March 30
That shower quickly went from too hot to way too cold, which helped me wake up a little quicker than usual. We headed to Fort Huachuca, a military site that just so happens to contain some of the best habitat for the Mexican Spotted Owl in the country. They gave us a day permit after checking the vehicle registration, insurance, and my driver’s license. We got almost all the way to the trailhead, only to find a big yellow gate barring the way. Signs on either side of it said that the road was closed due to Fire Danger. The signs were taped over mostly, and the gate wasn’t locked—it was just kind of sitting there shut. But we figured that if there was any place not to take chances, this was it. So we drove back, down a road flanked by firing ranges and training facilities with labels such as “grenade assault course” (an apparent obstacle course, complete with half-sized plastic soldier figures). You better believe we stayed within the speed limit religiously. When we finally got all the way back to the main entrance, we decided to ask what was the deal with the closure, since we had after all told them where we were going, and they hadn’t informed us of any fire danger or impaired access. One guy made a call and said no one knew anything about a closed gate there. Maybe it had blown closed, he suggested. Ugh. We drove all the way back, only this time the gate was open, whaddyaknow! So we finally did get to hike into Scheelite Canyon, and though we didn’t get to see any day-roosting owls, we did get to see a grand display from the Painted Redstarts and the hike itself was really neat. This was more of a true small canyon than some of the ones we’d been in lately. And on the way down we ran into an Empid flycatcher, one of the notorious small birds in the genus “Empidonax” that are often impossible to identify. But we actually managed to get a good ID on it: Hammond’s Flycatcher. Which, incidentally, preserved the life-bird streak one more day.
Back in Sierra Vista, we used the internet and filled the gas tank. Then we did something truly bizarre. We got a carwash. And I mean a heavy-duty automated carwash. Tricolored foam, presoaks 1 and 2, undercarriage, spotless dry—the works. What a strange experience. Let’s hope it wasn’t too late to get some of the remaining Maine road-salt off the rustable parts. We drove our shiny vehicle to Patagonia, where we arrived in time not to pay the entry fee and then woke up in time to decamp before anyone was the wiser.
March 31
With the car all packed up (we slept out to avoid setting up and deconstructing the tent in such a short time) we drove all over the place trying to find where the bird-walk would depart. It said “Birding Trail trailhead” but I guess you’re just supposed to know which trail is the birding trail, since they all have other names on the map. Finally we did find the extra-large group of people, the average age of whom was more than our ages put together. What else is new. This was a ranger-led walk though, so at least we had a good guide. Today was a return to the good old days of adding double-digit new birds to the list. The songbirds were out in full force, proclaiming their territories, and there was also good wetland habitat along the pond and creek. Besides the new migratory stuff, vireos and warblers, we got to fill in some shaky life-birds from Texas. We actually saw the Northern Beardless Tyrannulet as well as hearing its song. And we saw a Zone-tailed Hawk in its classic adult form overhead. We also got helpful side-by-side comparisons of the Double-Crested and Neotropic Cormorants. But perhaps the nicest thing on the walk was the sheer abundance of colorful, noisy birds shooting this way and that in the trees. In particular, the Yellow warblers and the Vermillion Flycatchers seemed to be everywhere, visually and aurally.
After the morning’s walk, we got a special permit to visit the limited-access State Natural Area up the road. This was on the recommendation of Bill the ranger who led the morning’s walk, and he had given us a good idea of where to look for the Common Black-Hawk I really wanted to see. We had already seen Gray and Zone-tailed, both today and earlier on the trip. This would be the third of three specialty hawks today to complete the hat-trick, and this one is the rarest of them. Good but unexpected things began to crop up as soon as we got the first look-out. A Phainopepla, a glossy crested blackbird we’d missed so far, appeared right near us during our tomato-and-avocado picnic. An Elegant Trogon, one of the bigger Arizona prizes but very rare at this time of year, showed up in the riparian zone near the Sonoita Creek. I had a sort of Zen moment where I knew there was something extraordinary nearby before I saw the thing. All I had seen was a flash far back in the branches, but somehow I had an impression of green. And maybe red. A cardinal popped out, and I was almost tempted to write the red off, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something else there. Sure enough, a long boxy-tailed silhouette came into view as I moved closer. What a lucky find. Now, if we never found the Black-Hawk, I would have been completely satisfied. As it turned out, what we saw in this area was a whole lot more of the Gray Hawk, which was really a treat itself. I also found two new Empid flycatchers that I could identify on the spot. That felt really good. One had a characteristic tail-bobbing motion, the Gray. And another I could tell from its slight differences to the one from yesterday, so that I could reasonably call it a Dusky Flycatcher.
No sign of the Trogon on the way back. We decided it was worth one more stop at the Scenic Overlook on the way up (a little off our intended route) to see if a hawk wouldn’t grace us with its presence. More Gray Hawks, this time a pair doing aerial acrobatics. Again, I was satisfied. But then the Black-Hawk flew right in for us. It had a big white tail band and incredibly broad wings. It’s nice when a bird just couldn’t be anything else. We watched it soar for a few minutes. Abby noted that as it turned, the outer/upper wing would bend convexly, while the inner/lower wing bent concavely, forming a unique S-shape. We’ve been seeing so many birds that it’s now possible to access a new layer of detail, and I felt really proud to be a part of that today.
By now, we were frickin hot. And all these good birds had extended the hike so that we were now almost out of water. We hustled back to the car, drank like fish, and then went swimming down at the lake. Also like fish. Or Coots, since those were the birds sharing the swimming area with us (the only other thing crazy enough to be in that freezing water). Feeling clean and refreshed, bird mojo running high, we headed to the Paton’s House, a renowned humming-bird site, to see the Violet-crowned Hummer, which immediately showed up when we did. Karma still very high. Added bonuses at this site were a beautiful Scott’s Oriole (a much better look than my first one in the Chiricahuas) and a Lazuli Bunting that I thought at first must have been some bizarre kind of Bluebird.
Dinner was an attempt at pizza that was really nothing worthy of the name. The problem was that bargain-brand canned tomato sauce is sweet and terrible, and our cheese tasted like no Monterey Jack I’ve ever had. Our crust was a crumbly tortilla that fell apart when you wanted to pick it up and held together when you needed to cut it. And the green spices we added made it taste oddly like tea, Abby astutely observed.
Tomorrow, we’re going to bird around here tomorrow. We met a local guy who’s going to look for where the Black-capped Gnatcatchers are nesting this year, and we hope to meet up with him in the early morning. Who knows what else might turn up. Then, it’ll be off to Madera Canyon, where there’s been a reported Flame-colored Tanager showing off for large crowds of birders the past few days. It will be kind of strange if I manage to see that rare Mexican bird before having seen the standard Western Tanager, which has not arrived yet this year. But I’ll take it as it comes, thank you very much.
Don
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