoyable as one never quite knows what it will lead to. Will they actually tour a zoo or simply follow muddy bird tracks into remote areas? Will they find more binoculars? Will they see a lesser-spotted, red-striped, side-coloured bluebird or will they head to the local zoological park? The notion of not knowing makes this thread enlightening.:)
Click to expand...

It was a fun trip; glad you're enjoying it.
 
jbnbsn99 said:
I'm sitting at the airport, might as well start typing up the trip report. oh, and my flight is delayed once again...

After arriving in Phoenix (6 hours late!), ituri and his family picked me up and we proceeded to Mrs. Ituri's (Virunga) parents' house. We had some quick grub, and we headed out to a bar where Mrs. Ituri's sister was performing in a comedy improv troupe. We laughed ourselves silly for 3 hours while the troupe made it up as they went along. After the comedy was done, we headed to our places of sleeping, and hit the sack. I was already exhausted by this point, so sleep came quickly.

Morning came. Or more properly, 4:30 AM came. I can't with good reason call this truly morning. I got ready for the two day excursion into south Arizona and the beginning of the birding. Everything was ready to go. I had everything I needed.

Our first stop was an agricultural field where Mountain Plovers had been known to congregate. The roads were terrible. It had rained for a few days prior. Rain in Arizona is a big deal apparently. Everything turned to mud, especially the small farm roads. There were a few times when we thought we might have to turn back or risk getting stuck. However, we persevered and made it to the site.

And... I screwed up again.. Evidently, my binoculars had fallen out of my bag back in Phoenix. No binocs for the best birding trip ever. Ugh. The bird gods hate me. Granted, I never attend worship services or pay my tithes, so there's probably a reason.

After searching for about ten minutes, we were about to give up, and we started to drive away. As we drove past the fields, I spotted some small birds off in the distance. We stopped again, just to check, and there they were - between 150 and 200 Mountain Plovers. They were too far to get photos of, but as they were near a few common Killdeers they were easily identifiable.

As this was my first trip in the West birding, I picked up a few other common birds for lifers, like the Common Raven, which amused ituri to no end that I'd never seen one.

Close by the sod farm, we went to another farmstead where Caracaras had been seen. I've had several Caracaras on the year both in South Texas and just outside of Dallas, ituri hadn't. After scanning the horizon for any signs of Caracaras I finally spotted one way off in a stand of trees. We got several other good birds standing by the side of the road including our first of many looks at a Vermilion Flycatcher.

Not a bad start to the trip, but dang, I wished I had my binoculars.

On to the south.
Click to expand...

Just to throw in my perspective...

The "roads" we traveled down to get to the sod farm that is well known for its wintering mountain plovers appeared to be private farm roads but in reality ended up being just really bad public roads. Between dodging mud puddles and cotton bales it felt miraculous that we made it out in one piece. Interestingly, the flock size we saw of mountain plovers was high enough for eBird to flag it as being rare. I'm not sure why this relatively solitary species was congregating as it was, but it was a sight to behold.
 
Tuesday Morning - pre-zoo

We awoke, early on Tuesday. Thankfully, La Quinta has a good morning breakfast -WAFFLES! And Fruit Loops.

We made the decision to do a little birding before we hit Reid Park Zoo around 9, so at a little after 7, we embarked for the day to see what we could find. Our first stop was a little park with a small lake. My goal was a California Gull, a remarkably hard bird in Texas, but a common "trash" bird for Ituri in Idaho. We missed on the gull, but did pick up a Costa's Hummingbird and had great looks at a Vermilion Flycatcher. Turns out, the Vermilions were very common birds in Tucson.

We then made our way to Reid Park. Not the zoo, but the actual park surrounding the zoo. There had been a report of a rare Black Scoter in a pond just next to the golf course. A Black Scoter is a duck found almost exclusively in the ocean along the coasts of North America, so to find one in the middle of the desert in Tucson was a real surprise. We walked up to the pond, which was really a concrete sewage treatment facility, and there was the scoter, asleep on the pond. Once it woke up, it would be almost impossible to photograph as scoters dive deep underwater to feed. Sadly, there was nothing to feed on in this pond, so the bird may have been on its last legs - or rather wings.

We headed back to the park in search of a Lewis' Woodpecker that had been hanging out. The Lewis' Woodpecker, like the scoter was out of place in the desert. It's more of a mountain bird, than a desert bird. Once we got to the spot where the bird had been last seen, it wasn't too long before we found it. Two new birds on the day, not too bad of a haul before 9 AM.

Well, we thought it was before 9 AM, turns out it was closer to 10, and ituri had missed an important call from an employee of Reid Park who was going to join us for a little bit of the morning. Luckily, things weren't too amiss, and we were going to enjoy our morning at the zoo.
 
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