Southeast Arizona for more warblers and other stuff -April 12-15

Grace's Warbler, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Apr 12, 2026

Red faced Warbler, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Apr 12, 2026

Virginia's Warbler, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Apr 12, 2026

Sunrise, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Apr 12, 2026

Yellow eyed Junco, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Apr 12, 2026

Olive Warbler, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Apr 12, 2026

Pygmy Nuthatch, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Apr 12, 2026

Cassin's Vireo, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Apr 12, 2026

Steller's Jay, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Apr 12, 2026

Painted Redstart, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Apr 12, 2026

Wilson's Phalaropes, Green Valley WTP, Green Valley, AZ, Apr 12, 2026

The final leg of my trip involved continuing west to Arizona with the goal being to track down three more target warblers (and a few other species hopefully). With my body still on east coast time I was up early yet again, which was advantageous given that I like to get to places early. Sunday would be the last day of making long drives on this trip. My final destination would be an Airbnb in Green Valley where I would be spending three nights. I had a few ideas on what to do with my day before arriving at my lodging and I settled on driving directly to Mount Lemmon with the goal of potentially tracking down the last three warbler targets for the trip (Grace’s Warbler, Virginia’s Warbler and Red faced Warbler). All three species have been seen in the area recently so I had at least a chance of finding them. Traffic is usually the lightest on Sunday and I hoped it would work to my advantage in making the nearly four hour drive to the area on the mountain where the warblers have been reported and arriving early before crowds arrived. I got to the mountain right around dawn and my first stop was Incinerator Ridge and the wind I noticed on the drive up continued. In fact it stayed windy all day and it made for some tough spotting of birds at times. I was surprised to see so many people tent camping at the location…it must have been a very restless night of sleeping with the strong winds. I got all three of my targets at the location so still a productive stop despite the wind. The ridge itself was really windy and cold so after trying it for a bit I retreated down the road to get out of the worst of the wind. I ran into a decent mixed flock once I was almost to my car and this added several species for the day. After a couple of hours at the location I decided to try my luck elsewhere and with hordes of people driving further up I headed down to a dirt road known as Sollers Road and this was another good choice as I had lots of stuff in a mixed flock including better looks at a lot of the stuff I had earlier. I spent a hour and half plus sorting through the birds and getting lots more photos. A few more brief stops on the way down didn’t turn up anything else new. It was nearing midday so I look a lunch break and got permission to check in a little early. I did do a little more birding before heading to Airbnb with the main stop being wastewater treatment facility that produced a variety of waterfowl and shorebirds including a large group of Wilson’s Phalarope. By the early afternoon I was beat and decided to relax a bit plus the wind just made the birding tough. 

Broad billed Hummingbird, Santa Rite Lodge, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 13, 2026

Grace's Warbler, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 13, 2026

Mexican Jay, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 13, 2026

Black throated Sparrow, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 13, 2026

Black headed Grosbeak, Santa Rita Lodge, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 13, 2026

Hermit Warbler, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 13, 2026

Northern Shovelers, Ring necked Duck and American Coot, Green Valley WTP, Green Valley, AZ, Apr 13, 2026

As forecast the winds of the previous day continued on Monday and by the end of the day were even stronger. As I knew I would be up well before dawn I had to come up with a plan to try to make the most of my time in spite of the wind. At least in the morning it was a little lighter. I decided on heading down to Montosa Canyon to listen for a Buff collared Nightjar. I arrived around 4:15AM to find it quite breezy with a few lulls every now and then and after about ten minutes I heard the bird distantly. With that rarity found I headed to the Green Valley wastewater facility and although the gates were still closed you could view a little of the area and I had at least one Lesser Nighthawk flying around. At this point it was starting to brighten a little more so I headed up to Madera Canyon which was my main destination for the day. I headed to the end of the road to take a hike up the Old Baldy Trail mainly looking for warblers and some new species for the year and I had success. Not long after starting the walk just before 6AM I heard a Coppery tailed Trogon (the first of three of these species on this trail). Trying to get looks at it (and the others) was frustrating. There were other new species for the year including Greater Pewee and Dusky capped Flycatcher. Warblers were also in evidence with the highlight for me being a male Hermit Warbler, another new addition to my big warbler year in the US and my 400th species in the US for the year. In addition to the Hermit Warbler I had five other species of warblers. After the hike I tried my luck at the Santa Rita Lodge for a bit and the hummingbird show was fun to see even with the strong winds there. I stayed about a half hour before heading down to walk some trails near the Whitehouse Picnic Area before a return to the lodge again. A brief stop at McCleary Wash turned up a few more species for the day. By this point it pushing eleven and I decided on trying the wastewater plant again before going home for a late lunch. Super windy there with clouds of dust visible to the north toward Tucson. A nice variety of waterfowl and a few shorebirds without any rarities among them. The rest of the day was spent at my lodging relaxing and planning the final full day. 

