Arizona 2017
July 18 - August 6


Introduction:

Having grown up in California, looking back I was somewhat surprised I had never visited the Grand Canyon. Of course, there were many other places, in California, to keep me busy while growing up, so it should not be such a big surprise. Now, with a family, we decided to take a trip out to Arizona to see the sights, including the Grand Canyon. Having been birding for some years now, I was very aware of the opportunities for great birding in south-east Arizona, so this would be part of our itinerary. I got a couple of books on the south west and became increasingly pleased, and a bit overwhelmed, at just how much there was to see. So much history, so many National Memorials, National Monuments, National Parks, etc. Setting aside a three week block of time, we started to put together an itinerary and realized we really had something to look forward to!

We headed out on July 18, and got back to the Boston area on August 6. My final verdict: Arizona delivers. Great sights, great history, great times and some great people.

Guides:

Birding guides, at least the good ones, can add to the cost of a trip. Also, they can take away, at least in part, that feeling you get when you get on a bird on your own. But, they can also add a lot of knowledge and experience to your time together and help to see a greater number of birds, perhaps significantly so, and possibly reduce the time you spend in the field. Plus, I enjoy supporting the bird guide industry. As you'll see in the text below, we got some great birds thanks to the help of these guides.

For the Sierra Vista area we had a full day with Chris Harbard. Chris is very familiar with the Sierra Vista area and appears to be settling in to the area permanently. We managed to visit more spots and more habitats with Chris than we could have by ourselves. Had a great day with Chris out in the field and appreciate his efforts.

For the Portal area we contracted with Dodie Logue for what was called 3/4 of a day, but was effectively the entire day. She lives in the area and has intimate knowledge of the area and the birds. We had a great time with her and there's no doubt she added a lot to the day we spent together.

Areas Birded:

Birded all along, though not very intensely until we got to Southeast Arizona. Birded Madera Canyon, the Huachucas, the Chiricahaus. Each area was great.

Books:

• Ancient Peoples of the American Southwest, 2nd Edition, Stephen Plog, 2008, reprinted 2014. Wonderful book.
• Into the Wilderness Dream, Exploration Narratives of the American West, 1500-1805, Edited by D. Barclay, J. Maguire, P. Wild, 1994. Wonderful book.
• A Birder's Guide to Southeastern Arizona by Richard Cachor Taylor, 2005: Bought this great book some time ago, fearing it may go out of print. Still very useful as things in Southeastern Arizona don't change that fast.
• Finding Birds in Southeast Arizona, Revised Eight Edition, Tucson Audubon Society, 2015: Became aware of this book in February 2017 and quickly ordered a copy. Very similar coverage to Taylor's book. Good to have both.

Flight Information:

We flew with American Airlines, booking via Expedia. The flight out of Boston left at 6:15 am and landed in Phoenix at 9:07am. The flight out of Phoenix left at 3:10pm and landed in Boston at 11:10pm. We did have an earlier return flight but American changed it quite a while before our vacation. Each ticket was $411.40. On the way there we checked our four bags for a total of $100, while on the way back we checked one for $25.

Auto Rental:

We rented with Sixt via Expedia. It was from 10am July 18 to 10pm Aug 5 and was a standard SUV. The expedia quote was 1072.02. They gave us a free upgrade to a nicer SUV, a Volvo. We paid 1155.49, after being convinced we should get a minimal insurance for the tires: apparently with the insurance we bought there are no questions asked and a flat tire will get fixed very quickly. There were a number of rough roads we took, so we didn't have a problem.

Parks, Monuments and Memorials:

Each of the parks, monuments and memorials we visited provided more than we anticipated. And let's not forget the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, the Queen Mine Tour, Tombstone and the zip-line in Williams.

Grand Canyon National Park - North & South

Zion National Park

Vermillion Cliffs National Monument

Navajo National Monument

Monument Valley

Natural Bridges National Monument

Canyon de Chelly National Monument

Petrified Forest National Park

Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

Wupatki National Monument

Slide Rock State Park

Saguaro National Park

Chiricahua National Monument

Lodging:

Bellagio Las Vegas (600m) For the night of July 18 and 19 we had a great room overlooking the fountain. As we had to start booking flights, etc., so early due to the need to do so for the Grand Canyon, we booked here quite early and got the great room

Grand Canyon Lodge, North Rim (2500m) Stayed here just one night, July 20. Aside from camping this is the only place to stay. We had a couple nice little cabins, connected to each other. Dinner was good, and breakfast was fine.

Quality Inn & Suites, Springdale, UT (1180m) The lodge at Zion is quite small and fills up extremely early. This lodge suited us just fine and was right on the bus stop to the National Park.

Kayenta Monument Valley Inn, Kayenta (1730m) Large hotel and full the night we were there. Temps cooled off a bit and the pool was surprisingly cold, so we skipped the swim. But we did use the laundromat.

Thunderbird Lodge, Chinle (1690m) Large hotel and rather empty. Lost power for about 20 minutes in the morning; apparently the entire city did. Fine breakfast and very convenient for the Canyon de Chelly.

