Hey Readers!
In early February, I went birding with
Caleb Strand and Laura Ellis - we had plans to visit an under appreciated riparian area at Sasco Road and also the well-known Santa Cruz Flats (both of which are in Pinal County, AZ). Caleb and I discussed possible birds and routes at length before the trip. I was very excited by the possibilities in store for us. A number of interesting bird species had been recently reported in the area and those included Crested Caracaras, Mountain Plovers, a Rufous-backed Robin, a Ruddy Ground Dove, Sprague's Pipits and a Lousiana Waterthrush!
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| While getting breakfast north in northern Pinal County, we encountered a massive flock of Brown-headed Cowbirds! |
While heading towards Sasco Road, we passed thorough some agricultural areas. One of these areas was an eBird hotspot - Red Rock Feedlot. Species of interest included a Sharp-shinned Hawk, Prairie Falcon, nearly 100 Lark Buntings, a Yellow-headed Blackbird and many Brewer's Blackbirds.
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This exotic African-collared Dove (much paler than its Eurasian counterpart) was interesting.
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| A Sharp-shinned Hawk (note pencil-thin legs and dainty proportions). |
Soon after passing Red Rock Feedlot, we arrived at our destination along Sasco Road - a sizable riparian area dominated by cottonwoods and willows. Interestingly, this area is actually a section of the Santa Cruz River which flows much wider in Southeastern Arizona.
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| Willows are a good indicator of a healthy riparian ecosystem. They also are attractive to many bird species! |
One of the first birds we recorded here was a Barn Owl which flew out into dense cover when disturbed. Other birds typical of this environment also appeared. These included Abert's Towhee, Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, as well as Song and Lincoln's Sparrows.
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| Song Sparrow |
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| Lincoln's Sparrow |
As we came upon the riverbank, Caleb and I both heard an odd warbler's call. It was immediately recognized by Caleb as the Louisiana Waterthrush! Soon, Laura, Caleb and I all were having decent looks at this excellent Eastern vagrant. When this bird moved, it bobbed in a very distinctive fashion. I was very pleased to see this bird as it was my first.
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| Black-throated Gray Warbler |
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An immature dark-lored White-crowned Sparrow.
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| After fighting our way through some tangled riparian understory, we encountered an opening which bordered the river on one side and a grassy field on the other. |
We found a Vermilion Flycatcher, Northern Harrier, Green-tailed Towhees and a Merlin in this area.
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| Merlin |
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| A second Black-throated Gray Warbler back in the riparian habitat. |
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| Ladder-backed Woodpecker |
As we walked between the riparian corridor and an expansive grassy field, we turned up many interesting birds. An out of season Wilson's Warbler was exciting as were two Pyrrhuloxia, Inca Doves, Common Ground Doves, 4 Gray Flycatchers, a couple Plumbeous Vireos, a Marsh Wren and a singing Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.
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| This Great-horned Owl which quietly sat on its nest was our last addition from Sasco Road. |
We ended our stop here with 47 bird species. Moving on, we would explore the well-known Santa Cruz Flats which are one of Arizona's principal locales for grassland species as well as the premiere spot for Crested Caracaras in the state. While driving to our first actual stop in The Flats, we picked up several Harris's Hawks, 65 Black Vultures and 2 Sage Thrashers.
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| Two Harris's Hawks |
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| One of several Sage Thrashers we encountered during the day |
Our first stop was at the old house at Baumgartner and Wheeler where a couple Ruddy Ground Doves, a Rufous-backed Robin and a White-throated Sparrow had been reported recently.
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| Inca Dove |
After scrutinizing all of the Inca Doves for Ruddy Ground Doves without luck, we waited patiently for the robin to appear. Fortunately, it did and we all enjoyed this tropical species from a distance!
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| Black Phoebe |
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| Northern Cardinal |
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| A Ferruginous Hawk which I noticed as we were driving. |
At Tweedy and Pretzer, we looked forward to the possibility of Sprague's Pipits, a drab and somewhat unpredictable songbird species which favor short, stubbly fields.
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| The domain of the Sprague's Pipit |
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| Thee fields had been burned recently |
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| The most common species here - the Horned lark |
Laura, Caleb and I were glad to see fellow birder James McKay in the field. We all teamed up against the pipit... Suddenly, a small bird flew from the edge of the field and produced a distinctive "squeet squeet" call before flying down into the grass again. That was it!
