17 replies to this topic

[ColoTomo]

I decided to take a 2 day whirlwind trip to sunny (and I mean SUNNY) Arizona this past Tuesday and Wednesday. My Colorado buddies met me out in Phoenix mid-day where we made a beeline to Tucson, but I started out bright and early in Gilbert.

Thanks to this awesome website (Whatbird.com forums), I arranged to meet up with the very kind and hospitable "PHOTGOG" at the Gilbert Riparian Preserve- also known as the Gilbert Water Ranch. He helped me pick up a bunch of lifers and great trip birds, including one very unexpected one- Bald Eagle, LOL! in AZ... who knew. (He did, obviously ) Anyway, I found out we have the same interests - fast birds, fast cars and fast food ! But it was great meeting him, he's a really good guy.

And FYI --- Gilbert Riparian Preserve is awesome for anyone in Phoenix who wants to jump right into some great birding in the middle of a metropolitan area, and not far from the airport.....

The rest of the trip was very interesting to me, as I was getting tons of new birds. Madera Canyon is beautiful and fortunately much cooler than Phoenix However, one comment that I had from my buddy who had been here before and all the other birders we were running into was that numbers were way down. It didn't really phase me, as I would say we didn't get high NUMBERS of birds but had pretty good species diversity.

We made a wrong turn looking for Rufous-capped Warbler which had been reported 2 days earlier, but none of the other people looking for it that day saw one either. It's a really tricky spot to turn off!

Overall I had a ton of fun, the trip list is included below.

Lifers for me are in bold, I picked up 28 lifers in two days!! Awesome !!

Great-tailed Grackle - GWR, Phoenix, Sweetwater
Rock Pigeon -Phoenix
House Sparrow -GWR, Phoenix
Northern Mockingbird -GWR, Phoenix
Gila Woodpecker -GWR
European Starling -GWR, Phoenix, Sweetwater
Mourning Dove -GWR, Sweetwater, Madera
Great Egret -GWR
Neotropic Cormorant -GWR
Anna's Hummingbird -GWR
Brown-headed Cowbird -GWR, Madera
Mallard -GWR, Sweetwater
Canada Goose -GWR
Killdeer -GWR, Sweetwater
Black-necked Stilt -GWR
Curve-billed Thrasher -GWR
White-winged Dove -GWR, Sweetwater, Madera
Verdin -GWR, Sweetwater, Madera (?)
Great Blue Heron -GWR
Least Sandpiper -GWR
American Coot -GWR, Sweetwater
Cliff Swallow -GWR, Sweetwater
Gambel's Quail -GWR, Sweetwater
Inca Dove -GWR, Sweetwater
Black-crowned Night Heron -GWR
Snowy Egret -GWR
Northern Shoveler -GWR
Song Sparrow -GWR, Sweetwater
Black-bellied Whistling Duck -GWR
Red-winged Blackbird -GWR, Sweetwater, Madera
Eared Grebe -GWR
Cinnamon Teal -GWR, Sweetwater
Double-crested Cormorant -GWR
Northern Rough-winged Swallow -GWR, Sweetwater
Black-chinned Hummingbird -GWR, Sweetwater, Madera
Turkey Vulture -GWR, Sweetwater, Madera
Forster's Tern -GWR
Abert's Towhee -GWR, Sweetwater, Madera
Green Heron -GWR
House Finch -GWR, Sweetwater, Madera
Rosy-faced (Peach-faced) Lovebird -GWR, Phoenix
Red-Tailed Hawk -North of Phoenix, Bush Road+ (?)
Northern Cardinal -Lake Pleasant, AZ
Lark Sparrow -Lake Pleasant, AZ
Cactus Wren -Lake Pleasant, AZ
Bald Eagle -North of Phoenix
Eurasian Collared Dove -Tucson
Common Yellowthroat -Sweetwater
Yellow Warbler -Sweetwater
Wilson's Warbler -Sweetwater, Madera
Western Kingbird -Sweetwater
Ladder-backed Woodpecker -Sweetwater, Madera
Pied-billed Grebe -Sweetwater
Brown-crested Flycatcher -Sweetwater
Lesser Goldfinch -Sweetwater, Madera
Ruddy Duck -Sweetwater
Common Gallinule -Sweetwater
Barn Swallow -Sweetwater
Cooper's Hawk -Sweetwater, Madera
Black-throated Sparrow -(road to) Madera
Bell's Vireo -Proctor Road
Summer Tanager -Proctor Road, Madera
Lucy's Warbler -Proctor Road, Madera, Florida
Canyon Towhee -Proctor Road, Madera
Ash-throated Flycatcher -Proctor Road
Lesser Nighthawk -Proctor Road
Elf Owl -Madera
Whiskered Screech Owl -Madera
Broad-billed Hummingbird -Madera
Plumbeous Vireo Madera
Magnificent Hummingbird -Madera
White-breasted Nuthatch -Madera
Black-headed Grosbeak -Madera
Western Tanager -Madera
Acorn Woodpecker -Madera
Mexican Jay -Madera
Blue Grosbeak -Madera
Black-throated Gray Warbler -Madera
Wild Turkey -Madera
Scott's Oriole -Florida
Bridled Titmouse -Florida, Madera
Bewick's Wren -Florida
Indigo Bunting -Florida, Madera
Bushtit -Florida
Western Wood-Pewee -Florida
Phainopepla -Florida
Arizona Woodpecker -Madera
Bronzed Cowbird -Madera
Hooded Oriole -Madera
Dusky-capped Flycatcher -Madera
Brown Creeper -Madera
Hermit Thrush -Madera
Hutton's Vireo -Madera
Painted Redstart -Madera
Hepatic Tanager -Madera

