Brief trip to southeast Arizona

Broad billed Hummingbird, Agua Caliente Park, Tucson, AZ

Bewick's Wren, Agua Caliente Park, Tucson, AZ

 

Hooded Oriole, Agua Caliente Park, Tucson, AZ

I took a brief trip out to Arizona now that things have mainly settled back to the typical routine back home and I can actually get away...I had the trip planned for quite awhile but had to shorten it up a bit due to some unforeseen circumstances.  The focus of the trip would be on warblers with the goals of getting photos and recordings of a few I have seen but not photographed or recorded plus getting a Red faced Warbler for my US list. It would be my last little getaway before returning to work until I retire in late July. June is one of the hottest times to be out there but I have never been there that time of year and I hoped to catch the end of migration and still have resident birds singing (mainly warblers of course). I got in a little birding when I arrived but it was damn hot.

Sunrise, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Jun 10, 2025

Red faced Warbler, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Jun 10, 2025

Black throated Gray Warbler, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Jun 10, 2025

Grace's Warbler, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Jun 10, 2025

Virginia's Warbler, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Jun 10, 2025

Northern House Wren carrying nest material, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Jun 10, 2025

Olive Warbler, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Jun 10, 2025

Hepatic Tanager, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Jun 10, 2025

Townsend's Warbler, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Jun 10, 2025

Yellow eyed Junco, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Jun 10, 2025

Black throated Sparrow, Agua Caliente Park, Tucson, AZ, Jun 10, 2025

Lucy's Warbler, Agua Caliente Park, Tucson, AZ, Jun 10, 2025

Vermillion Flycatcher, Agua Caliente Park, Tucson, AZ, Jun 10, 2025

Looking south toward Santa Rita Mountains, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Jun 10, 2025

With my body still on east coast time and having been getting up early for weeks now I was awake before 3AM on Tuesday and headed out to get some nocturnal species as I made my way up to Summerhaven on Mount Lemmon. Before the sun came up I had gotten a few nocturnal species including Common Poorwill, Mexican Whip Poor Will and Great Horned Owl. It was a bit cool as I topped out over 8000 feet in elevation with temps in the mid 50’s to start the day. I then spent several hours covering multiple locations on Mount Lemmon (Incinerator Ridge and Bear Wallow plus other brief stops) before descending back down to the heat of Tucson. The focus was on tracking down warblers and I had fantastic luck with great looks at all my targets as well as a few species I didn’t expect to get. I finally added Red faced Warblers to my United States list. Beyond the warblers I had a nice selection of high elevation species with many deep into the breeding season with young around or carrying food to nests. After my time on Mount Lemmon I came back down to the blast furnace that is the valley of Tucson. Despite the temps over 100 I still stopped at a few places before I headed back to my Airbnb. I added a few species for the day without finding anything unusual.

Broad billed Hummingbird, Santa Rita Lodge, Madera Canyon, AZ, Jun 12, 2025

Broad billed Hummingbird, Santa Rita Lodge, Madera Canyon, AZ, Jun 12, 2025

Bronzed Cowbird, Santa Rita Lodge, Madera Canyon, AZ, Jun 12, 2025

Hooded Oriole, Madera Canyon, AZ, Jun 12, 2025

Violet crowned Hummingbird, Santa Rita Lodge, Madera Canyon, AZ, Jun 12, 2025

Bushtit, Madera Canyon, AZ, Jun 12, 2025

Black bellied Whistling Duck, Amado WTP, Amado, AZ, Jun 12, 2025

Black tailed Gnatcatcher, Montosa Canyon, Tubac, AZ, Jun 12, 2025

Western Screech Owl, Montosa Canyon, Tubac, AZ, Jun 12, 2025

 

