Birding and Natural History in Southeast Arizona May 12
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Birding and Natural History in Southeast Arizona Mark Pretti Nature Tours, L.L.C. and the Golden Gate Audubon Society May 12 - 18, 2022 Southeast Arizona is one of the most biologically diverse areas in the United States. Habitats include the Sonoran Desert with its dramatic columnar cacti, the Chihuahuan desert with its grasslands and desert scrub, and the dramatic “Sky Islands” where species from the Rocky Mountains and Mexico’s Sierra Madre come together. During our journey, we’ll explore most of these habitats, encounter a great diversity of plants and animals, and enjoy fine weather at one of the richest times of year. We’ll visit many of the birding and wildlife hotspots – Madera Canyon, the Patagonia area, Huachuca Canyon, and the San Pedro River. Species we’re likely to see include elegant trogon, gray hawk, zone-tailed hawk, vermilion flycatcher, painted redstart, Grace’s, Lucy’s, red- faced and other warblers, three species of Myiarchus flycatcher (ash-throated, brown- crested, and dusky-capped), thick-billed kingbird, northern beardless tyrannulet, greater pewee, yellow-eyed junco, up to seven species of hummingbirds, many sparrows (five- striped, Botteri’s, rufous-winged, black-throated, rufous-crowned), Scott’s oriole, and many others. In addition to birds, the area is well known for its butterfly diversity, with the Huachuca Mountains alone harboring almost one-quarter of all the butterflies found in the U.S. While May is not the peak season for butterflies, we should see as many as 15 - 20 species. Mammal diversity in the area is also high, and we've seen 20 species on past trips - these include round-tailed ground-squirrel, Arizona gray squirrel, Coues' white-tailed deer, pronghorn, black-tailed jackrabbit, coyote, bobcat, coatimundi, and javelina. And of course, with this being the Southwest, we may see as many as 10 species of reptiles. We’ll also spend time learning about the general ecology of the area and explore the fascinating relationships among southeast Arizona’s birds, plants, mammals, reptiles, insects, geology, and regional climate. Led by naturalist and bird guide Mark Pretti, the cost will be about $ 2475.00 per person, double occupancy, and includes all lodging, meals, admission fees, GGAS administrative fee, and ground transportation from Tucson, AZ. Please note that the Duquesne House in Patagonia (where we’ll be for 2 nights) has only 4 rooms and that a single will only be possible if you stay at a nearby home. The single supplement for this trip is $200 if you share at Duquesne and $275 if you don’t share. Limited to 9. For more information, contact Mark at [email protected]. 1 Birding and Natural History in Southeast Arizona Mark Pretti Nature Tours, L.L.C. May 12 - 18, 2022 The style of this trip is designed to provide a high quality experience of seeing, enjoying and learning about the birds, wildlife and general natural history of Southeast Arizona. Although we will be doing a good amount of birding and may see about 150 species, including many of the regional specialties, we will also spend time enjoying and learning about general ecology, plants, mammals, insects (especially butterflies), and reptiles and amphibians. Day 1, May 12 – The trip begins today in Tucson where I’ll meet the group at the airport. After I receive everyone’s flight information, I’ll let you know the exact pick-up time. It will likely be between noon and 1 PM. As you exit the front door of the airport on the lower arrivals area, go left to an obvious shaded area with tables and chairs. This will be our pick-up spot. If you are not able to arrive in Tucson before 1 PM, you’ll need to arrive the evening before and stay at a nearby hotel. There are about ten clean, quiet hotels right at the airport. You can choose the one that works best for you – I’ve stayed at the Quality Inn – 520-294-2500 – and the Holiday Inn Express – 520-889-6600. Both are reasonably priced with continental breakfasts. I’ll pick you up at your hotel on the way in to the airport. After I pick the group up, we’ll stop at a nearby Subway to pick up sandwiches. I’ll also have snacks (fruit, chips, carrots, bars) and drinks. We’ll head to Tucson’s Sweetwater Wetlands, a nice desert oasis, about 35 mins. away. At Sweetwater, where cottonwoods, willows, and cattails border the ponds, we’ll have chances to see a wide variety of birds including verdin, Gila and ladder-backed woodpeckers, yellow warbler, the local race of song sparrow, several ducks, Gambel’s quail, and maybe Harris’ hawk. We’ll also