Harris's Sparrow, San Pedro House, Sierra Vista, AZ, Feb 23, 2025
American Wigeon, Sweetwater Wetlands, Tucson, AZ, Feb 20, 2025
Wilson's Snipe, Sweetwater Wetlands, Tucson, AZ, Feb 20, 2025
Cinnamon Teal, Sweetwater Wetlands, Tucson, AZ, Feb 20, 2025
Greater Roadrunner, Sweetwater Wetlands, Tucson, AZ, Feb 20, 2025
Of course I was up early despite the two hour time change as my body just doesn’t know how to sleep late! I got maybe five hours of sleep and was ready to go but had to wait until Sherri got a bit more sleep. After a breakfast we were off for the day. Due to the very high costs of picking up a rental car in Phoenix and a drop off in Tucson ($700+) we decided to take an Uber from Phoenix to Tucson and pick up the car there instead. Once we picked up the rental car late in the morning we started working our way south to the a house we booked in Sonoita and we arrived there in the late afternoon (not an optimal spot but given the last minute nature of the trip it was the best we could do). Our only real birding stop was at the Sweetwater Wetlands in Tucson which was still fairly active despite us arriving there late in the morning. I added 40 species over the hour and fifteen minutes of birding with waterfowl being the main draw. It was a long day of traveling but at least it was sunny and warm.
Golden crowned Sparrow, Florida Canyon, AZ, Feb 21, 2025
Painted Redstart, Madera Canyon, AZ, Feb 21, 2025
Acorn Woodpecker, Madera Canyon, AZ, Feb 21, 2025
Greater Pewee, Madera Canyon, AZ, Feb 21, 2025
Arizona Woodpecker, Madera Kubo B&B, Madera Canyon, AZ, Feb 21, 2025
Yellow eyed Junco, Madera Kubo B&B, Madera Canyon, AZ, Feb 21, 2025
Red naped Sapsucker, Madera Canyon, AZ, Feb 21, 2025
Bridled Titmouse, Madera Canyon, AZ, Feb 21, 2025
On Friday I convinced Sherri to get up early with me and head out before sunrise to the Madera Canyon area. We were out the door around 6:30 to make the hour or so drive with our first stop being Florida Canyon. It was cold to start the morning with temps near freezing. By the time we arrived at Florida Canyon it had warmed into the low 40’s. My main targets here included a rare juvenile Golden crowned Sparrow and the long staying resident Rufous capped Warblers. I walked up to the area of the old dam and fairly quickly got the Golden crowned Sparrow and even managed a few marginal photos. The sparrow was actually a life bird for me (#2162). Unfortunately the warbler was a no show and I didn’t have a lot of time to wait around for it to show. There were many (too many) birders arriving to look for the two rare species and I hate crowds plus one person there was quite loud so I doubted the warbler would show. I headed down the trail and we made our way to Madera Canyon. We first stopped the picnic area which was quite active and I added a number of species for the trip. We then walked down along the stream and then back up before moving on to other areas further up the canyon including Madera Kubo B&B, Santa Rita Lodge as well as a few other trails. There were a few notable species around with the most unusual being a rare Berylline Hummingbird that showed ever so briefly at Madera Kubo. By this point it was around 2PM and we started working our way toward our lodging with another stop at Florida Canyon in yet another vain attempt at the warbler. It was a bit breezy and there were still several people crowding the area where the warbler has been including the one guy that insisted on carrying on a conversation at high volume. I threw in the towel and we then drove back over the dirt box canyon road to our lodging with a stop off at a cidery and a restaurant to get dinner.
Black throated Sparrow, Patagonia Lake State Park, Patagonia, AZ, Feb 22, 2025
Pyrrhuloxia, Patagonia Lake State Park, Patagonia, AZ, Feb 22, 2025
Abert's Towhee, Patagonia Lake State Park, Patagonia, AZ, Feb 22, 2025
Lesser Goldfinch, Patagonia Lake State Park, Patagonia, AZ, Feb 22, 2025
Ruddy Ducks, Patagonia Lake State Park, Patagonia, AZ, Feb 22, 2025
Yellow rumped Warbler 'audubon's x 'myrtle' hybrid, Patagonia Lake State Park, Patagonia, AZ, Feb 22, 2025
Neotropic Cormorants, Patagonia Lake State Park, Patagonia, AZ, Feb 22, 2025
Broad billed Hummingbird, Patagonia Lake State Park, Patagonia, AZ, Feb 22, 2025
Black throated Gray Warbler, Patagonia Lake State Park, Patagonia, AZ, Feb 22, 2025
Ladder backed Woodpecker, Paton's Center for Hummingbirds, Patagonia, AZ, Feb 22, 2025
Lincoln's Sparrow, Paton's Center for Hummingbirds, Patagonia, AZ, Feb 22, 2025
Anna's Hummingbird, Paton's Center for Hummingbirds, Patagonia, AZ, Feb 22, 2025
Violet crowned Hummingbird, Paton's Center for Hummingbirds, Patagonia, AZ, Feb 22, 2025
Saturday I was up well before sunrise once again. I wanted to try a location within Las Cienegas National Conservation Area that had featured some interesting birds but the directions to the location just did not work out so I was never able to get to the area I wanted and I didn’t have the time to try other access points. After that debacle I headed to our lodging and picked up Sherri and he headed south to Patagonia Lake State Park. We spent over three hours covering the areas on the east end of the lake. There was a decent selection of waterfowl on the lake itself and the feeding station along the Birding Trail was quite active with a variety of species with the best being a female Lawrence’s Goldfinch that stopped in briefly with the tons of Lesser Goldfinches and Pine Siskins. The Lawrence’s Goldfinch was the second life bird for me on the trip (species #2163). There apparently is a decent influx of the species into this area of Arizona this winter. Sadly I missed on getting a photo of it. We then decided to head for Sonoita Creek State Natural Area but it was closed we had to skip it and instead headed up to Patagonia. Our first stop was to Paton's Center for Hummingbirds, a very well known spot for hummingbirds. It originally was a private residence that allowed people to stop by and check out the feeders for just a donation to the sugar water fund. The owners died several years ago but thankfully Tucson Audubon stepped in and bought the location so it would remain open to birders. They have improved on it a bit with more parking, more feeders and trails. Given that it is winter the number and diversity of hummingbirds is low but it still was the most active spot for hummingbirds we have found on the trip with three species including Violet crowned Hummingbird (it is probably the most reliable spot for the species in the US). We then walked a bit on the nearby trails before returning to watch the feeders more. A few birders then stopped by to let everyone present know that a very rare for the state American Woodcock was just found about a 1/4 mile down the road. I made a brief stop to see it…always fun to see a mega rarity when away from home. It looks like it was perhaps the second state record and the first for the county. We made it back to our lodging in the middle of the afternoon and then sat and enjoyed the sun and warmth.
