Arizona birds

By Bruce Glick
February 14, 2017
1022

Arizona birds Along the Colorado River north of Yuma, Arizona, we spent a week at Squaw lake, where many interesting birds could be found close to the campground, including Black Phoebe, Vermilion Flycatcher, two different cormorants, many ducks, loons and four species of grebes. This past week we spent time near Tucson, Arizona, including a few days at Madera Canyon and Kartchner Caverns. The weather has varied from quite hot to quite cold. At the caverns, we had an all-night series of thunderstorms that left the desert looking quite wet and lovely. The next morning, we hiked a 3-mile trail through a desert wash and up through the hills above the caverns. There were few birds but we did see black-throated sparrow, cactus wren, ruby-crowned kinglet and several western bluebirds. The story of the caverns is fascinating. It was located by two men exploring for caves, and eventually they worked their way through very narrow passages to several large rooms. They realized what an amazing discovery they had made. It took a lot of secret dealings to get the land owner and the state of Arizona to make the place a state park and develop the cave in a way that would preserve it. This is a wonderful place to visit. Madera Canyon is one of my favorite places to camp, hike and watch birds. This trip was no exception. At the Santa Rita Lodge, I sat with other birders for several hours watching the birds come and go. Ten wild turkeys cleaned up under the many feeders. As many as 75-100 lesser goldfinches crowded onto the finch feeders. When not feeding, we could hear them chattering in the nearby trees. Juncos were common, but I only saw one yellow-eyed junco, a high-altitude bird that sometimes moves down the mountain during the winter. Most hummingbirds migrate south for the winter, but the feeders at Santa Rita always have a number of them for us to enjoy. Annas hummingbirds are the most common, but we also saw broad-billed, Costas and one adult male rufous hummingbird. Others had reported a magnificent hummingbird but I missed them this time. Two years ago, we had several of them at our campsite. Mexican jays are common and can be found around the campground and the various lodges. Other regulars include bridled titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, house finch, Lincolns sparrow, Arizona and acorn woodpeckers and mourning dove. A painted redstart also showed up for a few minutes. As we were driving back down the canyon, a greater roadrunner was indeed running across the road in front of us. Red-tailed hawks, kestrels, a northern harrier, and northern mockingbirds were also seen close to the road. There were lots of ravens but its difficult to differentiate between the two species of ravens in many parts of southern Arizona where both are common. We had hoped to stop at Whitewater Draw to see the cranes, ducks and geese, but the heavy rain would have made the mostly clay and gravel road impassable. So, we headed east to New Mexico, and as I write, we are in Abilene, Texas where it has again been raining. Soon we will be home, and early spring birding is just around the corner. Good birding! Bruce Glick birderbruce@yahoo.com 330-317-7798

Arizona birds

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