Clouds and crops in Safford, AZ 8-1-10 by Gusto! w/Nikon D90 Before Gus left for Boston we had one last Hurrah and spent the day in Graham and Greenlee counties. I chose to go here because these are two of the least birded counties in all of Arizona. Armed with Cameras and binoculars, Gus took pictures with the D90 and the 18-200mm lens while I counted birds and took pictures with the D80 and the 70-300mm lens. Story and pictures to follow soon, including bird counts and lists.
Pine siskin at the Pine Trailhead near Pine, AZ 6-5-10
With temperatures heading into the rang of 105 degrees farenheight this weekend and the fact that is was our 33rd anniversary we decided to head for the hills and celebrate in Payson, AZ just below the Mogollon Rim. We had never been to Payson, which is in Gila County, and I had only counted birds in Gila County once last year when I barely drove into it after a trip to Boyce Thompson Arboretum. Back then I only counted 15 species of birds. Now I was going to have the chance to up that total as well as escape the heat AND spend quality time with my sweetheart. So, on Saturday morning with our reservation made we jumped in the car and drove the 3 1/2 hours to Payson.
Kestrel in a Pine 6-5-20 at the Pine Trailhead
Once we left Phoenix the drive became scenic and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. After checking into the hotel we immediately went out exploring and ended up 14 miles north of Payson at the Pine Trailhead just south of Pine, AZ. Here the trees towered over us and the birds flew around us.
Back at our hotel I hear a bird calling and find a spotted towhee in the trees near the little bridge. The next morning it is there again along with white-breasted nuthatches and a Say’s Phoebe. While Gus sleeps in, I decided to drive down to Green Valley Park at the end of Historic Main Street to see what birds are out and about.
Tonto Natural Bridge is the largest travertine arch in the world. At 183 feet high and 150 feet wide at its widest point, it has an international reputation and draws over 100,000 visitors a year. We drive to the far end of the parking lot where you can get a very good view of the arch from above. The best view is from below however, but you have to hike down a half mile very steep trail. Gus decides to stay up top, but I take my chances and scramble down with bins, camera and water.
I look above me to the cliff edge where water spills in a glistening curtain to the creek below. Above me the sky is filled with White-throated swifts twittering and darting about. They are joined by a few cliff swallows as well and I am surprised when they suddenly break into a fight with cliff swallows diving at the backs of the swifts! Across the creek I hear a brown-crested flycatcher calling, waking up the forest with its raucous cries.
The fish in the creek are undisturbed by its calling. I watch fascinated from the bridge they swim in the cool depths of the water. I would like to linger here. I wish that Gus could have made it down here with me to see this for himself. Perhaps we will come back when it is cooler. I start the hike back up, stopping several times along the way to rest with sweat pouring form my body. My hair is damp and my skin is hot. My camera and bins grow heavier with each step. I drink the rest of my water just before I reach the top where I find Gus sitting at a picnic table waiting for me in the shade. We get in the car and blast the AC. From what the locals tell me, it is not normally this hot here.
We drive back to Payson stopping along the way for me to count birds by a creek while Gus naps in the car. After lunch at the Payson Airport’s Crosswinds Cafe where we have an awesome view of the Mogollon Rim we start on our way home. As we leave Payson I remark to Gus that this is a lot like being in New Hampshire only without the mosquitoes, black flies, humidity or snow! We decide to take the scenic route home instead of going back through Phoenix, so south of Payson we turn off AZ Highway 87 onto AZ highway 188 which takes us past Roosevelt Lake. The temperature, which was 94 in Payson at 2:00 PM, now rises to 104, then 106, then 108! I have been up since 6:30 a.m. and though I love to look out the windows wherever we travel anywhere, I soon drifted off to sleep. Suddenly Gus wakes me and stops the car in the middle of the road and I am glad he does. Before me the clear blue waters of Roosevelt Lake sparkle in the blazing sunlight…
Roosevelt Lake is quite long and we drive mile after mile past the sparkling waters which look so cool and inviting to me. How I would love to get down there and swim! Ahead of us we see a blue arch rising and we soon realize we will be crossing this beautiful bridge.
Gus got some amazing photos and he said this was his favorite part of the trip. I will post his pictures in a separate post. This was definitely the long way home but so pretty. We had a great time! As for me, I bumped my Gila County Bird List from 15 species to 43! However, I was quite surprised that I did not see any warblers anywhere. I did hear some bird calls that I could not identify, but I never got my eyes on the birds.