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| After pinpointing the bird's location far out in one of the burned fields, this is the best photo I could manage. |
Feeling satisfied with the scope views we had, we all decided to head back to our cars. Across the road, there was a small pond which held Mallards (both Northern and Mexican intergrades), several Common Mergansers and a Great Blue Heron. Moving on, we would try hitting spots that are known to be good for Crested Caracaras.
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| Another Sage Thrasher - one of the most photogenic birds I've ever known |
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| We spied a flock of Common Ravens soaring on the thermals over the pecan grove on the right. |
Mixed in with the ravens were Crested Caracaras!!!
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| There were even more on the ground. |
Really an odd falcon, caracaras act more like vultures and even feed on carrion.
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| We spied this singing Bendire's Thrasher on on way out of The Flats. |
We spent some time debating a course of action to end our day with. We all agreed that a trip to the Sweetwater Wetlands in Tucson was in order. We were hoping that the continuing male Baltimore Oriole would show for us. I was very excited that we decided to head into Pima County as I still needed some easy birds from there.
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| American Coot |
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| A striking male Ruddy Duck |
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| Gadwall |
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| Northern Shoveler |
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| Pied-billed Grebe |
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| A colorful male Green-winged Teal |
In addition to the species which you just saw, we recorded Cinnamon Teal, a Snowy Egret, Northern Harriers, two Common Gallinules, 10 Marsh Wrens, several Orange-crowned Warblers and Common Yellowthroats. Perhaps most exciting of all were the crazy numbers of rails... 12 Virginia Rails and 11 Sora! What we do to elicit a response from rails is clap our hands loudly over a reed bed. For some odd reason, rails just have to call when this is done. We actually set Pima County's high-count record for Virginia Rail.
After an exciting stop at the Sweetwater Wetlands, we decided to make one last stop for the day. Reid Park was that final destination. Only a few days earlier, I had visited the park after attending Tucson's Gem and Mineral Show with my Mom and brother. I enjoyed fantastic looks at a male Wood Duck and also saw the continuing Summer Tanager. Since I had seen both birds before and I kinda understood the park's layout, I felt I could could get Laura and Caleb some new Pima birds. Once at Reid, we carefully scanned through all of the waterfowl on the ponds and found goodies such as a Northern Pintail, Redhead, Lesser Scaup, Common Merganser, Canvasbacks, pure and intergrade Mexican Mallard and our precious Wood Duck!
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| The Northern Pintail |
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| The male Mexican Mallard is on the right |
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| A Sharp-shinned Hawk |
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| We found a one-winged Neotropic Cormorant which was perfectly fine with people! |
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| One of the Canvasbacks |
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| Ahh. |
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| The magnificent Wood Duck. |
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| It even whistled for us! |
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| A nice male Redhead |
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| Our female Common Merganser |
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| American Wigeon |
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| The only Double-crested Cormorant we saw at Reid. It was significantly larger than the Neotropic Cormorants around it. |
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| A sleepy female Lesser Scaup |
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| Reid Park is an excellent location for Black-crowned Night Herons. |
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| An domestic Swan Goose |
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| A Cooper's Hawk showing off its fluffy white undertail coverts. |
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| Woah there! This domestic goose is pretty aggressive... But why? |
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| Oh. I see now; his mate has a nest full of eggs! |
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| A striking adult Black-crowned Night Heron with an ornamental white plume running down its back. |
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| Domestic Geese; it's good to be able to distinguish wild Snow and Ross's Geese from these. |
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| A Mexican Mallard intergade at top with a male Northern Mallard. Note the limited green coloration on his head. |
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| This immature Black-crowned Night Heron gave us quite the stare... |
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| One of many male Vermilion Flycatchers scattered across the park. |
We covered a lot of ground at the park and found other interesting species such as Northern Flickers and Western Bluebirds. There had been a Zone-tailed Hawk at the park, but we never found it. As we were on the way back to the car, we heard a soft "Pit-tuck" come from a nearby tree. It was the Summer Tanager! I had better look and photos of it here than the last time. Caleb and Laura also enjoyed seeing this bird in during the Arizonan winter (contradictory, eh?).
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| One-winged Neotropic Cormorant waves goodbye! |
It's been quite a while since this trip transpired. I am usually pretty good at posting soon after a trip, but something life-changing has happened. I am moving to Colorado in a week! Almost all of my time has been spent packing, selling furniture and moving boxes! I do have one more Arizona post to make (and it's going to be insane) and I will try to complete it before I move.
Trip Lifers:
Crested Caracara
Sprague's Pipit
Louisiana Waterthrush
Rufous-backed Robin
Pinal County List: 135
Pima County List: 111
Godspeed and good birding,
- Joshua
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