have good chances to see a few “target” species we may not see elsewhere on the trip - tiger whiptail, zebra-tailed lizard, desert spiny lizard, and round-tailed ground-squirrel. It might be pretty warm (high 80s/low 90s), but we’ll try to stay in the shady areas. The walking is completely flat. From there, we’ll drive about 45 mins. to the Amado Territory Inn where we’ll spend the night. The lovely inn, adjacent to the Santa Cruz River, has pretty good birding right on the grounds (vermilion and ash-throated flycatchers, gray hawk, broad-billed hummingbird, summer tanager, northern cardinal, rufous- winged sparrow, Abert’s towhee), and we should have some time to enjoy the late afternoon action before dinner at a nearby restaurant. Day 2, May 13 – After breakfast at 6, we’ll drive about 35 mins. to Madera Canyon in the Santa Rita Mtns. We’ll bring a packed lunch and spend the morning and early afternoon there. We’ll 2 begin in the desert scrub below Madera where we’ll look for the range-restricted rufous-winged sparrow as well as black-throated sparrow, Bell’s vireo, Costa’s hummingbird, black-tailed gnatcatcher, and others. We’ll then proceed to the canyon mouth where the desert grasses, ocotillo, and cacti of the valley merge with oaks and sycamores of the higher elevations. The birding possibilities are many – Hutton’s and plumbeous vireos, hooded and Scott’s orioles, ash- throated, dusky-capped, and brown-crested flycatchers, black-throated gray and Lucy’s warblers, painted redstart, Say’s phoebe, phainopepla, rufous-crowned sparrow, Arizona and acorn woodpeckers, and many more. We’ll work our way up the canyon, have a picnic lunch, and spend some time at a feeding station where we’ll look for magnificent, black-chinned, and broad- billed hummingbirds as well as Mexican jay, grosbeaks, buntings, and others. Rock squirrel and Arizona gray squirrel are also found at the feeders, and the local race of white-tailed deer is fairly common in the area. The walk in Madera Canyon is about a half mile up a gradual incline. Most of it is paved, but there are some dirt sections with uneven surfaces. In the afternoon we’ll pass through some beautiful habitat - with a great mix of desert scrub, grassland, and woodland vegetation – on our way to the town of Patagonia where we’ll spend two nights. We should arrive in time to visit a private feeding station, the Paton’s, where we’ll have chances to see many specialty species, including violet-crowned hummingbird, gray hawk, Abert’s towhee, and thick-billed-kingbird. We’ll stay at the Duquesne House B&B for two nights, May 13 and 14. The B&B has a beautiful garden, very nice rooms, good birds, and a nice breakfast. Please note that the Duquesne House has only 4 rooms and that a single will only be possible if you stay at a nearby home 1 – 2 blocks away. Day 3, May 14 - After breakfast at 6, we’ll drive about 30 mins to Patagonia Lake State Park, another desert oasis. Rich desert scrub and grassland on the hillsides is home to Botteri’s, rufous-crowned, and black-throated sparrows, as well as eastern meadowlark and loggerhead shrike. The cottonwood and willow-lined lake is perfect for many lowland riparian species. We’ll follow the lake’s edge as we look for summer tanager, Gila and ladder-backed woodpeckers, vermilion flycatcher, northern beardless-tyrannulet, yellow, Lucy’s, and Wilson’s warblers, yellow-breasted chat, and the rare black-capped gnatcatcher as well as ducks, grebes, and neotropic cormorant. Except for some stairs at the beginning, the roughly 1-mile walk at Patagonia Lake is flat but with a few uneven surfaces. Before returning to town for lunch, we’ll stop at the famous Patagonia Roadside Rest which is a good spot for thick-billed kingbird. In the afternoon, we’ll either return to the private feeding station or visit nearby Harshaw Road which has a nice habitat mix. Day 4, May 15 – After a 6 AM breakfast, we’ll visit the Las Cienegas Conservation Area to look for grassland species such as grasshopper and lark sparrows, the Lillian’s race of eastern meadowlark, loggerhead shrike, scaled quail, ash-throated flycatcher, horned lark, golden eagle, and perhaps pronghorn. This is perhaps the most pristine grassland in the region with an excellent variety of native grasses and forbs and intact fire ecology. We’ll then continue to Sierra Vista where we’ll have a few errands to take care of – Fort Huachuca passes and lunch – 3 before checking in to the hotel if the rooms are ready. We’ll be staying at the Windemere Hotel for three nights – May 15, 16, and 17. We may make a few short stops near Sierra Vista before arriving at the hotel.