[JimBob]

Congrats!

[BigSkyKen]

Sounds like a great trip!

[NatureLady]

ColoTomo Riparian Preserve is wonderful! So many birds there!! Great list of birds!! Congrats!

[ColoTomo]

Thank you JimBob, BSK and Naturelady! Next time, will have to take a couple more days

[guy_incognito]

Thanks for sharing.

I can sympathize with misadventures searching for the Rufous-capped Warbler spot in Florida Canyon. Photgog and I tried to find it without appropriate directions last December when they first showed up, and we were way off track. I returned in March and had good directions, and managed to find my way to Florida Canyon. Back then the warblers were much more reliable, and I was able to see them.

Congrats on the owls and nighthawk, those are some cool birds that I really hope to add to my list.

[creeker]

ColoTomo Riparian Preserve is wonderful! So many birds there!! Great list of birds!! Congrats!

They even named the place after you?!!!

[ColoTomo]

Thanks for sharing.

I can sympathize with misadventures searching for the Rufous-capped Warbler spot in Florida Canyon. Photgog and I tried to find it without appropriate directions last December when they first showed up, and we were way off track. I returned in March and had good directions, and managed to find my way to Florida Canyon. Back then the warblers were much more reliable, and I was able to see them.

Congrats on the owls and nighthawk, those are some cool birds that I really hope to add to my list.

Wish you'd been there too... the owling was the best I've ever experienced, and quite honestly was one of the top 3 highlights of the whole trip. The Lesser Nighthawks were really really cool and I'll tell you how we got them. We were at Proctor Road (bottom of the hill, Madera Canyon) and one of the birders we ran into that evening said he was there the night before and said he saw lots right at dusk-- I wasn't expecting them before the trip, but after his story, I thought we had a good shot. Since we were staying at the Santa Rita Lodge in the canyon, we birded Proctor Road until dusk. Right as the sun was going down (but still enough light to see), they started flying up the hill into the canyon. We saw more than I could bother counting, at least 20. Some of them flew close enough that you could i.d. them with the distal white wingbar WITHOUT binoculars. Awesome !!

The Rufous-capped excursion was pretty rough. We had skipped breakfast, were already dehydrated, and we hiked basically to the top of the canyon to the left of the Rufous-capped canyon. Since I was wearing sandals and shorts, you can imagine what my feet and legs looked like after bushwacking the dry riverbed up the middle of the canyon, LOL. Our only consolation for all of our hard, fruitless labor was that the group who went up after us (and they knew the nesting spot) got skunked as well. So we probably wouldn't have seen them if we took the right trail in the first place.

But we missed a lot of warblers, unfortunately ran out of time. And I believe we may have been pretty late for a lot of good migrants for the area. Were you able to get Varied Bunting when you went ?

[ColoTomo]

They even named the place after you?!!!