Lucy's Warbler, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 14, 2026

Ash throated Flycatcher, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 14, 2026

Wilson's Warbler, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 14, 2026

Hepatic Tanager, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 14, 2026

 

Coppery tailed Trogon, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 14, 2026

Hooded Oriole, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 14, 2026

Painted Redstart, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 14, 2026

Black throated Gray Warbler, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 14, 2026

Inca Dove, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 14, 2026

Northern Beardless Tyrannulet, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 14, 2026

Nashville Warbler, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 14, 2026

Western Sandpipers, Green Valley WTP, Green Valley, AZ, Apr 14, 2026

On the last full day in Arizona I decided on a very early start in Madera Canyon to try for nocturnal species. The forecast called for much lighter winds than the previous two days so I was hopeful I would have some luck. My plan was to get there well before first light and hike up as far as I could on the Old Baldy Trail in the hopes of possibly getting an early Flammulated Owl or perhaps a Spotted Owl. I also would be listening for more expected species. I was out the door at around 3:15AM and immediately heard a Great Horned Owl hooting. I then made the roughly thirty minute drive up to the end of the road in Madera Canyon with a couple brief stops to take a quick listen which turned up an Elf Owl and some Mexican Whip Poor Wills. I started my walk up the Old Baldy Trail just before 4AM and was immediately greeted by multiple Mexican Whip Poor Wills and Whiskered Screech Owls. At about 1.2 miles up the steep trail I heard a Spotted Owl singing a few times and got a distant recording. I have never had this endangered species of owl before so was very happy to add a new life bird for the trip (species #2189). I walked a little further up as it started getting light before starting the journey back down. It was a productive walk down with lots of birds singing with one highlight being multiple Coppery tailed Trogons including one that actually briefly showed well. I made it down to the parking lot a bit after 7:30AM and then headed down to the Whitehouse Picnic Area to add more species for the day before taking a mid morning break at Santa Rita Lodge watching the feeders. My next stop was to head further down canyon to the Proctor Road area and this provided multiple new species for the trip thanks to a change in elevation and a corresponding change in species. Nothing too rare but some great looks at a variety of birds and butterflies. I finally left the canyon just after noon and made a brief stop at the Green Valley Wastewater Facility to add more species for the day. I ended the day with 93 species and easily could have broken a hundred with a little more effort. I was fairly beat by early afternoon so headed back to get a shower, pack for the trip home and take it easy. 

Overall for the Arizona portion of the trip I had 117 species with one life bird (Spotted Owl) and three new species for my Arizona list (the above mentioned owl, Wilson’s Phalarope and Spotted Sandpiper) bringing my state list there to 244 species.  Trip report from the Arizona potion of the trip here: Arizona trip report.

As far as totals for the entire trip from Texas to New Mexico and then Arizona I had 160 species with one life bird as mentioned above.  Entire trip report here: Texas, New Mexico and Arizona trip report.  In addition I found five new warbler species for the year in the US and more details on those can be found at the following link: Arizona warblers.

Southeast Arizona -February 20-24th

Harris's Sparrow, San Pedro House, Sierra Vista, AZ, Feb 23, 2025

We took a quick trip out to southern Arizona as part of our scoping out areas where we might be spending winters once I retire. The original plan was to visit the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas but the forecast for the location was unusually cool (highs in the 40’s and 50’s) for the majority of our available time so we made a change just days ago to Arizona where the forecast was much more appealing. We took a direct flight to Phoenix leaving Bradley a bit after 6PM on Breeze Airlines. After a 45 minute delay due to “the number of passengers being off” we were finally on our way and arrived late at night (or very early morning according to our bodies), caught a shuttle to the hotel and crashed for the night. 

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.