August 7 - Madera Canyon, Arizona

This is the first day of the Southeast Arizona Birding Festival, and I’d signed up for field trips every day of the festival.

Having stayed the night at the Double Tree, I ate breakfast at their restaurant and packed my gear for the trip to Madera Canyon.  The Southeast Arizona Birding Festival runs from today, the 7th of August, until Sunday the 11th.  I’d signed up for the overnight trip to Madera Canyon, and our group of eight birders gathered a little before noon.

Gordon Karre was our trip leader for the overnight excursion, and is an avid birder from Mesa, Arizona.  He is also a professional guide, and very familiar with the many specialty birds to be found in and around the Phoenix area and Maricopa County.  We loaded into a 12-passenger van for the drive up to Santa Rita Lodge, where we were booked into cabins for the night.

Broad-billed Hummingbird was the most common species at the Lodge

 

Madera Canyon is one of the most famous birding areas in southeast Arizona. This canyon’s habitat consists of riparian woodland along an intermittent stream, bordered by oak woodland and mountain forests. The road enters through desert grassland and ends above the oak woodland, where hiking trails lead up the “sky island” through pine-oak woodland to montane conifer forest at the top of 9,453-foot Mt. Wrightson.

Arizona Woodpecker storing acorns

We spent a bit of time birding at the many feeders that the Lodge maintains, and the main showboats were the Broad-billed, Rivoli’s, and Black-chinned hummingbirds.

There is always a crowd watching the feeders at Santa Rita Lodge

A White-nosed Coati Nasua narica made the rounds at the feeders.  This animal must have quite the sweet tooth, as the folks at the Lodge report that he drains a feeder full of nectar every day!

Later this afternoon, we headed out to Mile Post 6.9 on the road to Box Canyon, where there has been a “stakeout” for the Five-striped Sparrows.  At least two pairs have been nesting here to raise broods.  There has also been a pair of Lucifer Hummingbirds seen here in recent days.  We got to the canyon and walked along the road, scanning the Century Plant blossoms and mesquite for birds.

There were a number of Blue Grosbeaks,

as well as my “Life” sighting of a Varied Bunting for ABA Lifer No. 626.

The guides at this Festival are really good about not playing recorded calls, or even “pishing” too much, to avoid either disturbing the birds or inuring them to birders’ attempts to bring them out in the open.  It’s an Ethics Thing.

Photos are OK

But, finally, among the several buntings and sparrows, a bird teed-up on an agave that was the ‘target’ Five-striped Sparrow, and the birders all got a great view.

This was my ABA Life Bird No. 627.

Other folks got better photos of the Five-Striped Sparrow - see the eBird checklist

Many of the birds were perched on, or feeding at, the flowers of the Century Plant Agave americana.  This relative of the asparagus is called a “century” plant, supposedly living for 100 years, blooming once, then dying.  But putting Truth to the Myth, the species generally lives only 10-30 years.

I ended up getting great views of the Five-stripes and the buntings, but we could not locate the Lucifer Hummingbirds.  Gordon speculated that the birds dispersed from the site after their chicks fledged.

There were lots of Broad-billed Hummers

This evening, we finished supper, and were sitting around the deck at the cabins listening to the squeaky-toy call of the Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher (my ABA Life Bird No. 628), when a Mexican Whip-Poor-Will began calling not 50 meters away.  We shined a light, hoping to pick out its reflected eyes, but couldn’t find it.  But, I’ll take a “heard only” call - especially on one of the ‘goatsuckers’ - as a “Lifer” (my ABA Bird No. 629).  The inspired us to take a walk up the road to listen for owls, and we heard Elf Owls (No. 630) and a Whiskered Screech-Owl (No. 631).    Not bad, picking up eight "Year Birds", including a half-dozen Life Birds in a day!

Swainson's Hawk was not a Lifer . . .

Santa Rita Lodge eBird Checklist is Here

Box Canyon eBird Checklist is Here

Santa Rita Lodge evening walk eBird Checklist is Here 

The Hepatic Tanager says "The End"