This summer, my friend Jon and I headed to Arizona for an outdoor-filled vacation. You may wonder: Why would we head to the desert during the hottest June on Planet Earth in recorded human history? It’s simple: summer in Arizona is the best time and place to see a bunch of birds that can’t be found anywhere else in America. Many of the unique birds are Mexican species that inhabit the “sky island” mountains jutting out of the deserts of Southeast Arizona. These mountains are an extension of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range, which is a mostly Mexican geological feature. Some birds (and many other animals) call the sky islands a permanent home, but a good number are found only during the summer breeding season.
This was one of my last “frontiers” of birding in the continental U.S.—a region I’d never visited and which held a number of unique species. (My final frontier is South Texas, in case you were wondering.) Although I usually save the statistics for the end of my blog posts, I can’t help but share a preview. Over 9 days, we observed a whopping 176 different species of birds (63 lifers for me; more for Jon). That’s more bird species than any other trip or comparable time period in my life. Southeast Arizona is a surprisingly biodiverse region. Of course, those numbers didn’t come without a significant amount of effort. We spent the majority of each day either birding or driving, with a few restful afternoons and many not-restful-enough nights. But it was a blast!
We went into our 9-day trip with accommodations booked for only 2 nights. We played our itinerary by ear, focusing on new places with the potential for the most interesting new species. After landing in Phoenix, we headed southeast and explored the fringes of the Santa Rita Mountains. Next, we visited a handful of locations en route to the Chiricahua Mountains, an impressive range nestled in Arizona’s far southeastern corner. This was our only true “home base” of the trip. After a couple nights at a lodge and one night of high-elevation camping, we worked our way back west. We skirted the Huachuca mountains, made a pilgrimage through Patagonia, and spent a night exploring the US-Mexico border. Towards the end of our trip, we completed our loop back to Phoenix. But we weren’t done yet: we ended our road trip at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
Warning: this is a very long blog post. You’ll have to read (or scroll) to the end to see all the Grand Canyon pics, but I’ll give you a preview for free.
Day 1 (6/27): Phoenix to Green Valley
Ok, let’s start at the beginning. We left home before dawn and flew direct from RDU to Phoenix. The flight was great. I love flying out West and viewing the topography from up high. The landscapes across New Mexico were especially captivating.
Eventually we landed. I’ll get right to it and say I don’t like Phoenix at all. Sorry if you do, but I don’t. It’s nothing but suburban sprawl in the middle of a water-starved desert. And it was ridiculously HOT—hotter than anywhere I’ve ever been.
We spent the mid-morning walking around a nice natural area on the east side of town: the Riparian Preserve at Gilbert Water Ranch. Late morning temps ranged from 104-109F, and the birding was pretty quiet. Nonetheless, we saw some good stuff, including 5 lifers for me (Gambel’s Quail, Gila Woodpecker, Verdin, Abert’s Towhee, and Lucy’s Warbler) and some all-around cool birds like Black-necked Stilts and American Avocets. A pair of Curve-billed Thrashers nesting in a massive Saguaro cactus really captured the Arizona vibes.
Other animals braving the heat included Rock Squirrel (a lifer, but so numerous during the trip that I may not mention again), Desert Cottontail (the ubiquitous mammal of the trip), Ornate Tree Lizard (a lifer, and one of only two seen all trip), and an assortment of 8 odonates, including three lifers: Mexican Amberwing, Western Pondhawk, and Red-tailed Pennant.
After a few interesting errands, we spent the afternoon heading southeast in our air-conditioned car. The Sonoran Desert scenery was awesome—especially the saguaros, which became more numerous as we got closer to Tucson.
We made quick stops at the thousand-year-old Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, as well as a power plant that held some professional interest for me.
We decided to post up for the night in Green Valley, a mining and golfing town just south of Tucson. Dinner at the Mexican restaurant next to the hotel was unremarkable, but we did see a nice family of Gambel’s Quail in the parking lot, complete with tiny chicks. That should give you a sense of how ubiquitous (but still really cool) the quail are. I won’t mention them much more throughout this blog, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t see them. Quail were everywhere!
