Arizona

April 6 - April 12, 2004

I thought I would try to post this year's trip more in the form of a journal, with embedded galleries.  Each picture is linked.  Here goes....

Wednesday, April 6 - Saturday, April 9: Around Florence

Arrived in Phoenix, and rented a car.  Like last year, we stayed just outside of Florence with Gramma Kerry and CJ.  The kids had a great time there, and Pattie and I managed to get out for a few desert walks.

David went on a couple of walks with me, and the first evening we arrived he and I walked out into some desert flowers.

Many of the cactus in the desert were in bloom, and the Saguaro were starting to bud.
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Each morning (and often in the evening) we'd go out for a walk in the desert.  We saw a lot of interesting birds, though the only confirmed lifers were flocks of Brewer's Sparrows.

Saturday, April 9, Boyce Canyon Arboretum

Pattie and I started early in the morning, and drove over to Boyce Canyon Arboretum.  We saw quite a few birds, including a few new lifers: Costa's Hummingbird, Rock Wren, Virginia's and Black-throated Gray Warbler.
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The naturalist there, Duncan, gave us some good pointers, especially one that would help us later: Zone-tailed Hawks look a lot like Turkey Vultures and often flock with them.  We didn't see one there, but did at Ramsey Canyon and it was exactly as he predicted.

Later Saturday, after the kids had their swim, Pattie and I left them with Kerry and CJ and then drove down to Sierra Vista, not too far from the Mexican border.

Sunday, April 10, Sierra Vista, Tombstone and the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area (SPRNCA)

Started early in the morning by leaving Sierra Vista, planning to visit Tombstone for some "touristing".

Along the way we stopped at the Charleston Bridge which goes over part of the SPRNCA.  We walked the river trail and saw a number of interesting birds there.  Lifers included a Cassin's Kingbird and Green-tailed Towhee.

We took a different route home and stopped at San Pedro house, part of the SPRNCA.  The wind was brutal, many tumbleweeds and dust, though the sun was warm.  Pattie stayed in the car while I hiked for a few hours.  The desert is bare and scrubby, but very lush for a few metres on either side of the river -- a 40 mile ribbon of green running from the Mexican border.  

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We closed the day with an in-motel dinner and wine, and then early to bed as we were planning to get up around 3:30 or so.

Monday, April 11, dedicated birding around the Huachuca Mountains, Patagonia, and then back to Florence

This was the day we planned to bird with Stuart Healy, but he unfortunately took ill at the last minute.

So, we tried to do our own thing, but not without some typical missteps!

• 03:30 - we're up and showered, but receive the call from Stuart - too sick.  We originally planned to go owling but nixed that when he couldn't join us; so back to bed
• 05:30 - get up again, grab some Krispy Kremes and coffee; we can do this!
• 06:00 - try to get in to Fort Huachuca and the Garden and Sheelite Canyons, assuming that's where Stuart would have started us; no luck, as of two weeks ago they no longer allow foreign nationals on to the base (maybe it would have been ok if Stuart had been with us).  We don't argue with the army, even if we are just birdwatchers.
• 06:30 - try for Ramsey Canyon Preserve, but get there only to find out it doesn't open until 8 and there is absolutely no parking around the gate
• 07:00 - ok, let's go up Carr Canyon then, it's close by, and once on the road it's only 5 miles to the top and we can be back down and to Ramsey by 8.  Well, click here for our experience -- once we got going it was an average 2-3mph with the rugged road, rock falls and sheer drops, and unfortunately no turning back...  When we finally neared the top and found a spot to turn around, we got out so Pattie could regain control over her stomach, and we briefly birded -- saw our first Painted Redstart, Yellow-eyed Junco and Brown-crested Flycatcher amongst others.  Turned around and drove back down -- much easier on the return journey (and early enough that we thank goodness didn't meet any oncoming traffic on this one-lane road!).
• 08:45 - finally back to Ramsey, a beautiful spot, with a small river/stream running through the canyon.  We meet Roger and Carol sitting watching some hummingbirds; she is looking to upgrade cameras and snaps this picture of a Broad-billed Hummingbird.  We then start a hike up the canyon to the spring head of the river (and hopefully a Trogon), topologically a 700-800 foot climb.  It is a long way up, and then from the "Overlook" it starts down again toward the spring, where we saw quite a few new birds.   For example: Arizona Woodpecker, Greater Pewee, Red-faced Warbler and Zone-tailed Hawk.   Elegant Trogon had been reported that day at the spring head, but it has moved on, or is hiding from the midday sun when we arrive so we will have to try again some other year.  Should have brought water.  We don't get back to the visitor centre until 2.
• 14:00 - eat in the parking lot, then sit outside the centre and chalk up a few more hummingbirds: Rufous, Magnificent, Blue-throated and many Broad-billed.
• 14:45 - head out toward Patagonia
• 15:45 - arrive at Patagonia, but find out that the Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Reserve is closed on mondays (our timing today is impeccable)
• 16:00 - visit with the Paton's, who have an open invitation for birders to come see their yard and all the feeders.  We sit, relax, and pick up a few more hummers: Black-chinned and Violet-crowned, as well as a Cassin's Finch and Pyrrhuloxia.
• 16:45 - stop at the Patagonia roadside rest, just before the state park, and walk along the Sonoita Creek for a bit.  We scare up a Gray Hawk and a Tropical Kingbird while there, but no Becards or Tyrannulets.
• 17:30 - Done; start the drive back up to Florence

Here are a few pics from the trip up Carr Canyon.
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