Montosa Canyon, Tubac, AZ, Jun 12, 2025

On Wednesday I decided to head south with several targets on my way to Madera Canyon for the morning. I was out the door before 2:30 to make the hour plus drive down to the location of my first target of the day…a Buff collared Nightjar that has been in Box Canyon in the Santa Rita mountains. I arrived there around 3:30 and immediately heard at least one individual singing. I got some recordings and there may have been two birds present. The nightjar became species #2175 for me. As I was there a number of other species called in the predawn light by a near full moon including a few Elf Owls and yet another new species for me with a Montezuma Quail. Once I was done in Box Canyon I made a brief visit to Florida Canyon in a long shot on a Rufous capped Warbler that I missed on when out in the area over the winter. It has not been seen in quite a while and I didn’t find one. I then started the drive over to Madera Canyon but not before making a stop near Florida Wash where I added my third life bird for the day with a Botteri’s Sparrow (#2177). I finally made it to Madera Canyon itself a little after 6:30 and stayed around three hours. The most notable sightings for me were two Hermit Warblers, a species which should have already moved off to the north and a continued Beryline Hummingbird. Beyond that it was mainly breeding species with a decent selection both at the feeders at the handful of lodges plus others scattered along the trails. As the day continued to heat up I had to decide where to go next as I made the drive back to my lodging. Although it was now getting late in the morning and the heat was rapidly building I decided to head to Sweetwater Wetlands where a few rare birds have been seen lately. It is usually a good spot for waterfowl but the heat of the day looked to have forced almost all of them into the shade or reeds and I saw very few species of waterfowl. The most unusual species I had there was a brief look at a continued Chestnut sided Warbler. I saw it briefly and then it was gone. I spent some time looking for it again without any luck. By the time I finished up my time there it was noon and the temps were around 100 so I headed back to my lodging to have a late lunch.                                

Black throated Gray Warbler, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Jun 13, 2025

Red faced Warbler, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Jun 13, 2025

Broad tailed Hummingbird, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Jun 13, 2025

Turkey Vultures, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Jun 13, 2025

View to north from Incinerator Ridge, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Jun 13, 2025

Common Poorwill, Tucson, AZ, Jun 13, 2025

I had a few hours available in the morning before my flight back home in the early afternoon and I headed back up Mount Lemmon heading up to almost to Summerhaven with stops along the way listening for nocturnal species again…the advantage of being up around 2AM again! Once it was light enough to see I started walking at Bear Wallow where I intended to spend most of my available time. I was perhaps 3/4 of a mile in on my walk and got a message from American Airlines that my flight was delayed and I would then not be able to make my connection in Dallas. I was lucky to get the message as cell service is very spotty up in the mountains. I cut the walk short, got down to a spot with better reception and started looking up other options to get to Dallas earlier and saw a flight leaving Tucson at 11:30. After a talk with the airline I got rebooked on the earlier flight. The change cut off a couple hours of available birding time but worth the change to make my flight to Dallas. Without as much time I decided on walking again at nearby Incinerator Ridge instead of heading back to Bear Wallow. I had some good views of a few birds and tried to make the most of my more limited time. My new flight got out on time but then my flight home from Dallas got delayed and I never got home until almost 2AM.

During the trip I had a total of 121 species including four lifers. I also added 14 species to my Arizona state list with that total now at 235 species.

Baja California Sur trip -December 1-4

Belding's Yellowthroat, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 2, 2021

Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 2, 2021

Hot on the heels of a trip to Ecuador I was once again headed south with the destination this time being the southern end of Baja California Sur in Mexico. The main reason for making this trip was to catch up with another warbler, the range restricted Belding’s Yellowthroat that only occurs in a few areas in the southern end of Baja. This would be a short solo trip without hiring a guide. It was a long day of traveling to make it down with an early flight out of Hartford, a connection in Dallas/Fort Worth and an arrival in mid afternoon into Los Cabos Airport. The next few hours was spent waiting to get my rental car, driving down to my lodging and picking up supplies for the trip. By the time I accomplished everything it was getting late and I still needed dinner so any thoughts of birding before sundown were quickly dashed.  More details on the warblers for the trip can be found at the following link.

Belding's Yellowthroat, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 2, 2021

Palm Warbler 'western', Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 2, 2021