Once the sun dipped below the treeline, the dry 90+ temps actually felt pretty comfortable, and we enjoyed birding at the nearby Desert Meadows Park. I picked up 5 more lifers (Inca Dove, Lesser Nighthawk, Costa’s Hummingbird, Broad-billed Hummingbird, and Bell’s Vireo), plus one new bird for my USA list (Hooded Oriole). Other interesting birds included Common Ground Dove, Vermillion Flycatcher, and Bewick’s Wren. The park—really, all of Arizona—was littered with lizards, and I saw two new species: Desert Spiny Lizard and Clark’s Spiny Lizard.
Not too shabby for a (hot) first day!
Day 2 (6/28): Green Valley to the Chiricahuas
Our adventure began in earnest on Day 2. We woke up early, either accidentally or intentionally (I can’t remember). Whatever the reason, this allowed us to capitalize on the mid-70s temps of the sunrise hour. Our primary birding destination was Box Canyon, on the northern foothills of the Santa Rita Mountains (we skipped the much more popular Madera Canyon). Dirt roads took us through a shubby grassland, full of stunted mesquite bushes, bizarre ocotillo shrubs, and a few enormous agaves, which were just starting to flower. We saw a few birds along the drive, including one lifer for me: the relatively common but undeniably handsome Black-throated Sparrow.
Once we got to the canyon proper, we made an out-and-back hike along the road up to an old dam. The canyon was dry and rocky, but the seasonally wet canyon floor was home to some Arizona sycamores and other large trees.
The birding was excellent; we saw 41 species, including 9 lifers for me (Gray Hawk, Thick-billed Kingbird, Hutton’s Vireo, Mexican Jay, Cactus Wren, Phainopepla, Five-striped Sparrow, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, and Varied Bunting). The Five-striped Sparrow was the sixth-rarest bird we saw all trip; it was the main reason for this destination. Several singing males were extremely cooperative, posing for lots of photos. In addition to the Five-stripeds, the Rufous-crowned Sparrows and Varied Buntings at Box Canyon were the only ones we encountered all trip. Thick-billed Kingbirds were another semi-rare target. We not only saw them, but saw them copulating! Overall, this seemed to be prime time for flycatchers exhibiting breeding behavior; we saw Cassin’s Kingbirds copulating and both Vermillion Flycatcher and Western Wood-Pewee on nests. Ash-throated Flycatchers were also prolific here. Our lifer Gray Hawk was actually a trio of hawks, most likely the two adults and a single juvenile that apparently left the nest the previous day. The coolest bird encounter occurred on our walk out of the canyon, when we spotted a Golden Eagle fending off aerial attacks from a Red-tailed Hawk. The enormous eagle dwarfed the hawk—itself one of our largest raptors. I won’t list all the other birds we saw, but many were interesting.
The leisurely morning walk provided time for me to ID a lot of non-birds, many of which were new for me. Harris’s Antelope Squirrels (lifer) were in steady supply, and we saw a few Coues White-tailed Deer. The deer were not technically lifers, but rather a new and distinctive subspecies, with small bodies and proportionally large ears (adaptations for their desert/mountain habitats). We struck out on snakes, but saw a couple dozen Sonoran Spotted Whiptails (lifer lizard). Flowering plants attracted a lot of invertebrates, including 4 species of butterflies: dozens of Pipevine Swallowtails, a dozen or more Queens, plus a few tiny Marine Blues and a Mexican Yellow (the latter two were lifers). A small spring attracted a Flame Skimmer (lifer dragonfly). Other interesting insects (all lifers) included Valley Carpenter Bee, Sonoran Bumble Bee, an unidentified Velvet Ant, an unidentified Tarantula Hawk-Wasp, a Red-shanked Grasshopper, and a Charcoal Seed Bug. Lots of new stuff!
After driving out through the canyon, we emerged on the semidesert grasslands on the east side of the Santa Ritas. With mid-morning temps climbing into the 90s, we made several short stops along our eastbound journey. First was Las Cienegas National Conservation Area, where we almost instantly located at least two singing Botteri’s Sparrows (another lifer, and the only ones we saw all trip), plus two Western Earless Lizards (also a lifer).
After a longer drive along a cactus-studded highway, our next stop involved the stormwater treatment ponds (and golf course?) in Benson. The highlight was a large flock of Mexican Ducks (another lifer). Most seemed to be relatively “pure” Mexican Ducks, but some probably had Mallard genes mixed in. Other notable birds included Cinnamon Teals, Eared Grebes, White-faced Ibises, Black-necked Stilts, and a distant Swainson’s Hawk. We also saw another new lizard: the Desert Grassland Whiptail.
