On our 4th day of birding in south east Arizona, we woke up at the George Walker House to a Rufous Hummingbird party. There were more Rufous Hummingbirds here than anywhere else I have ever seen! Check out a recent post I made about Rufous Hummingbirds on this trip. In addition to Rufous Hummingbirds, Magnificent, Broad-tailed, and Black-chinned Hummingbirds were present, along with a few male Anna's and Calliope Hummingbirds. At the feeders, Mexican Jays and Juniper Titmouse made appearances, while a single Rufous-crowned Sparrow hopped around on the ground. Black-throated Gray Warblers hopped around the juniper trees, a lifer for Chris and Mark.
Hummingbird party....Magnificent, Rufous, Black-chinned Hummingbirds
Unknown moth....anyone know what kind?
Calliope Hummingbird - male
Juniper Titmouse
Rufous-crowned Sparrow
Rufous Hummingbird - male, Black-chinned Hummingbird - female, in background
Calliope Hummingbird - male
Next, we headed deeper into the Chiracahuas to the well-known Herb Martyr area in search of Buff-breasted Flycatchers. We didn't find them, but Chris had a great spot on a distant Zone-tailed Hawk. We also heard a family of Northern Goshawks calling, but couldn't get a look at them. We did, however, find a very cute baby horn-tailed lizard.
baby Horn-tailed Lizard
At the Southwest Research Station, Say's Phoebes were abundant. We watched this juvenile being fed ants by one of its parents. Cassin's Kingbirds were also abundant, a a few Scott's Orioles flew by.
Say's Phoebe - juvenile
The highlight of the research station was the hummingbirds, as usual. This is one of the only spots you can see Blue-throated Hummingbirds, and a pair was even nesting on one of the wooden deck structures. Magnificent, Rufous, and Black-chinned Hummingbirds were also present.
Magnificent Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird - female
Black-chinned Hummingbird - female with healed broken bill
Western Wood Pewee
Broad-tailed Hummingbird - male
Broad-tailed Hummingbird - female
Blue-throated Hummingbird
Blue-throated Hummingbird
Our next stop was the intersection just before the Onion Saddle. The road was closed beyond this point due to recent fires, but birders had been seeing Mexican Chicadees here recently. We had just missed a mixed flock that included Mexican Chicadees, but instead saw this young bear roam out into the road, then into the woods, eating grass along the way.
young Black Bear
Our next house was Dae Jasper's house just outside of Portal, AZ. We were able to see a Curve-billed Thrasher and a Pyrrhuloxia before a huge storm came and we got drenched!
Curve-billed Thrasher
Pyrrhuloxia
Our next stop before heading back to Tucson was Lake Cochise near a golf course in Wilcox. There were tons of American Avocets, Black-necked Stilts, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs,Wilson's Phalaropes, and Long-billed Dowitchers here, in addition to Least and Western Sandpipers. There was also a Baird's Sandpiper mixed in and a few Stilt Sandpipers, both very good finds for this part of Arizona. Black Terns were also numrous and made a few close passes as we scoped the flocks. Over at the golf course, we got our lifer Scaled Quail! At the end of the day, we headed up to Mt. Lemmon and called owls along the way, but we didn't end up hearing any.
Sandpiper mixed flock at Lake Cochise
Black Tern
Black Tern
Black Tern
Wilson's Phalaropes
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