August 12-14 Madera Canyon

August 12th - Monday

After waking pre-dawn for the past week, I slept in a bit today, ate breakfast at the hotel, and worked on a Blog page for ‘way back at the end of June.

The Five-striped Sparrows in Box Canyon showed their handsome plumage

I checked out, gassed up the Subaru, and headed toward Box Canyon to see if I could find the Lucifer Hummingbirds that had fledged chicks.

Box Canyon

I’m beginning to believe that the hummer family has ‘dispersed’ from the nest site, but am willing to check out the still-blooming agaves and see if they are still feeding in the area.

I spent an hour and a half there this afternoon, seeing the Five-striped Sparrows, but no hummingbirds other than Black-chinned.

Shouldn't the Cactus Wren be perched on the cactus?

Varied Bunting

A Scott’s Oriole skulked through the scrub, as well as several wrens:

I returned to the Santa Rita Lodge, where I booked myself into one of their cabins for two nights, to attempt to get a decent view of the Trogons, and see what else I might be able to find.  I put in an hour in the heat of the day, watching the feeders and seeing the “usual suspects”.

Broad-billed Hummingbird

Male Black-chinned Hummer

After dark, I took a walk from the Lodge up the road as far as the Chuparosa Inn, hearing both Elf and Whiskered Screech Owls.  I also heard some scuttling in the sycamores over the road and saw a family of raccoons, a mother with 4 kits, staring back at me in the flashlight beam.  The Inn is named for the plant, chuparosa Justicia californica, which used to be in the genus Beloperone, that - somehow - is Greek for “arrow buckle”.

Photo of Chuparosa stolen from the web page of Mary Welch-Keesey

Its generic name is now Justicia, honoring 18th-century Scottish horticulturist Sir James Justice.  Alas, as many botanists and gardeners can relate, he squandered his family fortune on his gardening, resulting in his divorce and expulsion from the Fellowship in the Royal Society!

August 13th - Tuesday

I was up at 5:30, and ate breakfast of leftover Cobb salad, then got ready for a day of birding.

I drove the mile up to the Mt. Wrightson Picnic Area and hiked up the Carrie Nation trail, then took the trail past the Vault Mine to Agua Caliente Summit, and returned.  The trail goes into the Mount Wrightson Wilderness Area, part of the Coronado National Forest.

Arizona Madrone growing under a Gambel's Oak

En route, I heard the call of the Trogon near the trail forks, and as I ascended the Vault Mine trail, a male flushed from some pines, and dropped down the canyon into a walnut tree.

No photo of the Trogon, but here's the Vault Mine . . .

Some of the ore inside the mine tunnel

It was nice to be able to see a bird that I’d only heard the other day.  In the same area, I saw a small Myiarchus flycatcher, about the size of an Ash-throated Flycatcher, but with a very yellow belly.  This is the Dusky-capped Flycatcher, which is ABA Life Bird No. 641 for me.

I made it as far as the Agua Caliente summit

I met a hiker, Mark, who’d retired 11 years ago, moved from Michigan to Arizona, and now hikes a lot.  For his 65th birthday, he hiked the 34 miles from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to the South Rim.  In one day.  Said he’d trained for months by hiking to the top of Mount Wrightson.

Mt. Wrightson

I enjoyed the flowers and the butterflies on the trail, but was pretty tired after the walk.

Golden Columbine Aquilegia chrysantha

Not a butterfly:  Yarrow's Spiny Lizard Sceloporus jarrovii

Draco Skipper Polites draco

Ghost Writing . . .

This evening, I supped on jalapeño bread, summer sausage, and a can of V-8 juice, then drove out toward Florida Wash.  While I was driving, I passed a small bird along the shoulder of the road in the grasslands area of the Santa Rita Experimental Range, and sure enough, it was a Montezuma Quail, for my ABA Life Bird No. 642.

That's not a quail, it's a Red-tailed Hawk heading for its night roost.

I drove up the gravel road toward Florida Canyon, hoping to see another quail, but night fell and they’d apparently all gone to roost.  On the way out, however, a Lesser Nighthawk flew past, as did a couple Poorwills.

In fact, I saw several Poorwills along the paved road, with their eyes shining in the headlights.  I also saw a large desert toad crossing the road.  Cool . . .

Incilius alvarius - the Sonoran Desert Toad

August 14, 2019 - Wednesday

I woke at 5:30 a.m. and decided that, since I’d seen the Montezuma Quail last evening, I’d take a quiet morning and bird around the Santa Rita Lodge.

White-breasted Nuthatch

Western Tanager male

Arizona Woodpecker male

Before I left, I walked down the canyon a bit, before leaving for the east side of the Chiricahua Mountains to do some more birding.

I walked the lower Madera Canyon trails, from the Santa Rita Lodge to the Proctor Road trailhead.

There's still water running in Madera Creek, and the birds were fairly active.  I checked out the White House ruins; there's not much left of the adobe house, after decades of rain, sun, and snow . . .

I arrived at the Portal Peak Lodge at 5:30 and checked into Room 7, then had a green chili cheeseburger for supper, washing it down with a pint of Kilt Lifter.

After supper, I talked a bit with Larry Richardson, a birder from Cañon City in Colorado, who gave me leads on where to find a couple of hummingbirds, as well as the Mexican Chickadee.

August 12:

Box Canyon eBird Checklist is Here 

Santa Rita Lodge eBird Checklist is Here

Madera Canyon evening walk eBird Checklist is Here

August 13:

Lower Carrie Nation trail eBird Checklist is Here

Carrie Nation trail eBird Checklist is Here

Vault Mine trail eBird Checklist is Here

Madera Canyon Road Grasslands eBird Checklist is Here

Florida Wash Road eBird Checklist is Here 

Madera Canyon Road dusk eBird Checklist is Here

August 14:

Madera Canyon Amphitheater eBird Checklist is Here

Lower Madera Canyon eBird Checklist is Here

Madera Canyon Proctor Rd eBird Checklist is Here