Funny, the notoriety a missing comma can bring! But anyway, aren't you proud of me for finally getting Black-necked Stilt ???

[creeker]

Funny, the notoriety a missing comma can bring! But anyway, aren't you proud of me for finally getting Black-necked Stilt ???

LOL! Yes, I meant to congratulate you on that "rarity." I still don't see White-throated Swift on there, though.

[guy_incognito]

ColoTomo, thanks for the extra info. Did you actually see the owls, or only hear them? Are the owls in reliable spots? If so, I'd really appreciate any further info (either here or offline by PM), because a couple friends and I are putting together a last minute trip, and we plan to be in the Tucson area next weekend! Our tentative plans will be to spend an entire day in Madera Canyon, and another day working some of the other spots like Patagonia and Pena Blanca. We will also visit Mt. Lemmon. If we are lucky enough the Plain-capped Starthroat will stick around, and we'll give a try for it in Montosa Canyon. I'd also like to try for the Five-striped Sparrow, but I don't think our vehicle is capable of making that road out to California Gulch.

I've only been to AZ in December and March so far, so I haven't had a chance to see Varied Buntings yet. They are high on my target bird list!

[Platypus]

ColoTomo, thanks for the extra info. Did you actually see the owls, or only hear them? Are the owls in reliable spots? If so, I'd really appreciate any further info (either here or offline by PM), because a couple friends and I are putting together a last minute trip, and we plan to be in the Tucson area next weekend! Our tentative plans will be to spend an entire day in Madera Canyon, and another day working some of the other spots like Patagonia and Pena Blanca. We will also visit Mt. Lemmon. If we are lucky enough the Plain-capped Starthroat will stick around, and we'll give a try for it in Montosa Canyon. I'd also like to try for the Five-striped Sparrow, but I don't think our vehicle is capable of making that road out to California Gulch.

I've only been to AZ in December and March so far, so I haven't had a chance to see Varied Buntings yet. They are high on my target bird list!

I require a trip report! Also, good luck next weekend, if you have an incredible couple of days you may hit 400 which would be pretty amazing.

Thanks for the report ColoTomo, you're making me jealous like guy_incognito always does! I can't wait to go back. Some fantastic birds you were able to see, congratulations.

[Photgog]

Nice report, and It was good to meet another Whatbirder.

The Lake was Saguaro Lake and the site was local site was Butcher Jones Beach, the Canyon Wren was at the Saguaro Lake Marina.

Just to keep the records straight.

Fraser

[guy_incognito]

Also, good luck next weekend, if you have an incredible couple of days you may hit 400 which would be pretty amazing.

Thanks. You also made me notice that I had forgotten to update my list count (395 not 393). I will be disappointed if I don't hit 400 this trip, with so many excellent potential lifers waiting in AZ.

[ColoTomo]

LOL! Yes, I meant to congratulate you on that "rarity." I still don't see White-throated Swift on there, though.

Thanks ! I am 95% sure I saw White-throated Switft a couple weeks ago at Red Rocks, but I'm not 100%, so it's still not on the list...... maybe my first one will be in San Diego ?

[ColoTomo]

ColoTomo, thanks for the extra info. Did you actually see the owls, or only hear them?

I've only been to AZ in December and March so far, so I haven't had a chance to see Varied Buntings yet. They are high on my target bird list!

The owls were visualized, I'll contact you in PM.

Perhaps then we were even too soon in the season for Varied Bunting, hopefully you will get them !

[ColoTomo]

I require a trip report! Also, good luck next weekend, if you have an incredible couple of days you may hit 400 which would be pretty amazing.

Thanks for the report ColoTomo, you're making me jealous like guy_incognito always does! I can't wait to go back. Some fantastic birds you were able to see, congratulations.

Yeah, I can't complain about the birds I saw! But I bet you get great birds and nice summer plumaged ones where you live, Platypus! Let's keep the pressure on Guy to give us his trip report after he comes back

[ColoTomo]

Nice report, and It was good to meet another Whatbirder.

The Lake was Saguaro Lake and the site was local site was Butcher Jones Beach, the Canyon Wren was at the Saguaro Lake Marina.

Just to keep the records straight.

Fraser

Likewise! and thanks for the clarification. Phoenix was like the planet Mars to me, very neat, but totally alien