Our next stop was a short drive farther east: Lake Cochise in Willcox. (No surprise, but there was also a golf course here.) The wetland scenery was a lot better than the Benson stormwater ponds, and the birds were better, too. The shallow lake hosted a nice variety of waterfowl and shorebirds, including dozens of Stilts and Avocets, a Long-billed Curlew, a couple Long-billed Dowitchers, and 30 or more Wilson’s Phalaropes, and several other species. We also had several flyover ravens that might have been Chihuahuan Ravens. Our inability to differentiate Common and Chihuahuan Ravens (by voice) plagued us the entire trip.
The mid-day heat kept us confined to the relative comfort of our car for most of our stop at Lake Cochise. So, we didn’t focus on other animals, like the abundant odonates swarming the wetlands. However, we couldn’t miss seeing Black-tailed Jackrabbits (lifer), with their comically large ears and bulging eyes.
After a lunch in Willcox, we proceeded to the Chiricahua Mountains—our home base for the next few days. Approaching from the west, we slowly wound our way up through the heart of this enormous mountain range. The Chiricahuas jut almost 5,000 feet above the surrounding flatlands. The mountains create their own weather, including a fair amount of precipitation. The rain gives rise to a progression of different plant communities. The vegetation in turn provides habitat for animals that wouldn’t last a minute in the desert. Essentially, it’s an island of biodiversity in the middle of a desert. Hence the label “sky islands,” which aptly describes the Chiricahuas and various similar mountains of the Serra Madre Occidentals that extend into Southeast Arizona.
We broke up the through-mountain drive with two stops. First was Pinery Canyon Campground. It was about 10 degrees cooler (85 F) than Lake Cochise, and surprisingly birdy for the mid-afternoon. This was a great introduction to some of the unique birds that occupy the Arizona sky islands (and few other places in America). Lifers for me included Yellow-eyed Junco, Grace’s Warbler (only seen on one other occasion), Red-faced Warbler (our only sighting of the trip), and Painted Redstart, plus the more widespread Plumbeous Vireo. Interesting mammals included two more lifers: Cliff Chipmunk and Chiricahua Fox Squirrel (an endemic subspecies of the Mexican Fox Squirrel), plus some more Coues White-tailed Deer.
Our second stop was the Southwestern Research Station, nestled along the lower reaches of Cave Creek Canyon on the east side of the mountains. During our short time there, we focused on hummingbirds. Southeast Arizona boasts an unbelievable diversity of hummingbirds, and publicly accessible hummingbird feeders offer birders easy access to these flying gems. We got lucky at SWRC. Just as we were about to leave to escape a fast-developing thunderstorm, a dark-colored hummer attracted my attention. It was a Berylline Hummingbird, the fifth-rarest bird we saw all trip. This was followed shortly by a magnificent Rivoli’s Hummingbird and an understated but still elegant Blue-throated Mountain-gem. Three hummingbird lifers in three minutes! The Berylline and Rivoli’s were the only ones we saw all trip. Other interesting sightings included a hen Wild Turkey on a nest of eggs, a bunch of Violet-green Swallows, a photogenic Say’s Phoebe, and a Striped Plateau Lizard (another lifer).
We finally arrived at the Cave Creek Ranch around 6:00 PM. What an awesome home base for a Chiricahua adventure; I highly recommend it for anyone interested in the natural history of Southeast Arizona. We enjoyed a low-key evening getting settled in, with only one new bird (Brown-crested Flycatcher). After dark, we wandered around the property, but our owling effort was unsuccessful (the hoped-for Elf Owls were harder to find than expected). The evening was remarkable in only one way: it was the only occasion where my new thermal imaging monocular helped detect an animal: a Desert Cottontail. Not my best investment…
How about an interim statistics break? After one and a half days in Arizona, we had already seen 110 species of birds. That included 31 lifers for me (and even more for Jon), not to mention dozens of other animals, many of which were lifers. And we’d barely touched the most biodiverse parts of Arizona (the sky islands). If nothing else—and if you don’t read any more of this too-long blog—I hope that gives you a sense of how wildlife-rich Arizona is.
Day 3 (6/29): Chiricahua Immersion (Part 1)
I got exhausted just writing the blog for Days 1 and 2, re-living the intense cycle of birding-driving-heat-birding-driving-heat-birding. Day 3 was a nice break from all that. It was much cooler in the mountains, and we stayed local. But we still spent a lot of time birding, and we saw an impressive array of wildlife.