Osprey, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 2, 2021

Least Grebe, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 2, 2021

Verdin, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 2, 2021

White faced Ibis, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 2, 2021

Sunrise at beach, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 2, 2021

On Thursday I had my first full day to explore the Estero San Jose and I was out well before sunrise. I arrived to find the beginning of the trail flooded out and not accessible. Once it got light enough to see I was able to weave my way along a wall and fence around the old Holiday Inn to make it out to the sand spit at the end of the estero. I could hear a number of yellowthroats and other warblers in the reedy marsh but wanted to wait until it was light enough to see well before checking them out. There were a number of shorebirds along the beach with Western Sandpiper being the most numerous. The estero also featured a decent assortment of waders and waterfowl. After the sun came up I spent time checking out the warblers in the area and found a couple Belding’s Yellowthroat among the more numerous Common Yellowthroats and abundant Orange crowned Warblers. I also had at least three Palm Warblers which showed up as unusual in eBird. Among the other passerines were Cactus Wrens in marsh and the local subspecies of House Finch that are much more red overall almost looking like a Purple Finch. I spent about two and a half hours exploring the very end of the estero before trying to figure out a way to check out the trails upstream of the flooded section. As I walked along the roadside I turned up a few new species for the trip. Eventually I made it up to a bridge that crosses the estero and found the upstream portion of the trail. I almost immediately had a somewhat cooperative Belding’s Yellowthroat in the area that showed much better then the ones I had earlier in the morning. After seeing the yellowthroat I ran into the first birder for the trip and oddly enough he ended up being a guy that just recently moved to western mass and now lives in Amherst…he said he was hoping to run across me at some point but did not think it would be in Mexico! I then spent the next hot hour and a half walking south along the estero and turned up a number of species including another lifer for me with a sighting of a California Gnatcatcher. I finally made it back to my lodging a bit after noon, hungry and very sweaty. After a quick lunch and cool down period I made a walk to pick up more water and on my way back came across the third lifer for the day with a female Cinnamon rumped Seedeater in a small weedy field near my lodging location. I also added a fourth new bird as I was bringing recyclables over to a bin when I had a brief look at a Xantus’s Hummingbird. I finished the day late in the early evening with a walk to where the estero joins the Pacific to watch birds come into roost as well as see the dozens of Lesser Nighthawks feeding over the estero. Overall a very productive day with 84 species. 

Xantus's Hummingbird, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 3, 2021

Hooded Oriole, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 3, 2021

Great Egret, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 3, 2021

Western Tanager, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 3, 2021

Pyrrhuloxia, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 3, 2021

Scott's Oriole, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 3, 2021

Pacific slope Flycatcher, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 3, 2021

Sunrise, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 3, 2021

Snowy Plover, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 3, 2021

Sunset, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 3, 2021

I decided to start my second full day by hitting the northerly section of the trail along the estero early. I covered the area fairly well over the course of about three hours before I had to head back to get a Covid test before my flight. Among the 65 species I had during this stop the highlights included much better looks at Xantus’s Hummingbirds, loads of waterfowl and waders, a fantastic look at a Pacific slope Flycatcher, eight species of warbler including an unusual for the area American Redstart and a number of other new species for the trip. I tried to find access points even further north but didn’t have any luck. Once the test was complete I went back again to the estero but as it was late morning the activity was down a bit and it was damn hot. Nonetheless I still had some good stuff with the big highlight being another lifer with a frustratingly brief look at the endemic Gray Thrasher. After another hour and a half in the midday heat I headed for home base to get something to eat and cool down a bit. After a few hours of recovery I made it back to the mouth of the estero to take in another fantastic sunset and watch birds heading to roost and the nighthawks beginning to feed. A very respectable 85 species for the day. 

Dawn, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 4, 2021

Belding's Yellowthroat, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 4, 2021

Verdin, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 4, 2021

Ruddy Ground Dove, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 4, 2021

Costa's Hummingbird, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 4, 2021

Eared Grebe, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 4, 2021

Western Sandpiper, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 4, 2021

Semipalmated Plover, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 4, 2021

White Pelican, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 4, 2021

Looking north from the ocean into the estero, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 4, 2021

On my final day in Mexico I spent most of the morning at the estero once again with a start before dawn and ending late in the morning on yet another clear, warm day. I covered the entire area from the bridge downstream to the ocean including a walk out onto the sand spit separating the ocean from the fresh water. My main reward for a long walk on the sand was a flyby Yellow footed Gull (plus another juvenile that I could not determine if it was a Western Gull or another Yellow footed Gull). The gull became the last life bird of the trip. A word of caution to anyone visiting the area. There were a few suspicious characters that I encountered that were a bit forceful asking for money and a couple seemed very interested in cars parked in a somewhat secluded area. I parked in a more public area and walked in and had no issues. 

I took an early evening flight out headed to Florida with a stopover for the night in Dallas/Fort Worth. 

Totals for the trip came to 113 species with seven of those being life birds. This brings my total up to 1664. I managed to add 57 species to my Mexico list bringing that total to 293.  Overall a very productive quick getaway with all my targets seen including the yellowthroat.  More on warblers for the trip at the following link.