Maswik Lodge, South Rim (2090m) Called months before our trip to look into availability at the South Rim and things were very booked up. There were supposedly only two rooms available this night in all the lodges and there were none for the following night. Needless to say, this spurred us to get our final plans in place quickly. Xanterra, who run the lodges, let people book over a year in advance, put a deposit for the first night and then cancel with a full refund just before the date. When I mentioned to them that this set up can be abused, the persons on the telephone agreed and said it was abused.

La Quinta Inns & Suites, Williams (2060m) Fine hotel. Hotels in Williams tend to be pricey as it is the closest city to the South Rim with any reasonable amenities. The fact that it's right on Route 66 also helps.

The Orchards Inn of Sedona, Sedona (1320m) I really like this hotel. While the rooms were nice and had great views, the location was also convenient.

Holiday Inn Express, Tucson (705m) Basic, on the edge of town. Had a pool but we were short on time.

Santa Rita Lodge, Madera Canyon (1500m) Great location in the canyon, super feeders.

Ash Canyon Bed & Breakfast, Sierra Vista (1567m) Great location, with reliable lucifer hummingbird and nearby Ash and the other canyons of the Sierra Vista.

Garden Place Suites, Sierra Vista (1417m) Wasn't in our plan but we stayed one night after staying only two of our three nights at the Ash Canyon Bed & Breakfast. Free dinner on the night we were there, laundry facilities and a pool. Right across from the entrance to Ft. Huachuca.

Cave Creek Ranch, Portal (1490m) Had a great three nights here. Wonderful location.

Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Phoenix Airport (340m) Fine and convenient.



DAY BY DAY:


July 18:

Had a nice flight to Phoenix. Picked up the car rental and headed out to Las Vegas. Got a good tip from the lady at the Sixt counter on how to get to the 93 quickly and took it all the way to the Hoover dam. It was great cruising through the desert, looking at Saguaro cacti and at one point a large population of Joshua trees. Temps were hot at the dam, at least 105 and we just missed the last tour which was fine. We took in the sights for a while, exercising our cameras as well as our legs. Finally rolled out and got to our digs in Vegas, the Bellagio.

Birds seen include: mourning dove and rock dove in Arizona and great-tailed grackle in Vegas. Had a double-crested cormorant at the dam which is where the border is between Arizona and Nevada, so I'll count it as being seen in both states.

July 19:

Breakfast at the buffet and then we took a tram and walked around the strip, looking at several of the hotels/casinos and grabbing some lunch. We got a 24 hour bus pass to use the buses along the strip which proved convenient. Also took a nice swim in a couple pools. For the evening the two adults went to see Carrot Top do his comedy act at the Luxor.

July 20:

Had crepes at the Paris casino and took a look at the older part of the strip: Circus Circus and north. Stopped by the chapel where we got married. Finally got packed up and headed out on the drive to the lodge on the north rim of the Grand Canyon. I am familiar with the drive from Vegas to St. George, Utah, but have only continued up to Salt Lake City. The drive turned out to be nice and we got to the lodge with some time to spare.

As you approach the lodge area there are some extensive and very nice meadows. Here we saw groups of mule deer grazing and a large group of turkeys. There were some type of prairies dogs, or possibly ground squirrels, about also. There was a brief shower or two and we saw little areas of snow on the side of the road. It may have come down as hail, not sure, but on the ground it had the feel and consistency of snow. Also had turkey vultures and a hummingbird around the cabin we stayed in.

We spent some time at the outlook taking in and photographing the fantastic views and also took a walk through the woods on some trails near the cabins. Was fairly birdy and we saw: robin, steller's jay, house wren, raven, mountain chickadee, pygmy nuthatch, red-breasted nuthatch, plumbeous vireo, red crossbill; and we heard canyon wren. We also saw three squirrels: golden-mantled squirrel, abert's squirrel (the kaibab race) and rock squirrel.

We had made a later dinner reservation at the lodge and managed to get in a nice ranger led discussion about the natives who lived in the area in the distant past.

July 21:

Got up early and headed over to the other side of the viewing area in front of the lodge to hang out while the sun rose. Fantastic. As with other places we saw the sun rise or set, at times it looks like a real flop but if you wait it becomes great.

Then went for some breakfast, took a short hike in which we had a downpour, and then packed up and headed out towards Springdale, Utah, with a detour to the Walhalla Plateau just down the road from the North Rim Lodge. We first caught some glimpses of Angels Window as we were driving to Cape Royal. The trail from the parking lot to Cape Royal also passes by Angels Window. Both places are simply fantastic. After soaking it in we stopped by the ruins next to Walhalla Overlook and sat for a spell under the trees.

This was a birdy place while we were there and we had bluebird, yellow-rumped warbler, pygmy nuthatch, white-breasted nuthatch, mountain chickadee. Also while looking out over the canyon and other areas we had great views of white-throated swift and violet-green swallow.

