Southeastern Arizona

[Ben Lamb]

Last weekend my wife and I spent four days in southeastern Arizona. I must thank Connie for her advice on staying at the Ramsey Canyon Inn; it was very nice and we had seven species of hummingbirds at their feeders within 30 minutes of arrival.

Overall we saw ten species of hummingbirds and several other SE Arizona specialties like Elegant Trogon, Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, Thick-billed Kingbird, Mexican Chickadee, Olive Warbler, Red-faced Warbler and Painted Redstart. Woodpeckers and sparrows were also very good. We also had good luck in general with western species of vireos and warblers.

The area benefits from many very kind people who invite the public to their private yards; the three rarest hummers were all on private grounds: the Violet-crowned (the Patons of Patagoina), the White-eared (the Beattys of Miller Canyon) and the Lucifer (Mary Jo Ballator of Ash Canyon). Mary Jo has a single-unit B&B worth checking out; after we left a Costa's was sighted, making nine species in her yard on that single day.

We had the help of a local guide, Melody Kehl, who I would happily recommend to anyone visiting. The last bird of the trip, a Burrowing Owl living at a major intersection in Tucson, was year bird 452 and life bird 492 for us after we added 58 and 44 to those totals this trip.

List of species:

Scaled Quail
Gambel's Quail
Great Blue Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Cooper's Hawk
Northern Goshawk
Gray Hawk
Short-tailed Hawk (family of three watched while eating lunch!)
Swainson's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Am. Kestrel
Prairie Falcon
Rock Pigeon
Eur. Collared-Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Inca Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Greater Roadrunner
Burrowing Owl
Broad-billed Hummingbird
White-eared Hummingbird
Violet-crowned Hummingbird
Blue-throated Hummingbird
Magnificent Hummingbird
Lucifer Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Anna's Hummingbird
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Elegant Trogon
Acorn Woodpecker
Gila Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Arizona Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Gilded Flicker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Greater Pewee
Western Wood-pewee
Cordilleran Flycatcher
Black Phoebe
Say's Phoebe
Vermillion Flycatcher
Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher
Cassin's Kingbird
Thick-billed Kingbird
Western Kingbird
Loggerhead Shrike
Bell's Vireo
Plumbeous Vireo
Cassin's Vireo
Hutton's Vireo
Mexican Jay
Chihuahuan Raven
Common Raven
Purple Martin
Barn Swallow
Mountain Chickadee
Mexican Chickadee
Bridled Titmouse
Juniper Titmouse
Bushtit
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Pygmy Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Cactus Wren
Rock Wren
Canyon Wren
Bewick's Wren
House Wren
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Western Bluebird
Am. Robin
Northern Mockingbird
Curve-billed Thrasher
Crissal Thrasher
Phainopepla
Olive Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Virginia's Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Townsend's Warbler
Hermit Warbler (large flocks)
Grace's Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
Red-faced Warbler
Painted Redstart
Yellow-breasted Chat
Hepatic Tanager
Summer Tanager
Western Tanager
Spotted Towhee
Canyon Towhee
Abert's Towhee
Rufous-crowned Sparrow
Rufous-winged Sparrow (close enough to see this field mark)
Cassin's Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Black-throated Sparrow
Lark Bunting
Grasshopper Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Yellow-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Black-headed Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak
Lazuli Bunting
Eastern Meadowlark
Great-tailed Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Scott's Oriole
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
Am. Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Special mention:
Mohave Diamondback Rattlesnake; unimpressed with our presence on the road (and in the car!), allowing Beth to get amazing pictures

[Connie Sandlin]

Great trip report, Ben. And I'm glad you took me up on my recommendation for Ramsey Canyon Inn. The year we went was a very, very bad drought year; I call it "the year Arizona was on fire". Consequently, we didn't manage to see the trogons because they had moved much further up in the mountain canyons than we were able to hike.

We visited the feeders at the Beaty's in Miller Canyon and Paton's backyard in Patagonia, but we didn't make it to Ash Canyon. I was unaware of that one.

It's really neat how they have the feeders set up in SEAZ at these places: the feeders have numbers which makes it very easy to point out where a particular bird is, as in: "Wow, look at the Magnificent [Hummingbird] on 6", or, "The White-eared" just showed back up on 2".

This is much easier than "Look at the tree with the broken off branch, 3 trees back, about 15 feet off the ground on the left side near the brown leaf. No, the other brown leaf. No, see the tree with the dark bark? It's on that one." :p

For those interested, I am planning a trip to Southeast Arizona for August 2008. Space will be limited to about 5 or so. Let me know if you're thinking about going with us.

