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Today I took a hike up Huachuca Canyon to see if anything new was around. I enjoyed having the whole place to myself, to study the wildlife, relax in its tranquility, to experience reflective solitude, and savor the peace and beauty away from human disturbance. Then I found myself surrounded by a large group of women (I didn’t say a group of large women, I didn’t say that), busily engaged in voluminous discourse . When asked, the leader told me they were members of The Tuesday Women’s Hiking Club. One of them asked me: “What are you doing here?”, since membership in The Tuesday Women’s Hiking Club is reserved exclusively for who? Right – women. Should I try to explain to her what a Big Year is? About the thrill of the chase, the excitement of adding each new species to the list, the challenges of bird identification, the adventures by car, plane, boat, and train. Forget it. “Lady, I’m just standing here”, I feebly replied.

After they scared off every bird within 5 miles, they went their way and I went mine. No new birds were added although I did get good looks at Hepatic Tanager:

So the bird list holds at 236, 2 new ones were added to the butterfly list, Zela Metalmark and Arizona Hairstreak, bringing that list up to 17, and the mammal list stands at 12, plus unidentified bats.

I originally headed toward Garden Canyon this morning but then decided to hang out with the crowd at the EOP. I should’ve kept going after all. A bigger turnout than I expected meant that the 20 person limit would cause some people, who likely traveled from out of state, to be denied entry. In an act of unparalleled magnanimity, I bumped myself from the list. Paul Edwardson and one other gentleman followed suit. You three birders who were admitted instead of us, probably from someplace like Normal, Illinois, who got to see 79 species of birds, I hope you know, understand, and value the sacrifice we made for your benefit. We expect nothing in return. No thank yous, no handshakes, no recognition. We hold our heads high and puff our chests out. We humbly accept our fate. But see if we ever do that again.

So on to Garden Canyon, through the army checkpoint with the usual exalted greetings, and on up to the high country. As I slowly passed upper picnic area, I heard a bird sing out a song I so much wanted to hear today: “Jose Maria”, my year’s first Greater Pewee (233). I parked at the start of the trail for Sawmill Canyon and soon heard a Plumbeous Vireo (234). Soon I noticed birds were everywhere, singing away, including many Grace’s Warblers (235). You can see my eBird checklist here for the complete list:
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S54686201 . At the top of the trail I heard singing and then tracked down Red-faced Warbler (236) that was early enough that it was flagged by eBird. So three high elevation species cleared out for a total of 4 new ones, and any of the new ones I would have gotten at EOP can be had elsewhere.

Not much was blooming so butterfly diversity was low. One new one for the year was this Mylitta Crescent (notice the orange antennal clubs):

Today I wanted to stay closer to home so I kicked around the San Pedro House looking for maybe Western Kingbird or pewee but not today. I usually run into a familiar face and today it was Chris Chappelle who was guiding some clients. He did move to New Mexico so there’s your news and gossip for the day.

Next I went to a car show, mostly because it was right next door. A big turnout meant there was no parking around here for blocks around. After getting my fill of ’57 Chevys I picked out my next car, I think it suits me:

As a postmortem to yesterday’s hummingbird show at Rick Taylor’s house, take a look at his eBird report. He gets more hummingbirds than the pay-to-enter places.
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S54585619 And he figures his backyard bird list approaches 230 species. My list in NH had 130 species.

And now it’s Fan Mail time! After sifting through stacks and piles of your mail, I found this very nice letter from a “Mona Lisa”, that’s what she calls herself but I doubt it’s her real name. Be that as it may, she writes me from Milan, Italy, only the recognized World Capital of fashion. Of course it’s in Italian so I will translate for you. “Dear Roberto” she calls me – I like that! ” I read your posts every day. You are obviously a man of courage, strength, humor, and sensitivity”, she goes on like that for 3 more pages, and then says she would like me to visit her next time I am in Milan. Best of all, she includes a picture of herself – I think she likes me:

Thank you, Mona, I will place Milan at the top of my international destinations wish list. Bona sera!

Today I hit the road at 6:30 am and got back at 5:30 pm. The first target was Rick Taylor’s backyard. Rick is the author of A Birder’s Guide to Southeastern Arizona and is nearly finished with his next book. I visited his yard almost a year ago to the day to see his Fan-tailed Warbler hop around his lawn. This year it’s a suite of Hummingbirds, starring White-eared. How rare? This is the only White-eared Hummingbird in the U.S. right now. The 2 1/2 hour drive to Rick’s house, up a remote canyon, the last 15 miles down dirt roads, was a must for my big year. The other 2 birds he has are Lucifer and Calliope Hummingbirds, both high priority. But first things first – let’s get Hooded Oriole (224) out of the way:

Pretty soon I had one of the four Lucifer Hummingbirds (225) in his yard:

I told Rick I wasn’t sure I could identify with certainty his White-eared Hummingbird – it’s a juvenile female – a double layer of difficulty. No sooner had the words left my mouth when Rick said: “There she is!” and there she was, right in front of me. (226) Not finding the Calliope after 2 hours, it was time to move on.