The drive to Zion National Park was fine, seeing a red-tailed hawk while still in Arizona. We took a lunch break in Kanab, Utah. As we began driving on the windy park road we saw a bighorn sheep. Very unexpected and a great treat; standing statue like. We took a hike on the wonderful Canyon Overlook Trail. I had done this one in my youth and was equally impressed. There were a number of others hiking it. Saw another bighorn standing on a tall hill on the opposite side of the road and it was joined by another. Also saw a least chipmunk and got some great photos of it. Birds we saw in Utah included turkey vulture, house sparrow, chipping sparrow. Drove through the tunnel and into Springdale to our room at the Quality Inn. Managed to get some swim time in at the hotel pool.

July 22:

Got up early and had breakfast in our room; the hotel staff let us grab some breakfast items the evening before so we could do breakfast before the hotel breakfast room opened. Caught one of the first buses to the visitor center and then joined the line of people at the visitor center complex waiting for a bus heading into Zion Canyon.

Got on board the bus and headed to the last stop in the canyon. We did the riverside walk up to the point where you have to start walking in the water. Was a beautiful ride into the canyon and though it was a definite temptation to have arranged some gear to do the walk in the water, we were content with the views we got of the narrow canyon and persons walking up the river. We then took the bus a little ways back and did the Weeping Rock trail. Gorgeous place to hang out with the water dripping over you and a great view of part of the valley. Took the bus to the area in front of the Zion Canyon Lodge and did the lower Emerald Pools trail. It was getting hot and we could feel the heat on this trail. The setting of the pool was wonderful and we went down to the lodge for some lunch and headed back out on the bus to get our car and start the drive to our next destination.

Birds in Utah included: Ash-throated flycatcher in the morning at the hotel, dipper, canyon wren and yellow warbler on the riverside walk, plumbeous vireo near the weeping rock, black phoebe at the emerald pool and near the lodge we had bluebird, robin, black-headed grosbeak. Also had song sparrow and black-throated hummingbird in the canyon. Non-avian creatures included deer, squirrel and some little fish.

Had a tasty lunch at The Thunderbird in Mt. Carmel Junction. Shortly before this stop we had a very obliging golden eagle perched on a power pole, which flew off after several minutes, giving great views of this large raptor. After getting back into Arizona had some ravens as we made our way towards Kayenta, with a nice, though very hot, stop at Navajo Bridge. As we were driving through the region before and after Navajo Bridge the spectacular Vermillion Cliffs National Monument was off to our left, affording great views. Birds in Arizona included ravens.

July 23:

Having washed clothes in the hotel laundromat the night before we had a nice breakfast and backtracked a little to see the Navajo National Monument. Took the overlook trail and had great looks at the pueblo ruins tucked into a large opening in the cliff. Our first taste of such a ruin, but not our last.

Headed out to Monument Valley. What a fantastic place. We spent some time in the visitor center/store and took the self-guided auto tour. Really mind-blowing, these huge structures standing out there! We took our time doing the tour and took a lot of photos!

We were now going out on a loop that I decided to do shortly before we left for our Arizona trip. We headed north on Hwy 163, leaving Monument Valley behind. We stopped, as others did, on the highway to look back and see the view that appears in the Forrest Gump movie. We then passed the Mexican Hat Rock and turned onto Hwy 261 towards Valley of the Gods. Arriving at the dirt road through Valley of the Gods we realized that the road was fairly washed out and we wouldn't add much to what we'd seen that morning. Besides, it was Natural Bridges National Monument we were really interest in.

The valley we were in lies at the bottom of Cedar Mesa and the quickest way up was to take what is called Moki Dugway, a two mile narrow switchback that climbs 1100 feet with no rails and stupendous views. This was absolutely unexpected and a great surprise. Up on the Mesa we headed to Natural Bridges National Monument and explored this wonderful place with the massive natural bridges as the day wound down. There are also some modest cliff dwelling ruins here. Again, this was a last minute addition to our trip and luck was with us! With the sun dropping below the horizon, I used the pay phone outside the visitor center to confirm our next reservation.

We took a leisurely drive to our next hotel in Chinle, stopping just outside Bluff at an outdoor BBQ that hit the spot just right. The owners were very gracious and made it a point to touch base with all the patrons. Darkness was upon us as we headed down to Chinle and what must have been a gray fox dashed across the road before we made our destination; not sure on this fox so it doesn't make my 'official list'.

For birds, in Arizona we had juniper titmouse, bewick wren, western kingbird and an unidentified hummingbird. In Utah we had scrub jay, turkey vulture and house finch.

July 24:

Woke up at the Thunderbird Lodge in Chinle, had breakfast and headed out to the nearby Canyon de Chelly National Monument. We went to the overlook for the White House Ruin and decided to hike down the White House Trail to get up close to the ruin. The hike was great, with the ruin not visible until the end of the trail, but the canyon itself very beautiful. It was great to hang out for a while by the ruin before clambering back up the trail. The trail is actually quite nice and even has a little tunnel to hike through. We then went to the Spider Rock overlook which provides great views into the canyon where there are some very neat rock formations.

Birds we saw in the Canyon included eurasian collared dove, blue-gray gnatcatcher, western kingbird and some obliging rock wrens. Also least chipmunk.