We will go with Steve Shunk (owner of Paradise Birding) as our guide. (He's awesome and fun, too.)

[lulubelle]

Ben, I went to S.E. Arizona in July, unfortunately not for birding. Did get a few in though! My grandfather lives in Douglas and I suspect that the areas you visited are not far from where he is. Would either you or Connie, feel comfortable giving me the number of your guide and the addresses or rough locations of the private parties who allowed you to visit? I would like to take a trip soon to see my grandfather and also do some serious birding this time - your list is incredible!!

Thanks, Lulubelle

[Ben Lamb]

Lulubelle, I'm happy to share what I know. As for the guide, her name is Melody Kehl and her number is 888-245-6362. She's also very quick to respond to email at melodysbirding(at)cox.net.

As for the birding locations - I highly recommend a copy of the ABA Birder's Guide to Southeastern Arizona. You can find it on the ABA's website or at Wild Birds Unlimited.

Specifically - both Mary Jo Ballator (Ash Canyon) and the Beattys (Miller Canyon) are near Sierra Vista. The main drag is Arizona Hwy 92. After you pass though Sierra Vista, and head south on 92 toward the border, the Huachuca Mountains are on your right and a series of streets go up into the various canyons. A couple miles out of Sierra Vista is Ramsey Canyon Road; turn right and go all the way to the end and you find the Ramsey Canyon Preserve (Nature Conservancy) and the inn, both of which have feeders. Further south on 92 you'll come to Miller Canyon Road and at the end is Beatty's Orchard (they sell apples, honey, etc produced on site). Further still down 92 is Turkey Track Road where, again at the end, is Mary Jo Ballator and her Ash Canyon B&B. Mary Jo's place was my favorite; the only one we didn't eventually see there was the white-eared which was only at Beatty's.

One note - the roads, particularly Miller Canyon where it's two or three miles to the top, are rough. You can do it all in a 'regular' car, if somewhat carefully. Hertz tried to reward my loyalty by 'upgrading' me to a Ford Mustang convertible, which sits about 4 inches off the ground, and I think I took a few years off of its life. Ramsey Canyon is paved all the way and the road to Mary Jo's isn't nearly so bad.

As for the Patons, I don't really know where in the town of Patagonia they were because Melody did the driving. But it will be in the ABA guide in detail.

You don't need to make advance arrangements for any of these places - all they ask is that you leave a few dollars to help pay for sugar water.

[lulubelle]

Thanks so much!! I will email Melody to set up arrangements. I love that part of Arizona and I am so looking forward to going. Your list and information has made me so much more excited to go!

Lulubelle

[Hermarco]

Great trip report, Ben. And I'm glad you took me up on my recommendation for Ramsey Canyon Inn.

Glad to have stumbled across this post! My husband and I are planning a trip to Arizona and the Ramsey Canyon Inn sounds lovely!

[Connie Sandlin]

Hemarco, glad you found the info on this thread helpful. When we were there, the Ramsey Canyon Inn was a B&B operated by the Nature Conservatory. The breakfasts and pies were yummy, and the setting was heavenly. Also, I got 10 life list species in 5 minutes just from walking up to the door. I'm not sure what its current status is, as I've moved to Costa Rica and haven't been focusing on sites in the USA.

Nevertheless, for all things concerning Southeastern Arizona birding, be sure to check out www.sabo.org (http://www.sabo.org) (Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory). It's a beautiful website with LOTS of resources and links.

[Cal396]

Last week my mom and my grandparents took a birding trip to SE Arizona July 24-31. We ended up with 146 species for the trip including 63 lifers to bring my life list up to 399.