We started with a hike up the South Fork of Cave Creek Canyon, just up the road from our lodge. This is one of the more famous birding destinations in Southeast Arizona, with over 10,700 birding checklists (i.e., visits by different people) on eBird. Even so, we didn’t see anyone else while we were on the trail.
The cave-carved cliffs and mostly dry creek bed reminded us we were out west, and the red rhyolite rocks reminded me of Colorado. But the weather and vegetation gave off serious east coast vibes. It was humid (yes, humid), and the short, twisted oaks and junipers felt a lot like the maritime forests of the North Carolina coast.
Of course, the wildlife along Cave Creek was decidedly different from NC. I tallied 7 new birds, including the single most hoped-for target bird of the trip: Elegant Trogon. We heard a handful and got good looks at one. Other lifers included a few more Southeast Arizona mountain specialists: Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher (our only ones of the trip), Scott’s Oriole, and Hepatic Tanager. We also saw the relatively common but handsome Bridled Titmouse, and we picked up two heard-only lifers: Arizona Woodpecker and Dusky-capped Flycatcher. (Don’t worry, we saw those last two later in the trip.) There were a bunch of other good birds present, including a few Blue-throated Mountain-gems (nice to see in the wild, as opposed to a feeder), a score of White-throated Swifts at home amongst the cliffs, dozens of Mexican Jays, a surprisingly low-elevation Steller’s Jay, about a dozen Brown-crested Flycatchers, and both Grace’s Warblers and Painted Redstarts. House Wrens were also everywhere. Everywhere.
Non-bird highlights of Cave Creek included a few different mammals, including Chiricahua Fox Squirrel (my favorite rodent of the trip), a couple dozen Southwest Red Satyr butterflies (lifer), a few Red Rock Skimmers (common, but a lifer dragonfly for me), a bunch of Speckled Dace (a fish), and a few water striders. Seeing the fish and water striders was interesting, given how dry the creek gets. There must be enough water in key areas of the creek for these species to persist even in dry years. Unlike birds, they can’t just fly to new habitats!
After hiking about 6 miles of canyon, we shifted to a different type of birding throughout the late morning: bird feeders. Now, back in NC, bird feeder watching is among my least favorite birding activities. That’s not a knock against feeder watching; it’s just that I’ve already spent plenty of time with the dozen or two species that come to our local feeders. But out in Southeast Arizona, feeder watching is an easy and relaxing way to see a bunch of new stuff, including not only hummingbirds, but also a variety of seed-eating species. Ecotourism—especially birding tourism—is such a draw to the town of Portal that multiple private property owners have established and maintained elaborate bird feeding stations for the birding public to enjoy. We visited 4 of these on Day 3. Note: despite being only a mile or two from the mountains, each of these stops gave off hot, dry desert vibes. Habitats transition rapidly in Southeast Arizona!
First up was the Rodrigues Yard. Among many other interesting Arizona birds, we saw a couple Pyrrhuloxia—basically desert cardinals, and another lifer. Other highlights included close-up looks at Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Cactus Wren, an orange-type House Finch, Black-throated Sparrow, Canyon Towhee, Scott’s Oriole, and Bronzed Cowbird. We struck out on the oft-reported Crissal Thrasher (this was one of the few targets we never managed to see on the trip).
Second was the Jasper Yard. The unquestionable highlight was a Greater Roadrunner. Not only was this a lifer, but it was also the only roadrunner we saw all trip. It was a quality-over-quantity experience: the bird waltzed right by us, carrying a Desert Grassland Whiptail in its mouth (perhaps for its young?). This was the most dinosaurian bird I’ve ever seen, and the experience earned the roadrunner a place in my top-10-coolest-birds-of-all-time list. There were plenty of other good birds at the feeders—basically the same species as the Rodrigues Yard, plus Inca Dove. The Jasper Yard also hosted a Harris’s Antelope Squirrel.
Our third stop involved a return to our own lodgings, Cave Creek Ranch (also open to the public). The bird highlight was an Arizona Woodpecker, which I saw with my own eyes. Interesting mammal sightings included a family of adult and juvenile Rock Squirrels, a photogenic Cliff Chipmunk, and a not-so-photogenic Bobcat that cruised by our cabin. A tiny pond at the ranch also held at least 50 Chiricahua Leopard Frogs (lifer); I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many frogs in such a small area. There was also a nice assortment of invertebrates; only one species was new, and I’m still not sure if it was a Funereal Duskywing or a Mournful Duskywing.
