ARIZONA AUGUST 2008 TOUR NEWS Leaders: James P. Smith and Vaughan Ashby

Arizona’s mid-summer monsoon season began early this year resulting in lush flowering deserts and extensively green grasslands. Rarely have we seen Arizona looking quite so verdant since these trips began in 1998. A full tour group ensured that we enjoyed some first-rate bird finding culminating in the setting of a new tour record for this particularly unique itinerary. During July 24th through August 7th we recorded an outstanding 249 species. Much of the success of the tour was down to the efforts of our excellent group and to this year’s remarkably cooperative weather resulting in far fewer of the weather related disruptions of recent years.

Of the many highlights, incredible views of California Condors at the Grand Canyon spring to mind, whilst amongst the rarer birds, a light-morph Short-tailed Hawk in the Huachuca Mountains was one of the best, and White-eared, Beryline, Violet-crowned and Lucifer Hummingbirds, and Flame-colored Tanager were all found during our spell in the south-east part of the state.

From the beginning the tour was off to a fine start with a family of Burrowing Owls behind a local filling station in Phoenix, a young Common Black-hawk in the nest, and fine views of Clark’s Grebe, Scott’s Oriole, Gray Vireo, Black-chinned Sparrow and Gilded Flicker all being found before huge thunderstorms (and resulting impressive rainbows) sent us scurrying off to Tuscon.

Mountain ranges, including the Santa Ritas, Huachucas and the Chiricahuas collectively known as ‘Sky Islands’, did us proud as we found many of our target birds: Elegant Trogon, Plumbeous Vireo, Painted Redstart, Sulphur-bellied and Dusky-capped Flycatchers, stunning views of Whiskered Screech-owl and Spotted Owl, Arizona Woodpecker, incredible views of Crissal Thrasher, large numbers of Mexican Chickadees in the Chiricahua Mountains along with Band-tailed Pigeon, Zone-tailed Hawk, Olive, Black-throated Gray, Hermit and Grace’s Warblers, with Cassin’s, Botteri’s and Rufous-winged Sparrows in the foothills. A particularly memorable morning in Upper Carr Canyon produced Short-tailed Hawk, Virginia’s Warbler, Greater Pewee and Buff-breasted Flycatcher, not to mention a breath taking view of Sierra Vista and the San Pedro River Valley.

Thankfully we also made it out to California Gulch this year and ultimately enjoyed excellent views of the Five-striped Sparrows. No less than three pairs of Montezuma Quails graced the Ruby Road on the way out to the gulch, and staying on until dusk produced Great Horned Owls, Western Screech-owl and several calling Common Poorwills. Arguably the rarest sighting of the tour came on the drive home from California Gulch. The lucky few who’d stayed awake and alert in the lead vehicle spotted a rufous-morph Jaguarundi seen very well in the vehicle headlights. Though possibly overlooked, sightings of Jaguarundi inside US borders are exceptionally rare with only a handful of reports from South-East Arizona.

At the lower elevations, the Patagonia area once again provided some of the best birds of the trip. Here we found Thick-billed Kingbirds, Northern Beardless Tyrannulet, Abert’s Towhee, Gray Hawk, and a stunning pair of Painted Buntings. Varied Buntings, Vermilion Flycatchers and Summer Tanagers created a riot of colour in the mesquite scrub, and we watched enthralled as a Coral Snake slithered between our group at Patagonia Lake. The same site also held an extremely photogenic Greater Roadrunner and an aloof Lucy’s Warbler.

Willcox Twin Lakes ‘heaved’ with 550 Wilson’s Phalaropes, dozens of Western and Baird’s Sandpipers, a couple of Stilt Sandpipers and even an American White Pelican! Earlier in the same morning we’d marveled at soaring Mississippi Kites near Benson.

Having had a fabulous time in the south-east part of the state, we headed north to the elevation and cool ambiance of the White Mountains, but not before we had fabulous views of a Harris’s Hawk at Willcox. The drive through the incredibly scenic Apache National Forest was relatively quite bird-wise though we did find a magnificent Black-tailed Rattlesnake basking on the road. The birds improved once we reached the White Mountains proper, and we had our first taste of the excellent mountain birding to come as we found a family of American Three-toed Woodpeckers, a male Williamson’s Sapsucker, Mountain Chickadees and hundreds of Violet-green Swallows. The next day and a half gave us some thoroughly enjoyable birding in the cool, temperate atmosphere of the White Mountains. Most notable amongst our hoped-for species were Red-faced Warblers which we found at several sites and enjoyed superb views. We also found Mountain Bluebirds, Calliope Hummingbirds, American Dipper, Steller’s Jay, Clark’s Nutcracker, Willow, Cordilleran and Dusky Flycatchers, Williamson’s and Red-naped Sapsuckers, and staggering views of a pair of Green-tailed Towhees. We were also amazed to find nine Lewis’s Woodpeckers giving prolonged views as they moved off to roost in Alpine.

Journeying north, we crossed the rugged high desert of Navajo County passing through two spectacular sites – the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert. Though neither place was expected to produce good birds, we were thrilled to find a family of Scaled Quails at the Petrified Forest and Gray Flycatchers at both sites. Some of our party also enjoyed a ‘wave’ of around 50 Bullock’s Orioles near the visitor center at the Painted Desert, along with a stunning male Western Tanager – surely one of the most recognizable birds on the American list!

With our next base in Flagstaff, we dedicated virtually a whole day to the Grand Canyon National Park with about half of our group taking the 50 minute scenic flight over the canyon. At least eight California Condors, seemingly oblivious to the thousands of tourists on the canyon rim, stole the show with an unbelievable display of agility (surprising for such a large, broad-winged raptor) along the canyon. The day also produced Juniper Titmice, Black-throated Gray Warblers, more Gray Flycatchers, Brewer’s Sparrows and a huge flock of Pinyon Jays. A distant Prairie Falcon was also seen in the early part of the day.

With the end of the tour in sight, we began heading south checking some of the Flagstaff Lakes along the way. This produced some of the best birding of the tour, especially at Mormon Lake with Black-bellied Whistling Duck, many Western Grebes, about 50 Sora Rails including some with downy young, Virginia Rail, California and Franklin’s Gulls, 15 American Black Terns, Lazuli Buntings, and Vesper Sparrows and somewhat surprisingly, two male Indigo Buntings. Mammalian sightings included a huge herd of Elk and a Coyote.

Heading south, and losing elevation we returned to the heat of Phoenix where a Zone-tailed Hawk was the highlight of a brief stop north of the city. We finished the day with the last major birding of the tour at the incredibly bird rich Gilbert Water Ranch Riparian Preserve. Despite the searing heat we found many close feeding shorebirds including Long-billed Dowitchers, Least Sandpipers, Greater Yellowlegs, and some marvelous American Avocets, these being last new birds of an exceptionally enjoyable tour of Arizona.

Special thanks go to Vaughan Ashby for his co-leadership, and to Sveta Annenkova and Peter Basterfield for kindly assisting the tour. I would also like to share my gratitude with Jayne and Harry Barnard, Andrew Gosler and Caroline Jackson-Houlston, Roy and Linda Harvey, James Hickling, Al McNee, Chris Measures, John Sirret, Ken and Margaret Smith, and Jared Tibbetts for making this tour so enjoyable.

Best birding,

James P. Smith, Amherst, MA.

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