July 24 we arrived in Tucson and birded the desert museum and Sweetwater wetlands, picking up a variety of desert birds and some ducks including the Mexican Mallard and an alternately plumaged Cinnamon Teal. We finished the day with a Lesser Nighthawk in urban Tucson.
July 25 we hired Cliff Cathers as a guide and went up in the Santa Catalinas, adding mountain specialties like Olive and Red-faced Warblers, Buff-breasted Flycatcher, Painted Redstart, and more. Then we headed to MaderaCanyon in the afternoon where Cliff helped us find grassland birds such as Botteri’s and Rufous-winged Sparrows. We also got the Berylline and Violet-crowned Hummingbirds at Madera Kubo before capping off the day with Whiskered Screech-owls and an Elf owl in MaderaCanyon.
July 26 we birded the rest of Madera Canyon picking up Elegant Trogon and others, then headed down to Patagonia where we visited the Paton’s where we got more hummers. We also got Bronzed Cowbird and Gray Hawk in the area.
July 27 we birded Harshaw Canyon where we dipped on Golden Eagles but got what turned out to be the only Canyon Wren of the trip. Then at the Patagonia Roadside Rest we got the Thick-billed Kingbirds, Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Lucy’s Warbler, and Black Phoebe. At Kino Springs we got a Lazuli Bunting but dipped on Tropical Kingbird before heading to Sierra Vista. That afternoon we visited the Beatty’s where we got the White-eared and other hummingbirds, and MaryJo’s B&B, where we eventually got the Lucifer after an hour-plus wait.
July 28 we visited the canyons on Fort Huachuca. At the upper picnic area in GardenCanyon we finally got Hepatic Tanager. Carr Canyon had a calling trogon and Buff-breasted Flycatchers, A Greater Pewee, and an Arizona Woodpecker but the best bird was a single male Red Crossbill. After we finished with the fort, we tried for the Spotted up MillerCanyon, but couldn’t find it. We drove to Portal for the night
July 29 we birded South Fork of Cave Creek Canyon. We tried hard for Northern Goshawk and Black-chinned Sparrow among others, but ended up not getting any lifers for the day.
July 30 we birded Rustler Park and Barfoot lookout in the morning. We had a Band-tailed Pigeon on the drive up the mountain and Mexican Chickadees and another Olive Warbler on the hike up and down to Barfoot Lookout. We waited for the Short-tailed Hawks awhile but all we saw was more Band-tailed Pigeons and some White-throated Swifts. (We later learned that the hawks were seen 15 or 20 minutes after we left). In the afternoon we added Chihuahuan Raven on Stateline Road and repeatedly visited Dave Jasper’s old home for Crissal Thrasher (which we never got). We did get Bendire’s Thrasher and Calliope Hummingbird while we waited.
July 31 we drove back to Tucson for our flight home. We stopped at LakeCochise in Wilcox, where we got two birds we didn’t expect- the female Greater Scaup and several Red-necked Phalaropes- before flying back to Texas.


We ended up with a great trip with lots of amazing Arizona birds. The full trip list is below.


Mallard
Cinnamon Teal
Greater Scaup
Ruddy Duck
Scaled Quail
Gambel's Quail
Eared Grebe
Turkey Vulture
Cooper’s Hawk
Harris's Hawk
GrayHawk
Swainson's Hawk
Zone-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Common Moorhen
American Coot
American Avocet
Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Phalarope
Red-necked Phalarope
Rock Pigeon
Band-tailed Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Inca Dove
Common Ground-Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Greater Roadrunner
Whiskered Screech-Owl
Elf Owl
Lesser Nighthawk
White-throated Swift
Broad-billed Hummingbird
White-eared Hummingbird
Berylline Hummingbird
Violet-crowned Hummingbird
Blue-throated Hummingbird
Magnificent Hummingbird
Lucifer Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Anna's Hummingbird
Costa's Hummingbird
Calliope Hummingbird
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Elegant Trogon
Acorn Woodpecker
Gila Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Arizona Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Gilded Flicker
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet
Greater Pewee
Western Wood-Pewee
Cordilleran Flycatcher
Buff-breasted Flycatcher
Black Phoebe
Say's Phoebe
Vermilion Flycatcher
Dusky-capped Flycatcher
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Brown-crested Flycatcher
Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher
Cassin's Kingbird
Thick-billed Kingbird
Western Kingbird
Loggerhead Shrike
Bell's Vireo
Plumbeous Vireo
Hutton's Vireo
Steller's Jay
Western Scrub-Jay
Mexican Jay
Chihuahuan Raven
Common Raven
Purple Martin
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Mountain Chickadee
Mexican Chickadee
Bridled Titmouse
Verdin
Bushtit
White-breasted Nuthatch
Pygmy Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Cactus Wren
Canyon Wren
Bewick's Wren
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Western Bluebird
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
Bendire's Thrasher
Curve-billed Thrasher
European Starling
Phainopepla
OliveWarbler
Lucy's Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated GrayWarbler
Grace's Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Red-faced Warbler
Painted Redstart
Yellow-breasted Chat
Spotted Towhee
Canyon Towhee
Abert's Towhee
Rufous-winged Sparrow
Cassin's Sparrow
Botteri's Sparrow
Rufous-crowned Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Black-throated Sparrow
Yellow-eyed Junco
Hepatic Tanager
Summer Tanager
Western Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Pyrrhuloxia
Black-headed Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak
Lazuli Bunting
Varied Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Great-tailed Grackle
Bronzed Cowbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Hooded Oriole
Scott's Oriole
House Finch
Red Crossbill
Pine Siskin
Lesser Goldfinch
House Sparrow