Birds seen in Gila County in July 2009:
Birds seen in Gila County on this trip June 2010:
I am leaving the Sonoran Desert and driving east to Portal, Arizona on Tuesday, May 25th. The sun is glaring in my face as I drive the sun-bleached asphalt through Benson, Wilcox and into New Mexico. It is taking me longer to get there than I thought it would. I am meeting Donna Simonetti and Bosque Bill at the Portal store for a day or two of birding. While I have been through Portal one time before with Gus, I have never actually birded there. I have also never met Bosque Bill or Donna Simonetti but feel comfortable meeting them since they were part of the Birders who Blog, Tweet and Chirp Expedition that Dawn Fine organized while she was here in southeast Arizona. I was supposed to be part of that adventure, but it took place at the same time Gus and I headed to Kentucky to see our new granddaughter and so I missed out. It was Donna who invited me along and I decided to take my chances.
I get off the highway in Road Forks New Mexico and point my car south. The road curves off towards the mountains before straightening out and heading towards Rodeo. Above me the clear blue sky beckons and urges me on. It isn’t long before I lose all cell phone reception. I am alone and on my own.
The Portal road turns west about 2 miles north of Rodeo. I drive the few miles to the Portal Peak Lodge and find Donna and Bill waiting for me in front of the Portal Store. Donna and Bill are ready to be off since I am at least an hour late. We quickly move my gear and my cooler into Donna’s vehicle, then I hop in and we start to get acquainted on the drive to South Fork.
At the creek we find a thrush and start snapping away, for a Swainson’s Thrush was supposedly seen here yesterday. It is much rarer than the usual Hermit thrush.
I am not well aquatinted with Swainson’s thrush and so don’t even know how to distinguish one from the other, so I snap and snap and snap hoping to figure it all out later.
There are flycatchers everywhere and we try to sort them out. I believe we are seeing Western Wood Pewees, one after the other, but we keep hoping for something else.
High in the tree tops I catch a brief glimpse of a small bird with a yellow throat and black streaking on its sides. I believe I am seeing my first Grace’s warbler, but it too moves off before I can get a shot off. Lifer No. 2! This birding in the trees is tricky stuff! I have been spoiled by my open desert birds. But Oh, how beautiful it all is! for me I am transported to the forests of New England and I feel like a child again with sun sparkles dancing around me and the soft carpet of leaves and pine needles beneath my feet. I feel like a bird in her nest. I feel peaceful and safe.
We wander farther up and cross the creek once more but it is getting quieter and quieter and so we decide to turn around and head back down to see what else we can see. By now it is after noontime and Bill and I are getting hungry. Donna is ready to just move on but we convince her to take a brief break and let us eat.
It is a good thing we do for the Painted Redstarts fly into the picnic area and we all get a good view. Of course, the raucous Mexican Jays greet us right away and follow us about hoping for handouts, but I do not oblige them. Suddenly we hear the trogon once again and Donna and I drop everything and follow the sound of its voice. It is Donna who finally spots it on a limb and this time I get a better view and a better shot. We both take quite a few pictures before the bird flies off and we decide to move on.
From there Donna takes us to the Southwest Research station. Bill is not feeling well, so he sits in the shade near the hummingbird feeders while Donna and I wander around. Before we leave the feeder area, however, we sit or stand and wait for the Blue-throated hummingbird to arrive. It soon does and once again I snap several photos, most of them as seen from below as the bird preens on its perch in a poplar tree. Lifer no. 3!
Donna takes me for a stroll through the meadow and along the creek hunting for the buff-breasted flycatcher she saw here yesterday but though we look and look all we find are a lone robin and yet another western wood pewee.
As we head back towards the car where Bill is waiting in front of the gift shop I have to laugh at this sign that is posted on the wall of the store. Is drinking really a problem up here?
After dinner at the Portal Store Bill decides to retire early but Donna and I grab our bins and cameras and head down Portal Main Street for a big surprise. We walk past the small library and post office to a playground area where we turn to look high in a sycamore tree. A small crowd has gathered with us in the gloaming and we are all staring at a small dark hole in a limb. What could we be waiting for at this time of night?
Soon the bird peeks out the hole, and then she starts to call to her mate. It is a soft and odd sound that I can’t quite describe but she calls again and again, then retreats.
Finally, without warning, the little Elf Owl comes to the edge of the hole and takes flight, disappearing into the gray-blue darkness while Great-horned Owls call behind and before us. How amazing it is to see and hear the largest owl in the United States in the same vicinity as the smallest owl. The Elf Owl is a *Life Bird for me and the 4th one of the day.
Donna graciously offered to let me stay in her room with her, so we head back to the Portal Peak Lodge where bats hunt bugs around the outdoor lights and Donna and I pour over our day’s photos with questions flying around the room, “ Was that a Swainson’s thrush?” “What was that flycatcher?” “What bird is this?” as Donna shows me a photo of a female varied bunting she took yesterday. It is hard to go to sleep with so much birding to do, but finally we give in because tomorrow we are getting up with the birds!
Birds seen in Portal and Cave Creek Canyon today:
*Life Bird: first time seeing this species in my life!