Headed south a ways to the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Park. We began the drive through the Painted Desert while there was a torrential rain which had started up a little while before. The rain didn't give up until we neared the Petrified Forest and then, as happened often on our trip, the ground was suddenly bone dry. We stopped at a couple of the pull offs and walked around, but the most interesting place was at the Rainbow Forest Museum at the southern end of the park. Fascinating place. They say these logs are over 240 million years old and they were alive before the earths land mass began breaking up into continents!

Took a small detour through Holbrook to get our first taste of Route 66 and then headed up to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, stopping near Flagstaff to get some tamales some folks were hawking in front of a convenience store. We got there with plenty of light still present and used our National Park pass to get through the gate. We stopped at what I believe was the first overlook and soaked in the view. It was wonderful and the fact that we had been on the North Rim took nothing from our enjoyment. We left after the sun had gone down but with some light still present and stopped behind a car that was viewing a huge elk next to the road. A big surprise, though we saw some more the next day. We checked in to the Maswik Lodge and headed over to the El Tovar Lodge where we had dinner reservations 9:30, the last time slot. Another incredible day in Arizona.

July 25:

Having just complete 7 days in Arizona, we were excited to wake up in the Maswik Lodge on the South Rim. We got up early to take in the sun rise and there was significant cloud/fog around, but the looks were still great as we walked around the Grand Canyon Village. We took breakfast at the lodge, checked out and walked around the Village some more and then got on the bus which heads out to Hermit's Rest and makes several stop en route. It was still cloudy and some rain was falling as we got on the bus.

We made a stop or two before Hermit's Rest and to our delight the clouds were lifting. When we got to Hermit's Rest, where we had a light snack, the clouds were gone and the canyon was fully illuminated. Eventually we made our way back to the lodge and slowly headed down to Williams. On the way out of the park we saw some more elk, which appeared to be female this time. Got down to Williams before dark and looked the town over a little bit; situated right on Route 66. Checked in to our hotel and then headed out to have dinner at the Pine Country Restaurant, which the hotel staff recommended and was quite good. We got some of their wonderful pie to go. Also bought a couple knick-knacks at the neat shops in town.

Birds today included juniper titmouse, junco and grackles.

July 26:

Had the free hotel breakfast, packed and visited a couple shops in town. Did the zip-line! Headed down Hwy 64 to Hwy 40 to Flagstaff and turned up Hwy 89 and into the loop which takes you to Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. Great place to stop by the visitor center and learn a little about the history of this area and the volcanos and then to do a little hiking. The trail we took walks you right on top of a part of the lava bed.

Birds at the volcano included: red crossbill (always a treat to see crossbills), bushtit, stellar's jay, black-chinned hummingbird, mountain chickadee, pygmy nuthatch, junco.

Then continued the loop up to Wupatki National Monument, which are a collection of very old ruins. I was particularly interested in seeing this place as it has a 'ball court' as part of the complex. Temps were quite warm while visiting the ruins. Saw our first black-throated sparrow of the trip in the parking lot and a fly over of a great blue heron near the ruins.

Headed south to Flagstaff for lunch and then made our way to Sedona. The highway, Hwy 89, through Oak Creek Canyon is very scenic but they were doing major road work and the path they had us drive on was very slow. Got to Sedona in time to check in and take in some of the wonderful views around this town. Spent a few minutes in the pool and then took a walk only to discover that the shops close up pretty early.

July 27:

Went by the restaurant nearby where you get the free breakfast. Good selection of healthy foods. Then we were off to Slide Rock State Park. Came across this in the Rough Guide and thought we'd give it a shot. Required backtracking a few miles up Oak Creek Canyon. This park has a beautiful little, in comparison to the ones we'd seen so far, canyon with a river flowing over the sandstone. There are two sections where you get on your bottom and slide over the sandstone, being pushed along by the river. A really unique and fun experience. Also have an area where you can jump, about 12 to 15 feet high, into a deep part of the river. Loads of fun. They say this property was once owned by a farming family who had an early apple orchard there.

Got back to hotel, had a brief swim and a tasty lunch. Took a look at the area around the airport, which I had read provided scenic views, and headed out to Tucson, driving through Phoenix on the way. Got gas in Phoenix and it was very hot. Otherwise, nice uneventful drive and the hotel was on the edge of Tuscon, conveniently located to the activities we had planned for the morning. Had dinner at Juanito's Tacos.

Birds around Sedona included house finch, towhee, white-winged dove.