Acorn Woodpecker, Ramsey's Canton Preserve, Sierra Vista, AZ, Feb 23, 2025
Violet crowned Hummingbird, Ramsey's Canyon, Sierra Vista, AZ, Feb 23, 2025
Rivoli's Hummingbird making nest, Ramsey's Canyon, Sierra Vista, AZ, Feb 23, 2025
Painted Redstart, Ramsey's Canton Preserve, Sierra Vista, AZ, Feb 23, 2025
Bridled Titmouse, Ramsey's Canyon, Sierra Vista, AZ, Feb 23, 2025
Ramsey's Canyon, Sierra Vista, AZ, Feb 23, 2025
Gila Woodpecker, San Pedro House, Sierra Vista, AZ, Feb 23, 2025
Lark Bunting, San Pedro House, Sierra Vista, AZ, Feb 23, 2025
Red tailed Hawk, San Pedro House, Sierra Vista, AZ, Feb 23, 2025
Harris's Sparrow, San Pedro House, Sierra Vista, AZ, Feb 23, 2025
On our last full day in Arizona we headed a bit east and south to Ramsey’s Canyon to try our luck there. The Ramsey's Canyon Preserve did not open until 9 so we had to wait a bit to get in and start our walk up through the canyon. We made a brief stop at the trailhead to Brown Canyon and had a few birds while we waited. Once the preserve opened we were some of the first people there and immediately started up the trail. It was quite cool to start with temps in the 30’s but it warmed fairly quickly once the sun made its way into the canyon. It was fairly slow with a few pockets of birds down low with the highlight being a Rivoli’s Hummingbird making a nest. The hike further up the canyon was very quiet although the views made up somewhat for the lack of birds. On our way back down the activity picked up a little as we neared the parking area and I got a few more species for the day including a Violet crowned Hummingbird. After a quick break for lunch we made a brief stop at the feeders at Ramsey Canyon Lodge with almost no bird activity at all. I wanted to make a trip over to San Pedro House in the hopes of finding a overwintering Harris’s Sparrow there. We arrived there around 12:30 and I immediately started checking the hordes of birds coming into the feeding stations (mainly White crowned Sparrows) and I located the Harris’s Sparrow fairly quickly and then lost track of it almost as quick. I scanned through the other sparrows for almost a half hour with no luck. We then decided to walk along the river where I found a few more species before we returned to the feeding stations to try again to relocate the Harris’s Sparrow to get some photos. After about 15 minutes of looking I found it and got some photos. The Harris’s Sparrow was lifer number three on the trip, bringing me to 1264. We then headed back toward our lodging with a brief stop off to enjoy some ice cream in the sun and warmth of the day.
Costa's Hummingbird, Canoa Ranch Conservation Park, Green Valley, AZ, Feb 24, 2025
Lark Buntings, Canoa Ranch Conservation Park, Green Valley, AZ, Feb 24, 2025
Rufous winged Sparrow, Canoa Ranch Conservation Park, Green Valley, AZ, Feb 24, 2025
Brewer's Sparrow, Canoa Ranch Conservation Park, Green Valley, AZ, Feb 24, 2025
Mount Wrightson at dawn, Las Cienegas National Conservation Area, Sonoita, AZ, Feb 24, 2025
We had a midday flight out of Tucson to return home so we had a few hours in the morning to enjoy the last of the warmth and sunshine before returning home to snow, ice and cold…damn good thing Wilson was there to come home to or we might not return! We toyed with multiple ideas and decided on leaving our lodging around 7:45 and make the drive up to a small park in Green Valley south of Tucson. Before we left I headed out before dawn to try my luck once again at Las Cienegas National Conservation Area armed with more detailed directions. Unfortunately the area was not accessible with my rental car given the condition of the road. I didn't have enough time to walk into an area that has featured some unusual birds so had to be content with birding from some other nearby roads. I had a few pockets of sparrows and longspurs in the vast grassland area before I had to head back to pack and then drive north. After a slight navigation error we arrived at Canoa Ranch Conservation Park. There were tons of sparrows and buntings around the small pond and nearby wet area as well as in the nearby grasslands. By a little after ten we had to head to the airport to catch our flight home.
Although a short trip it was productive and we had great weather with sun everyday and temps in the 60's and 70's (a cool mornings). I had a total of 127 species with three life birds (Golden crowned Sparrow, Lawrence's Goldfinch and Harris's Sparrow). I added 15 species to my Arizona list that now stands at 221. More details on warblers for the trip at the following link: Arizona warblers.
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