After a late night, learning and working through the challenges of Phase 10, 5:30 a.m. came early. Carrie and I had planned to meet Leo Miller and Jenny Vogt at McDonald's for breakfast at 6:30 a.m. followed by a full day of birding. Jenny's husband Gary took a break from the golf course to join us as well. We planned to make it to the hawk watch at Ron Moriss Park by 9:00 a.m., but our first stop was Santa Gertrudis Ln., which runs into the Anza Trail in Tubac.
The birding along Santa Gertrudis Ln. was actually better than the connecting part of the Tubac trail that we birded, but all in all we had a nice morning with a nice variety of species, including seven lifers for Carrie--Black Phoebe, Verdin, Bell's Vireo, Bewick's Wren, Gray Flycatcher, Phainopepla, and Common Raven. Come to find out, Carrie had seen a White-winged Dove the day before so this brought her lifer total to eight for the trip. Here is one of several Bewick's Wrens we saw.
Initially, I thought the Gray Flycatcher was a Chipping Sparrow because it was backlit, but Carrie corrected me. Then Leo noticed the bird was wagging its tail, and we realized it was a Gray Flycatcher. The Northern Cardinals in Arizona look so different than our cardinals in Illinois.
On our way back to the car, we enjoyed a very conspicuous Bell's Vireo, singing, while sitting out in the open, allowing great looks all around.
And here is Carrie's lifer Phainopepla, or at least one of them.
As we approached the car, I saw a new Arizona state bird by someone's adjacent private property.:) From the photo, you couldn't tell we weren't birding in India.
Here is the list from our morning walk, including three dove species.
Eurasian Collared-dove 2
White-winged Dove 2
Mourning Dove 3
Gila Woodpecker 4
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 6
Gray Flycatcher 1
Black Phoebe 2
Bell's Vireo 1
Common Raven 3
Bridled Titmouse 4
Verdin 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Bewick's Wren 4
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 7
Curve-billed Thrasher 1
European Starling 3
Phainopepla 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler 6
Abert's Towhee 2
Chipping Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 1
White-crowned Sparrow 2
Northern Cardinal 2
Great-tailed Grackle 6
House Finch 3
Lesser Goldfinch 3
As we were heading to the hawk watch, we found a flock of Brewer's Blackbirds in a pasture not far from Ron Moriss Park. These were the first adult Brewer's Blackbirds I had seen (I had only previously seen a molting juvenile in Winsconsin), and they were lifer #9 for Carrie.
Apparently, we arrived at the hawk watch, conducted by Peter Collins, at just the right time and stayed for just the right amount of time. No hawks were seen before or after we left. You might be surprised to know that there were no Red-tails seen at this hawk watch the entire day. Not long after we arrived, a beautiful Gray Hawk, flew in low right over our heads toward the Anza River. This was my first lifer of the trip. Unfortunately, I had my lens cap on and was unable to photograph it until it flew behind us and was backlit.
Gray Hawks nest along the Anza River. If we had had more time to explore the Anza Trail, we might have seen them perched or courting along the river. The next hawk that flew in close only eight minutes after I had photographed the Gray Hawk was a Zone-tailed Hawk, followed by a Common Black-hawk one minute later. These two birds were not as close as the Gray Hawk. They did not fly directly over us, but were still fairly low and close. Notice how the Zone-tailed Hawk's shape looks similar to that of a Turkey Vulture, while the Common Black-hawk's shape is reminiscent of that of a Broad-winged Hawk.
So in a span of 9-10 minutes, we had all three of our main target birds for the hawk watch. I had hoped for the possibility of a Golden Eagle or a Ferruginous Hawk, but that would not be. We did not see anymore Gray Hawks, but we were able to see several more Common Black-hawks and Zone-tails. Leo said he had never seen so many Zone-tails at once. Although I missed it, the rest of our party had a single Cooper's Hawk, and there were Turkey Vultures and Common Ravens as well.
We also saw a few song birds while waiting for hawks, including Vermilion Flycatcher, Phainopepla, and Lesser Goldfinch, and as we returned to the van at 9:41 a.m., we saw this Lark Sparrow, perched in a limb hanging over the path.
Just outside the park, Carrie spotted another Zone-tailed Hawk from the van, bringing Leo's totals for the hour to 9 Common Black-hawks, 7 Zone-tailed Hawks, and 1 Gray Hawk.