July 28:

Had the free breakfast, packed and headed out to the nearby Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. On the drive to the museum had a pyrrhuloxia perched and singing on a saguaro, brown-crested flycatcher, house finch, white-winged dove and red-tailed hawk. Was a turtle on the entrance road which we picked up and moved a little into the desert. This museum is really a surprise. They've got two dining areas, a few very nice shops, free sun block in all bathrooms, plenty of water, exhibits on basically all the animals you could encounter in the Sonora desert, including an enclosed bird area and an enclosed hummingbird area. Had a raptor tucked away in a bush, a young cooper's hawk. Also on the grounds had cactus wrens, gila and ladder-backed woodpeckers, rufous-winged sparrow. In the bird enclosure (which I won't count) birds included black-headed grosbeak, plenty of white-winged doves, black-bellied whistling duck, masked form of the northern bobwhite, which was very neat, gambel's quail with young ones. The hummingbird enclosure was great. Hummers included costa's, anna's and broad-billed; all essentially within arms reach. There was a female anna's on a nest and she was adding the finishing touches: she was flying to a nearby spider web and pulling off strands to use on her nest; was great to watch her working so carefully and diligently. Owls on display in included elf owl, burrowing owl and western screech owl: the later was being walked around on the arm of a ranger who was answering any questions folks had.

We had a nice lunch at the museum and went to the nearby Saguaro National Park. It was baking hot now so we spent our time in the visitors center, with some shopping and a movie, and then took the auto loop. We were looking for gilded flicker, but only saw a number of gila woodpeckers.

Went back to Hwy 19, where our hotel was, and started heading to Madera Canyon. We planned to stop by and get a quick look at San Xavier del Bac. As we approached the turn off there was very strong monsoon rain falling. We did drive to the parking lot and take a look but that was the extent of it. We got back on the Hwy and then got off for Madera Canyon, stopping at a grocery store to buy some food for our two night stay.

Arriving at the Santa Rita Lodge we still have a brief period of light left and we spent some time at the feeders. We saw: western kingbird, black-headed grosbeak, broad-billed hummingbird, black-throated hummingbird, gambel's quail, white-winged dove, arizona woodpecker, hepatic tanager, canyon wren and sulphur-bellied flycatcher. Steve, the owner stopped by and chatted a while with us. After dinner I took a walk in the dark up the road, listening for possible owls but it was dead silent.

July 29:

Took it easy in the morning, having breakfast and spending some time at the feeders. At the feeders, or in the trees near the feeders: hepatic tanager, bronzed cowbird, black-headed grosbeak, canyon wren, broad-billed hummingbird, bridled tit, white-breasted nuthatch, acorn woodpecker, red-faced warbler, mexican jays, turkey vultures, brown-crested flycatcher, mourning dove, lesser goldfinch, white-winged dove, house finch, and a showing by the magnificent hummer. The red-faced warbler was in the trees near the road next to the feeder, fairly low down in the canyon. Some other birders had first seen it and it appears that a number of birds frequent these trees but don't actually go to the feeders.

After lunch we went to the top parking lot and started hiking up Madera Canyon, taking the Carrie Nation Trail which we had read offered some of the best birding. We had black-throated gray warbler, painted redstart and yellow-eyed junco as we worked out way up. My wife then got on an elegant trogon and we watched the bird for about five minutes, with great views. We had heard the birds even in the area of the Santa Rita Lodge and Steve had said they were working there way up and down the canyon at least once a day. This was great and unexpected, as we had thought the bird would be tough in Madera Canyon. Some rain showers started up as we made our way down the trail. We also had an unidentified little flycatcher and a group of white-tailed deer.

Back at the feeders a quick look brought ladder-backed woodpecker and turkeys. We took a short drive to the Proctor Road parking lot and walked the paved trail a short distance up the canyon. It began to rain and increase in intensity so we headed back. We had cardinal and what appeared to be indigo bunting, though we could not get close enough to the bird to verify it. Took it easy for the rest of the day and tried again to hear any owls calling after sundown, to no avail.

July 30:

Got up early, had breakfast and headed down the canyon a few miles and turned onto the dirt Proctor Road. Spent probably a little over an hour here, birding by car and foot. Had: canyon towhee, black-throated sparrows, cardinal, varied bunting (great views), rufous-winged sparrow, blue grosbeak, kestrel, dusky capped flycatcher. Then went back to the corner of back to the main paved road and headed a little bit further down the canyon, basically to where, as you're going down, on the right there is a point where there is really only grass and very little bushes. There is also a turn off to your left to a dirt road. I stood the fence to the right and could easily hear botteri's sparrows and cassin's sparrows singing away. Saw a cassin's do their flight song and also had a botteri's jump up for a short spell on top of a little bush. Was great to add these sparrows to our list, without sweating it up.

Back at the Santa Rita we packed up and saw outside our cabin both acorn woodpecker and arizona woodpecker. We were going to Patagonia and were taking the dirt road through Box Canyon that hits Hwy 83 and take Hwy 83 south. The drive through Box Canyon is very nice. For birds we had loggerhead shrike, western kingbird, hooded oriole (only oriole species we was on this trip) and mockingbird. Just before the dirt ends and the pavement begins, near Hwy 83, was a house with a very nice flat lawn with a couple bumps. I backed up and we got great looks at a male and female montezuma quail as they slowly worked there way across the lawn. This species was a hoped for but not expected one. Heading down Hwy 83 we had a zone-tailed hawk that was perched in a very tall bush near the highway and was then flushed as some birds chased it away, providing great views of the plumage both above and below. Also had a cassin's sparrow do his flight song near the road.