Sacred ground. A Birders’ Temple. The mystique, the power, it’s all there. Today was my day to wipe my feet, genuflect, and enter. My goal was to get Pygmy Nuthatch out of the way and, of course, Mexican Chickadee. For all intents and purposes this is the only place in the ABA area you can see Mexican Chickadee. So up I climbed, and when I got past Onion Saddle I drove slowly and listened. When I heard a mixed flock, I stopped. Up the road cut I scrambled and soon got on the nuthatch (227). Nearby was the familiar black and white pattern of a chickadee, Mexican to be exact. (228). Throw in Hairy Woodpecker (229) for good measure. Good! I continued up to Barfoot Park but the wind was howling and it was spitting snow. Time to get off the mountain.

To round out the day, a stop in Willcox was in order; maybe Cochise Lake will have Franklin’s Gull. No gulls, but I did find Forster’s Tern (230), only casual here in spring but one I could get elsewhere. What else is around? In landed a flock of Long-billed Dowitchers (231) and nearby were 2 American Avocets (232). I took one more look in Benson for Franklin’s Gull but nothing there. The only thing left to do was to get home and celebrate a very good day with a big plate of chilighetti.

If you have been reading this blog carefully, daily, and astutely – like I know you have been – you will notice that I still don’t have any gulls yet. There are almost none around here. I’ve never seen a gull in Sierra Vista, not even in the supermarket parking lots. Today I went up to the Benson sewage ponds again to pull in a Franklin’s Gull but once again there were none there. They were there yesterday! Instead, as a consolation prize, I got a Bonaparte’s Gull (221). For good measure I also added Cliff Swallow (220) and Black-necked Stilt (222).

While you are in Benson, don’t hesitate to stop in town for a little train spotting. The action is close, fast, and furious:

For the afternoon, I went up to Garden Canyon. It kills me when I drive onto Fort Huachuca and stop at the check-point to show my pass to the guard. I always get a “Have a Terrific Day!” Really? Have a terrific day? This is a US Army Base! Shouldn’t they be telling me to “Take it to the enemy!”, or “Fight to the finish!”, or “Never surrender!” Instead I always get a “Have a nice Day!”, or “Drive safely!”, or “Stay warm!” I don’t know….

I walked the trail on the other side of the stream from lower picnic area to just beyond middle picnic area in the hopes of stirring up something new. I like the shade and the quiet. It’s the closest I can find to a tree-lined country lane. A Dusky Flycatcher (223) showed me his stubby primary projection, so I ended up “having a nice day” after all.

The problem is I think we are in between waves of spring migrants. It’s not me. Today’s Dusky-capped Flycatcher (219) is the first new bird since last Friday. Yesterday I went up to the Benson sewage ponds to search for Franklin’s Gull but I was a day early as the first ones there showed up today. I know I can break out of this soon – the next wave is coming.

Here is page 5 of the List:

Sure enough, after pouring through sacks of mail from thousands upon thousands of readers we have a winner of last week’s puzzler. He says his name is Clarke S. Knutcracker, of Boozeman, Montana, who indeed cracked this one wide open. The six non-seabirds that nest on 5 continents are: Great Egret, Cattle Egret, Glossy ibis, Barn Owl, Peregrine Falcon, and Osprey. Clarke also correctly observes that Osprey has been the correct answer to two puzzlers. Nothing gets by him. Congratulations, Clarke, on your round-the-world cruise. My cue card says you do all the rowing.

The year is one fourth over already. I don’t know where it’s gone. Next thing you know it will be half over. Looking back, those early days of snowstorms are certainly a distant memory by now as it reaches 70 daily now. And I already have a long list of highlights, like: chasing and seeing a mega-rarity – White-throated Thrush; going way out there and getting LeConte’s Thrasher; the pure beauty of Mountain Bluebird; jet-setting to Miami for two very excellent rarities and back the next day; the regional specialties like Rose-throated Becard, Buff-breasted Flycatcher, and Black-capped Gnatcatcher; seeing birds I don’t see very often like Golden Eagle, Ferruginous Hawk, and Red-necked Phalarope; finding and watching my own Elf Owl; and finally catching up with Rough-legged Hawk and Green Kingfisher.