Our next target bird was the Lewis's Woodpecker, which had been hanging out in an old tree at the Tubac Golf Resort. Leo saw the bird as we were pulling up to the tree, but apparently it crawled into its hole to take a nap. After a long wait, Gary scratched the tree trunk with his keys. The woodpecker popped half-way out for a second, but went back in. After we waited another ten minutes, Gary scratched the tree trunk again, and this time, the bird came all the way out. Unfortunately, our sunlight was gone, but we still had fabulous looks of this gorgeous bird, which was another lifer for both Carrie and me!
Carrie and I both also had our lifer Broad-billed Hummingbird in the same tree. On our way from Tubac back to Green Valley, we stopped at the Amado pond, hoping to find Bronzed Cowbirds or Wood Ducks. There was not much of a variey of waterfowl there and no Bronzed Cowbirds, but Ring-necked Ducks were not previously on Carrie's life list and we saw our first Red-tail of the day, so the stop was worthwhile.
When we returned to Green Valley, we dropped Gary off at McDonald's, and Jenny, Leo, Carrie and I drove in separate cars to Madera Canyon. By about 11:45 a.m., we arrived at the amphitheater parking lot at Madera Canyon and hiked up to the Madera Kubo Bed and Breakfast to watch the famous feeders there. On the way to the feeders, Jenny and Leo recognized the call of a Hutton's Vireo. Carrie got better looks than I did of this bird; nevertheless, it was another lifer for team Murphy! It was noticeably larger than a Ruby-crowned Kinglet though its markings were similar. Once we reached the feeders, we saw several Bridled Titmice, another lifer for Carrie.
About five minutes after we arrived, a Painted Redstart landed at eye level on the tree across the road and began to sing.
A minute later, a male Magnificent Hummingbird landed on the hummingbird feeder closest to the road. A female Magnificent followed soon after the male.
Both of these birds were lifers for both Carrie and me! Other birds at the feeders included Acorn Woodpecker, Gray-headed Dark-eyed Junco, and Broad-billed Hummingbird. We also had Mexican Jays and an Anna's Hummingbird, but I did not photograph them.
Carrie also discovered a male Broad-billed Hummingbird with a deformed bill. The first photo shows the bird's tongue extended.
Before we returned to the car, we hiked a little further up the road, and turned to go up a dirt road where Leo had seen Montezuma Quail, but it was a little late in the day for them by that time, and we did not see much other than another Painted Redstart and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet.
Before leaving Madera, we stopped by the feeders at the Santa Rita Lodge on the way down. In addition to birds we had already seen at the Kubo B & B, we also had numerous Lesser Goldfinches and Pine Siskins, about 18 Wild Turkeys of the Arizona variety, an Oregon Dark-eyed Junco, and a Cooper's Hawk. Here is a photo of a Pine Siskin and a Lesser Goldfinch.
There were quite a few hummingbird feeders. Some of them were beside the benches allowing close observation of the Broad-billed Hummingbirds.
It had been a full day of birding already, but Leo offered to take us to the feeders of his friends Jill and Tom, with hopes that Carrie and I would be able to see our lifer Gilded Flicker. We were able to watch the feeders from inside with air-conditioning through clean windows. Although we did not see any Gilded Flickers, we had several more lifers at Jill and Tom's home. They had positioned one of the hummingbird feeders so that song birds could stand on a branch and drink from it. This setup attracted a variety of birds, including Verdin, Orange-crowned Warbler, and Hooded Oriole. Here is the Orange-crowned Warbler, another lifer for Carrie!
And here is the Hooded Oriole, another lifer for both of us!
Gambel's Quail, an Inca Dove, and a yellow House Finch fed on the birdseed placed on top of the wall surrounding the feeders. The Inca Dove was also a lifer for both Carrie and I, and the yellow House Finch was a first.
Unfortunately, Carrie and I had to rush off. We had an appointment with the family to see Jack the Giant Slayer at the local theater, which turned out to be a very entertaining movie! Birding and time with family--it was an awesome day, followed by another night of Phase 10! Winning the second time in a row was a bonus for me, though not for Carrie, Laura, Dave, and Ben, who were probably getting a little aggrivated that I seemed to get most of the wild cards. The day had yielded 21 lifers for Carrie and 10 for me. Leo proved to be a worthy guide and Jenny, Gary, and Leo were all great company! The next day, Carrie would take a rest while I set out with Jenny, Leo, and a couple of Leo's friends from San Diego in search of the Rufous-capped Warblers at Florida Canyon.
This post was written and published on March 30, 2013.
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