Had a tasty lunch in Patagonia at a cowboy bar and headed over to the Patton's Home. A couple of folks said they saw our desired hummingbird down the road but not at the house. We decided to take a closer look, as there are many feeding stations, and were glad we did. We had house finch, lesser goldfinch, inca dove, ladder-backed woodpecker, acorn woodpecker, broad-billed hummingbird, black-throated hummingbird, cardinal, song sparrow, gambel's quail, white-winged dove, white-breasted nuthatch and the sought after violet-crowned hummingbird. A smashing hummingbird, which was using the feeders just next to the entrance to what they call the meadow area. It was raining while at the Patton's house, but never poured.

Very satisfied we pressed on to Sierra Vista, and to the Ash Canyon B&B in particular. We arrived with a couple hours of light left and parked for a while at the very active and bountiful feeders. We had house finch, white-winged dove, gila woodpecker, ladder-backed woodpecker, acorn woodpecker, mexican jays, cardinal, curve-billed thrasher, lesser goldfinch, turkey vulture, white-breasted nuthatch and cowbird. The real treat was the hummers and we had: rufous hummingbird, anna's hummingbird, black-throated hummingbird, broad-billed hummingbird and the sought after, and spectacular, lucifer hummingbird! After these great birds we found we had to take care of a number of critters in our sleeping quarters before we could hit the sack.

July 31:

Got up early, had breakfast and headed over to Carr Canyon, meeting our guide for the day at the first picnic area. We drove to the top of the canyon, as opposed to hiking which is required in some of the other canyons. We saw the tufted flycatcher which has been a draw for some time. Also had one of our target birds: grace's warbler. In addition, saw: zone-tailed hawk, towhee, mexican jay, robin, hermit thrush, peewee, hutton's vireo, buff-breasted flycatcher, black-headed grosbeak, junco, house wren, acorn woodpecker and bluebird.

Got back down the canyon and headed to Miller Canyon, where we took a walk to a spot where spotted owl has been known to roost; not surprisingly, given the time of year, there were no owls. Nevertheless, was a nice walk with some nice birds: dusky capped flycatcher, brown creeper, canyon wren, hepatic tanager, peewee, towhee, gray hawk, black-headed grosbeak, indigo bunting, hutton's vireo, warbling vireo, black-throated hummingbird, painted redstart and steller's jay. The guide believed to see a rufous-crowned sparrow. We've seen these and didn't get a good look so are leaving it off. Also had a western tanager this day and believe it was in Miller canyon.

Had some sandwhichs for lunch, stopped by the Ramsey Canyon visitor center as it was near our lunch spot. Given the weather was not looking so great we went to the San Pedro House. I really liked this area around the house, very birdy and very nicely set up. Plus, we got our target bird: lucy's warbler. Also had: common dove, inca dove, white-winged dove, scaled quail, gambel's quail, gila woodpecker, curve-billed thrasher, lesser goldfinch, cowbird, bronzed cowbird and house finch.

Went next to the waste water treatment facility, EOP. Had killdeer, common yellowthroat, red-winged blackbird, yellow-headed blackbird, barn swallow and two target birds: mexican duck and chihuahua raven.

Had some day light left and so did a short hike in Ramsey Canyon, getting peewee and sulphur-bellied flycatcher. There was a nesting hummingbird right behind the Nature Conservancy visitor center, though don't recall the species.

Back at the B&B, relaxed for a bit by the feeders, with: curve-billed thrasher, canyon towhee, bushtit, ladderback woodpecker and cassin's kingbird. Had a nice pizza dinner at a nearby italian restaurant.

August 1:

While going to the bathroom during the night and early in the morning we saw some additional critters, after doing a fairly thorough cleaning up the night before. We slowly ate our breakfast and then had a talk with the owner and, for a small cancellation fee, reduced our stay to two rather than three nights. We booked a room at the Garden Place Suites and birded the feeders for a short spell before heading out. At the feeders we had bewick's wren, cardinal and canyon towhee, and, very nice, an arizona gray squirrel carry a baby in its mouth. The baby was curled up like a ball and the, I presume, mother was trotting across the yard.

Got settled in to our new digs and ready to head back out. We were going to take it easy today as we hit a number of our target birds. We headed out to the Coronado National Memorial. The drive to and from the memorial is nice and we drove up to the top and hiked to the peak, a short hike, .2 miles I each way I think. Great views into Mexico. We had mexican jays and an obliging arizona woodpecker.

Got back to our hotel, did some laundry, the girls some swimming and partook in the free dinner.

August 2:

After breakfast at the hotel headed out for some 'cultural' activities. First headed out to Tombstone where we got tickets for the reenactment and spent some time walking around the town. Then headed over to Bisbee for a copper mine tour with Queen Mine Tours. This was a great tour with the guides apparently all having experience working in the bowels of mines. Ours sure did and he gave detailed descriptions of what various aspects of life as a miner was like. We headed to downtown Bisbee and went up the hill a bit to a very nice little cafe/lunch place.

