The Huachucas...gesundheit.

(This will be a quick one because the battery on the computer is running oooouuuttt…)

March 27
We drove today from the Chiricahua Mountain range to the base of the Huachucas, in the San Pedro Valley. The weather here in southeastern Arizona is a treat. Some wind to temper the heat and no humidity at all. Because of the lack of water in general (and especially this year), water sources are very important here…and not just for the human population. We visited a wildlife pond called Whitewater Draw, and though the levels were apparently low against the norm, it was great birding. Avocets and smaller shorebirds roamed the banks while a range of duck species dabbled and dove. A lone goose, identified by others as a Snow Goose, had lagged behind the rest of the long-gone wintering flock. Later, we realized it was actually a Ross’s Goose, more of a rarity, especially here. Either way, possibly an injured bird to be here by itself like this. Vermillion Flycatchers buzzed around the trees and a pair of Great Horned Owls roosted under a metal roof put up nearby over the picnic area. You could sit at a table and look right up at them (or draw/photograph them as the case may be).

In the afternoon, we had the car looked at by the prince of auto mechanics, who only charged us ten dollars to put the car on the lift, explain everything that could be causing the noise (which had subsided mostly anyway by now), replenish the fluids, and check the tires. From there, in Bisbee, we made our way to the San Pedro House for some pond and river birding in the evening. We had intended to camp here, but we got locked out at sunset and had a rather hard time finding alternatives. Eventually, we ended up in Miller Canyon, beyond the next town of Sierra Vista.

March 28
In the morning, we birded a little more down by the river but there wasn’t too much going on there, so we came back to Miller Canyon and enjoyed an impressive array of hummingbirds at the Beatty’s Orchard. We hiked up the canyon sluggishly in the afternoon and didn’t see much, so we returned to our campsite, where we were visited by a Forest Service ranger who was doing spot surveys for cavity-nesting owls. One of the sites happened to be right next to our tent. He was playing different owl calls and seeing what responded: only a Whiskered Screech at our site, but it was fun to hear about their project. They were worried about the effects of thinning deadwood on the birds that use those trees for their nests.

March 29
We took a “Nature Walk” in Ramsey Canyon, a famous Nature Conservancy preserve nearby. The walk was more enjoyable for its plant info and bad jokes than for birding, and it was more a crawl than a walk. We saw more hummingbirds and the always-enjoyable Painted Redstarts, as well as a few Empid Flycatchers which kept us puzzled for some time after (I think Pacific-Slope is the species I was seeing, but I’m not one hundred percent on it).
In the afternoon, we did some errands in town and then high-tailed it back to the canyons, this time to a bed and breakfast famous for its hummingbird feeders. We had heard reports of a Lucifer Hummingbird just arrived there, and sure enough we found it along with the six species present at Ramsey and Miller. So in sum, we saw Broad-billed, Broad-tailed, Black-chinned, Magnificent, Rufous, Anna’s, and Lucifer Hummingbirds. And numbers of all but the Lucifer, one of the true rarities here in the Southwest.
For the night, we returned to the Beatty’s Ranch where the enticement of a hot shower (which was more like warm and awfully short) won out over our tendency to avoid pay-sites. We got to wash dishes and cook in a real kitchen since one of their fancy cabins was empty, though, which more than made up for the shower temperature. We had a three-course meal (mac and cheese, popcorn, hot cocoa) which we enjoyed on the front porch, overlooking the distant desert and sky islands through the window of Miller Canyon.

Next, we’re headed to the Patagonia Lake area, where we’ll be camping and looking for Elegant Trogons. On the way, we may make a quick stop to look for some Mexican Spotted Owls at Scheelite Canyon, time permitting.

Don