Fourth was a visit to the George Walker House, a few miles north of Portal in the small community called “Paradise.” This was a hummingbird-focused visit, and it didn’t disappoint. In the first ten minutes, we saw the White-eared Hummingbird that had been frequenting these feeders for the summer. This was the third-rarest bird of the trip, and another lifer. The feeders attracted a nice assortment of other birds too. The arid, scrubby hillside around the house is where a lot of people see their lifer Juniper Titmouse, but those never showed up for us in the mid-day heat. Away from the feeders, it was interesting to see Wild Turkeys right next to Coues White-tailed Deer. The turkeys were way bigger than the ones we have on the east coast, and the deer were way smaller. It made for a funny scene; I don’t think I’ve ever seen those two ubiquitous game species hanging out together.
After the feeder circuit, we took it easy for the rest of the afternoon, hanging out around Cave Creek Ranch. Birding highlights included a photogenic Inca Dove and Arizona Woodpecker.
We ended the day in the same area where we started: the South Fork of Cave Creek Canyon, this time for some post-sunset owling. It was a significantly more successful owling effort than the previous night! We stopped the car every 100-200 yards, getting out to listen for nightjars and owls. We quickly picked up 2 lifers: Mexican Whip-poor-will (we heard 4) and Whiskered Screech-Owls (we heard 2). Once we got closer to the trailhead, we walked a half mile or so on foot, picking up 3 more whips and another whiskered. These were the only Whiskered Screech-Owls we heard all trip.
But wait—there’s more (just barely). As we drove up to the Cave Creek Ranch, we were greeted by a Striped Skunk, who scurried away from our headlights before I could manage a photo.
Day 4 (6/30): Chiricahua Immersion (Part 2, camping)
Our second full day in the Chiricahuas involved a morning in the semidesert lowlands, followed by an afternoon and evening camping in the high-elevation conifer forest.
We left the Cave Creek Lodge before dawn and headed east, hoping to see a handful of desert specialists before things got too hot. As we passed through Portal, we were treated to a group of Lesser Nighthawks foraging along the road. We made a quick stop at the wash near the Rodrigues Yard, where we again tried unsuccessfully for Crissal Thrasher. A bit father out of town, our luck turned around, and we managed to spot two Scaled Quail (lifer) scurrying off the roadside. The much more common Gambel’s Quail were also much more photo-cooperative. We also saw a pair of Black-tailed Jackrabbits along the road.
As we entered the San Bernardino Valley proper, we briefly passed into New Mexico—my first time to that state. Highlights along the road included a Swainson’s Hawk and a few Chihuahuan Meadowlarks (lifer). We then drove south down the well-named Stateline Road, where we saw a few more birds (including Vermillion Flycatcher, Loggerhead Shrike, Cactus Wren, Pyrrhuloxia, etc.) and a well-named Giant Velvet Mite.
Our destination for the morning was the “Willow Tank” off Sulphur Canyon Rd. If you don’t know (I didn’t), a tank is a small man-made reservoir—an open-air holding tank, pumped full of well water and diked off from the surrounding land. This tank is now a wetland oasis, managed for the benefit of wildlife. It wasn’t particularly birdy, but we saw a Bendire’s Thrasher (lifer) across from the tank, plus some juvenile American Coots enjoying their nursery grounds. There were at least 100 American Bullfrogs— a species not native to the American West. I was surprised not to see any bullfrog predators (herons) present. Invertebrates at the tank included hundreds of Blue Dashers, plus three lifer damselflies: Plateau Spreadwing, Mexican Forktail, and Arroyo Bluet. I also saw a Painted Crescent, a lifer butterfly.
As we cruised back to the Chiricahuas, we saw more Bendire’s Thrashers and a family of four American Kestrels all together—something I’ve never seen before.
Temps were climbing into the 80s when we returned to Cave Creek Ranch around 8:00 AM. After packing up, we spent some time by the feeders, admiring an unperturbed Coatimundi (White-nosed Coati), along with a nice assortment of other birds, mammals, frogs, and odonates I’ve already mentioned.