Headed down to Douglas, right on the Mexican border and stocked up on supplies before heading over to the Cave Creek Ranch in Portal. We arrived to the ranch as it was getting dark. The drive from Douglas to Portal was very nice and we did see a few birds, including: gambel's quail and scaled quail and some type of nighthawk, either common or lesser, that would fly towards the highway and then back away from time to time. At the ranch we had white-tailed deer and hooded skunk.

August 3:

Made breakfast and went outside to meet our guide. There was another guide-in-training who joined us in their own car. It quickly became apparent that our guide, living in the area, was intimate with the area and we had a great day. We first went by 'downtown' Portal and stopped at a brushy area where we got crissal thrasher. One of my desired birds that I thought we might not get. So things got off great. We went to a nearby home where there is a 'big thicket' and birded briefly. It was a little quiet, but some nice birds. We then headed over to stateline road, stopping to bird a side road before we got to stateline road. Birded more slowly on stateline where it crosses gin road and got bendire's thrasher here. In fact there was a pair, apparently attending to a nest, on gin road. Another desired bird, but one I thought we might get, but not a nesting pair. Then went over to willow tank and birded here.

Headed back through Portal and stopped at the Southwestern Research Station. We had some ice cream at this very nicely maintained and excellently situation research facility, and birded the grounds a bit. Finished things up by driving up the road to where it crosses the East Turkey Creek. At this point, it was not possible in our vehicle to cross and go further. Apparently larger trucks and jeeps were doing it, but it was fairly bad and so we halted here and did some nice roadside birding. We were trying here to get black-chinned sparrow but failed, later hearing that others were failing and the birds may have been higher or lower at this particular time. I had also stated I was interested in cordilleran flycatcher and the guide-in-training apparently got on one but didn't call out to us but rather waited until it flew off; not sure why. Our birding with the guide finished around 2pm.

We had a great slew of birds: swainson's hawk, red-tailed hawk, turkey vulture, kestrel, scaled quail, gambel's quail, montezuma quail (roadside just before research station), coot, killdeer, lark sparrows, mourning dove, white-winged dove, eurasian collared dove, acorn woodpecker, ladder-backed woodpecker, peewee, say's phoebe, cassin's kingbird, western kingbird, sulphur-bellied flycatcher, loggerhead shrike, plumbeous vireo, hutton's vireo, bells vireo (only heard), mexican jay, raven, white-breasted nuthatch, bewick's wren, cactus wren, robin, hermit thrush, mockingbird, bendire's thrasher, crissal thrasher, curve-billed thrasher, grace's warbler, western tanager, pyrruloxhia, cardinal, blue grosbeak, painted bunting (by the willow tank), canyon towhee, towhee, cassin's sparrow, black-throated sparrow, yellow-eyed junco, cowbird, grackle, hooded oriole, house finch, lesser goldfinch, eastern meadowlark. At the willow tank had what appeared to be a willow flycatcher, but not certain, so not listing.

We birded the ranch, particularly the feeder area though other areas also, in the afternoon. We had blue-throated hummingbird (great bird), curve-billed thrasher, black-throated sparrow, broad-billed hummingbird, eurasian collared dove, arizona woodpecker, bridled tit, house finch, lesser goldfinch, white-winged dove, cardinal, inca dove, black-headed grosbeak, acorn woodpecker, mexican jay.

For mammals around the ranch we had: white-tailed deer, hooded skunk, arizona gray squirrel, rock squirrel and cliff chipmunk.

August 4:

Went for a nice relaxed walk in the South Fork of Cave Creek Canyon. Wonderful place to walk after parking at the end of the road. Went a reasonable distance but stopped when it was required to wade across some fairly deep and fast running water. For birds we had: peewee, black phoebe, painted redstart, red-faced warbler (great looks), acorn woodpecker, white-breasted nuthatch, bridled tit, brown creeper, hutton's vireo and black-throated gray warbler.

From our cabin we saw an oriole in the distance but couldn't id it. It started to rain, getting quite hard and then going back and forth between soft rain, hard rain. We decided to take the road to Paradise and the rain lightened as we started ascending. We stopped at the George Walker House where the owners let folks sit and observe there nice feeder layout. Had bushtits and six species of hummingbird, one new for the trip: broad-billed hummingbird, blue-throated hummingbird, magnificent hummingbird, black-chinned hummingbird, rufous hummingbird, broad-tailed hummingbird. Very nice digs.

On arriving to the Cave Creek Ranch there was a large black bear at the feeder area! He appeared huge, probably six feet and of good build. He was eating and playing with the feeders and finally pulled a few down. We hit the sack.

August 5:

Our last full day in Arizona has arrived. We ate and headed out, intending to stop at the Chiricahua National Monument on the way to Phoenix. Our initial plan was to take the back dirt road route but the road were in bad shape because of the monsoons. Going north on Hwy 80 we saw the quintessential desert bird for the first time on our trip: a greater roadrunner preening as the sun rose. We shortly thereafter saw another one. We stopped in Bowie on Hwy 10 and asked about the conditions of the road from there to the monument, which passes by Fort Bowie. We were told this way also had some bad road segments; later we met someone who tried the road and had to turn back. So we went to Wilcox and approached the monument from this direction.