The next three months will be even more fun. Most of it will be spent out-of-state with chances for more life birds and even more highlights. I don’t really know how I’m doing in terms of the likelihood of reaching 500 but I do know I have not missed many birds so far. The biggest miss, Mountain Plover, I can always go back and get in November. The rarities we have come to expect – Sinaloa Wren, Rufous-backed Robin, and Tufted Flycatcher – have failed to materialize this year. There are bound to be others to make up for this loss but I sure do miss them.

In the meantime, I’ll spend the next two weeks knocking off the spring migrants as they arrive, one-by-one. The list stands at 218 – only 282 to go.

Today I spent the morning at the acclaimed Ash Canyon B&B in Ash Canyon, Huachuca Mountains. Lucifer and Calliope Hummingbirds have just shown up in the past few days. Disregard yesterday’s eBird report of Berylline Hummingbird, a major rarity here – it was a case of mistaken identity and a disregard for the old adage: “When you hear hooves, think horses not zebras.”

Despite my patient 4 hour vigil, neither Lucifer nor Calliope showed. So to fill some space, I will tell you that Lucifer Hummingbird is not named for the devil himself, but instead is Latin for light-bearing. If you want to see this bird north of the border, this is the only reliable place there is. Calliope is Latinized Greek meaning pleasant sounding, like the instrument. Both species will continue to appear during the spring and also in the fall so more opportunities for these await.

What I like about May Jo’s is that it is a complete feeding station; it’s not just for hummingbirds. I counted over 30 species this morning, excluding the African Gray Parrot on Mary Jo’s shoulder. The complete photographically illustrated list can be seen here on my eBird report:
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S54383131

Afterwards I returned to Miller Canyon to try again for the goshawk but nothing doing.

That’s more like it! There’s my car parked in the Reserved Exclusive Executive parking spot at Ramsey Canyon. I guess they got the message – this is a Big Year! After walking up the canyon I came back down and sat next to the hummingbird feeders to see who would come along. Sure enough, there’s Deiter and Alicia, so the 3 of us plus one other person watched the feeders. Along came Black-chinned, Broad-billed, Broad-tailed, Rivoli’s, and – best of all – Rufous Hummingbird (216).

Lured by the mystique and intrigue of owls and nightjars, I went back for more tonight. Without too much trouble I heard and then even caught a glimpse of Common Poorwill (217) in Miller Canyon. Next stop was Carr House in Carr Canyon where I thought I heard Whiskered Screech-Owl two nights ago. After thirty minutes of listening I headed back to the car and stopped to listen again. There it was, a distant group of toots, probably the same bird I heard before – Whiskered Screech-Owl (218). Next time you do an ABA-area Big Year and you need this bird on your list, you must come here, its North American range is restricted to southeastern Arizona. So 2 hours of owling was good, and that’s all for now. I’ll get Mexican Whip-poor-will later without too much trouble, Barn Owl I can probably get more easily in Texas, and I’ll have to make a special effort later for Flammulated Owl.

On the way back down the hill I heard a loud commotion off to the right. I stopped and heard the raucous howling of a coyote party, a big bunch of little bandits really whooping it up. “We’re coyotes and it’s a Friday night!”

Today’s goal was Rufous Hummingbird at the Nature Conservancy’s Ramsey Canyon. I woke up at 5:30 but that was too early so I turned over. I didn’t get up until 7:30 and, a few crossword puzzles later, and I was at Ramsey Canyon at 9:00. The lot was full! Not a single empty space. Should I storm inside and demand to see the manager? “Do you know what you are doing?”, I would say. “Do you know who I am? Big Year rules apply! Do I have to call a tow truck myself and clear this parking lot?!” But I didn’t. I calmly and civilly drove through the parking lot, out the exit, and down the hill. Next stop was Carr House in Carr Canyon but the hummingbird feeder I saw there in January was missing and a “closed for winter” sign hung on the gate. On the way back through town, while stopped at a red light, adjacent to an empty lot, I heard the chewy song of Bell’s Vireo (213). John Graham Bell was a New York taxidermist who joined Audubon on his great Missouri River expedition of 1843. Then straight down to good old San Pedro House where I know there is plenty of room, if not Rufous Hummingbirds. Instead I found Black-chinned Hummingbird (214) at the feeders.

Pretty soon along came a silent Lucy’s Warbler (215) in the big cottonwood tree. The highlight of my hour or so there was a very high soaring Common Black Hawk migrating north. One of these days I’m going to put some effort into studying hawk migration in this valley because I still can’t believe there aren’t more than the handful we see each year.