Madera Canyon

Weather:

Sunny
High - 84
Low - 46

Today we decided it was time to go to Madera Canyon to do some birding.  It's a national park about an hour south of Tucson and typically gets some unusual birds, including the Elegant Trogan and a number of hummingbirds.  The lower part is at about 5000 feet and has rather scrubby vegetation and even some cactus. But the upper areas are wooded with oaks and pines, reminiscent of the California foothills. 

This trail started at about 5400 feet and climbed rapidly.

 

Unfortunately, this area has received very little rain (.21 inches since October in Tucson) so most streams were dry.  That may account for the almost total absence of birds.  

We had our lunch at a lower picnic area and then tried the streamside trail there.  Fortunately, there was a little water there, so we found a few more birds. 

 

Our best find was a White-breasted Nuthatch pair nesting in a hole in a tree. This female (I'm sure it's the female, because the other one was standing around and supervising) was so busy adding leaves to the nest that she never even new I was there. 

We found this guy sunning on a rock.  He looks ferocious, but he was only about 6 inches long. 

 

We did have a nice hike, and the weather, as usual, was gorgeous. 

Sierra Vista

Weather:

Sunny
High - 74
Low - 40

On Tuesday afternoon we headed for Sierra Vista to do some birding.  It's about an hour south of here. That afternoon we spent a couple of hours at Ash Canyon Bed & Breakfast, which is an amazing place for birds.  As the name implies, it sits in a canyon where wildlife abounds.  The owner has put up a couple of dozen bird feeders, including lots for hummingbirds.  She also has several areas where water is available.  There are lots of comfortable chairs for just sitting and watching the birds come in to feed.  It was still a little early for most of the hummingbirds, but we found lots of other interesting birds.

As you can see, she is a serious bird feeder.  Lots of Purina Wild Bird Chow.

The next morning we decided to go early to Ash Canyon for the best birds.  We arrived at 7:15 and nearly froze until the sun warmed us up a bit.  The first bird we saw upon arrival was the Arizona Woodpecker.

 

We also saw both the Scott's and Bullock's Orioles. 

Here's the Scott's up close.

 

There was other wildlife as well, including squirrels and these deer.

At about 9:00 we left Ash Canyon and went to the San Pedro Conservation Area.  It's situated along the San Pedro River and has a tremendous variety of birds.  Among others, we found several Green-tailed Towhees, which we had been searching for.  

After spending several hours there, and eating our lunch, we decided to go back to Ash Canyon to relax and enjoy the birds.  There we saw this Acorn Woodpecker. 

 

The following morning we got up early again and went to Patagonia, about a half hour beyond Sierra Vista, almost at the Mexican border.  There is a residence there, Paton's, where there are lots of feeders and they welcome the public to sit and watch.  There we saw another oriole, the Hooded.  We also saw the Lazuli Bunting.  From there we went to Patagonia State Park, which is on a small lake.  Along the way there we found a Gray Hawk, another one of our target birds, high up in a tree.  At the park we found several kinds of warblers, including a Nashville Warbler and a Painted Redstart.

After lunch in Patagonia we made another brief stop at Paton's, then returned home late in the afternoon.  

It was a really fun trip and we were able to see many neat birds, adding 20 to our yearly list.  The weather was in the low 70s, perfect for being outside.

Birding Begins in Earnest

Weather:

Sunny
High - 85
Low - 48

With the really warm weather of the past week or so, the birds have really started migrating.  We've been reading reports online from all kinds of interesting sightings, so we decided to head for Tubac yesterday, about a hour's drive south of here.  The Santa Cruz River passes through there, and there's a bridge just north of town that's a great spot to watch for passing raptors, as well as other species drawn to the water and greenery.

We found a few warblers, including a newly arrived Lucy's.  But what we were really hoping to see was migrating Common Black Hawks and Zone-tailed Hawks.  Unfortunately, we arrived about ten minutes after several large groups passed over.  We did see one that other birders identified as a Black Hawk, but it was so high we couldn't tell.

After spending some time there we went into the town of Tubac, which is really a neat place.  It's a very old Spanish settlement, complete with a mission, but the town now is mostly art galleries, garden art shops and restaurants. We had been there recently for an art festival, but this time the town was much quieter.

Here are a few photos of Tubac.

 

We've found another place, closer to home, to watch for migrating hawks, so we'll try again tomorrow.

A Beautiful Day

Weather:

Sunny
High - 78
Low - 41

Our beautiful weather has returned, so we decided to go to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum today.   Most of our time was spent looking for birds (we didn't find much), but we found several javelinas out and about.

We had packed our lunch , so we sat in this secluded courtyard and ate it.  It was very relaxing.

In spite of the recent cold weather, we were able to find some things in bloom.

Several days ago we went to Agua Caliente Park.  It's a small oasis in the northeast corner of Tucson.

The park used to be a home, so there are several buildings and nice gardens.  This photo is of a Velvet Mesquite tree, which is thought to be over 200 years old.  I imagine in the heat of summer it provides a nice shade canopy over the house.

We found a few birds here, but again it was just a beautiful place to be.   We're looking forward to a week of temperatures in the upper 70s.