Arrived to the visitor center of the Chiricahua National Monument and got oriented. It was turning into a rather warm day. As usual, made sure our water situation was good. Had a talk with a ranger and they suggested going to the top parking area and to then do the grotto trail, at least up to the grottos. The drive up the monument is spectacular and the views from the top are out of this world. Soaked in the views at the top and walked around the border of the area. Then headed to the grotto trail and hiked down to the grotto area. Fantastic rock formations and a lot of fun exploring the grottos.

Finally accepted the fact that we had to start heading to Phoenix, making a stop in Wilcox for a nice BBQ lunch in a restaurant which was a train car before. Uneventful drive to Phoenix, where it was noticeably hotter.



Bird List and Miscellany:

We followed our principle that we don't list a bird unless we see it and can get a positive visual id. As sometimes happens, we break our principle in one or a few cases. This time, it's the bell's vireo. I surveyed an area years back where these bird breed and know there habitat and call very well and appreciate their ability to skulk. The one we had in Arizona was a bell's vireo, with our guide agreeing, and we did not get a visual confirmation on it. The bendire's thrasher was just across the Stateline Road in New Mexico, as was the eastern, yes eastern, meadowlark. Two birds I anticipated seeing but did not were the gilded flicker and the cordilleran flycatcher. Can not say we didn't try, but life is life. We are not listing the following two: At the willow tank we saw a flycatcher from a distance which appeared to be a willow flycatcher but couldn't get a positive id. Also, at some point in our trip, saw a lark bunting, which would be a little out of it's typical range, and did not photograph or record where we saw it. As we've seen these previously, I'm not sweating it.

All in all, a lot of wonderful birds. There are 123 species in our list below, with 19 lifers and another 17 we had not seen within North America. Also had some wonderful mammals and, not listed, various 'smaller' animals.

The red are lifers and the blue are new for us in the USA. All are in Arizona unless indicated otherwise.

double-crested cormorant	az,nv
.
great blue heron
.
mexican duck
.
turkey vulture	az, ut
cooper's hawk
gray hawk
zone-tailed hawk
swainson's hawk
red-tailed hawk
golden eagle	ut
kestrel
.
montezuma quail
gambel's quail
scaled quail
.
turkey
.
coot
.
killdeer
.
mourning dove
white-winged dove
eurasian collared dove
inca dove
common dove
rock dove
.
greater roadrunner
.
white-throated swift
.
lucifer hummingbird
violet-crowned hummingbird
broad-billed hummingbird
blue-throated hummingbird
magnificent hummingbird
anna's hummingbird
black-chinned hummingbird	az, ut
broad-tailed hummingbird
rufous hummingbird
.
elegant trogon
.
acorn woodpecker
gila woodpecker
ladder-backed woodpecker
arizona woodpecker
.
western wood-peewee
buff-breasted flycatcher
tufted flycatcher
black phoebe	ut
say's phoebe
dusky capped flycatcher
ash-throated flycatcher	ut
brown-crested flycatcher
cassin's kingbird
western kingbird
sulphur-bellied flycatcher
.
loggerhead shrike
.
warbling vireo
bells vireo (only heard)
hutton's vireo
plumbeous vireo	az, ut
.
steller's jay
western scrub jay	ut
mexican jay
common raven
chihuahua raven
.
violet-greet swallow
barn swallow
.
bridled tit
juniper titmouse
mountain chickadee
.
bushtit
.
red-breasted nuthatch
white-breasted nuthatch
pygmy nuthatch
.
brown creeper
.
bewick's wren
house wren
cactus wren
rock wren
canyon wren	az, ut
.
dipper	ut
.
blue-grey gnatcatcher
.
western bluebird	az, ut
robin	az, ut
hermit thrush
.
mockingbird
bendire's thrasher	nm
curve-billed thrasher
crissal thrasher
.
lucy's warbler
yellow warbler	ut
yellow-rumped warbler
black-throated gray warbler
grace's warbler
painted redstart
red-faced warbler
common yellowthroat
.
hepatic tanager
western tanager
pyrrhuloxia
cardinal
.
black-headed grosbeak	az, ut
blue grosbeak
.
indigo bunting
varied bunting
painted bunting
.
spotted towhee
canyon towhee
cassin's sparrow
botteri's sparrow
rufous-winged sparrow
black-throated sparrow
chipping sparrow	ut
lark sparrow
song sparrow	az, ut
dark-eyed junco
yellow-eyed junco
.
eastern meadowlark	nm
brown-headed cowbird
bronzed cowbird
yellow-headed blackbird
red-winged blackbird
great-tailed grackle	az, nv
hooded oriole
.
house finch	az, ut
red crossbill
lesser goldfinch
.
house sparrow	ut
.

Other than Birds:

golden-mantled squirrel
abert's squirrel (the kaibab race)
arizona gray squirrel
rock squirrel	az, ut
least chipmunk	ut
cliff chipmunk
hooded skunk
white-tailed deer
mule deer	az, ut
mountain goat	ut
elk
black bear