Definitely going to Tuscon in September!

[semillama]

What's even better, I figured out a way to have the company pay for a rental car for me to use for a couple extra days birding, and saved the company about $200 in the process...

I plan on a day in Madera Canyon, and another day somewhere else, don't know yet. I also know a guy from my birding group who just moved down there, and maybe we can get together and bird one day. I'm pretty excited about it, this will be my first trip to SE Arizona, and it will be at the height of fall migration!

[XemaSab]

1. Suggestions:

Saguaro National Park and the Arizona/Sonora Desert Museum

Arivaca Creek and Cienega

The DeAnza Trail (I think that's what it's called)

Kino Springs (If there's water there)

Ruby Road (California Gulch is a day trip unto itself, and you NEED a high-clearance 4-wheel-drive)

Madera Canyon (and the scrublands outside Madera Canyon)


Get the Birder's Guide to Southeast Arizona and the Tucson Audubon Society Guide and they might offer more suggestions.

I would guess that Patagonia, the Huachucas and Chiricahuas would be a bit far to go for the day from Tucson, and the amount of birding you'd be able to get in versus the amount of driving wouldn't be that great.

Enjoy!

[semillama]

2. Thanks for the suggestions

I actually have a birding buddy who just moved to Sierra Vista (I think that's where he moved, anyway), so I'm contacting him to see if he'd be interested in coming along. I'm also going to see if any of my friends here have a copy of the Arizona book I can borrow.

It's funny you mention the Arizona/Sonora Desert Museum, since that's where the conference dinner will be held. Needless to say, I'll be taking my bins and camera to dinner...

[semillama]

3. Update 1!

So, my friend in AZ offered to put up for a couple days and go birding with me for the two days I have scheduled after the conference.

So far this is his yard bird list:

* Rufous-crowned Sparrow - 8/1/08
* Anna's Hummingbird - 7/31/08
* Cactus Wren - 7/30/08
* Great Horned Owl - 7/28/08
* Western Kingbird - 7/28/08
* Zone-tailed Hawk - 7/23/08
* Black-headed Grosbeak - 7/12/08
* Hooded Oriole - 7/6/08
* Northern Mockingbird - 7/3/08
* Red-tailed Hawk - 7/2/08
* American Kestrel - 6/30/08
* Cooper's Hawk - 6/30/08
* Greater Roadrunner - 6/30/08
* House Sparrow - 6/30/08
* Rufous-winged Sparrow - 6/27/08
* Loggerhead Shrike - 6/25/08
* Black-chinned Hummingbird - 6/24/08
* Ladder-backed Woodpecker - 6/22/08
* Gambel's Quail - 6/22/08
* Lesser Goldfinch - 6/22/08
* Ash-throated Flycatcher - 6/22/08
* Bewick's Wren - 6/21/08
* Brown-headed Cowbird - 6/21/08
* Canyon Towhee - 6/20/08
* Phainopepla - 6/20/08
* Lesser Nighthawk - 6/20/08
* Black Vulture - 6/20/08
* Broad-billed Hummingbird - 6/20/08
* Blue Grosbeak - 6/20/08
* White-winged Dove - 6/20/08
* Turkey Vulture - 6/20/08
* Barn Swallow - 6/20/08
* Pyrrhuloxia - 6/20/08
* Cliff Swallow - 6/20/08
* Lucy's Warbler - 6/20/08
* Verdin - 6/20/08
* Chihuahuan Raven - 6/20/08
* Say's Phoebe - 6/20/08
* House Finch - 6/20/08
* Mourning Dove - 6/20/08
* Black-throated Sparrow - 6/20/08

20 of those would be lifers for me.

So I'd say I'm pretty well set for a great birding experience!

[XemaSab]

4. Do you mind listing all of your target species?

:shrug:

A couple of those sparrows and zony can be tricky. If you were spending a week there I'd say you could get all those speices, but for only two days you might have to get lucky with some of them.

Man, my first trip to Arizona I had 58 lifers in a week. :D

[semillama]

5. I'll have to but it together and post it later.

I've gone through my field guides a couple times, but seeing as when I will be there is a little early for winter residents to be there in numbers, and the summer residents are likely to be gone, it's a little hard to figure what I have the best chance of seeing. I may make a list of the permanent residents and see how that looks.

I just learned that the workshop they are offering the first day of the conference is one I've taken before, so it looks like I get a day of birding on the front end of my trip, too. I am thinking of spending it out in Saguaro NP or somewhere like that in the Tucson area.

[semillama]

6. List of targets for AZ:

(warning - this is a long list, about 90 species or so. I put it together from the bar charts in the back of the SE AZ birdfinding guide put out by the Tucson Audubon Society. Also, I'm going to try for the Sinaloa Wren, since it's still hanging out)

Arizona Target List
Most likely to see: Abundant to Common Birds (55)
Cinnamon Teal, Scaled Quail, Gambel’s Quail, White-Faced Ibis, Harris’ Hawk, Inca Dove, Greater Roadrunner (actually uncommon, but I think it’s likely to see it), Lesser Nighthawk, White-throated Swift, Broad-billed Hummingbird, Magnificent Hummingbird, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Anna’s Hummingbird, Acorn Woodpecker, Gila Woodpecker, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Gilded Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Hammond’s Flycatcher, Dusky Flycatcher, Black Phoebe, Say’s Phoebe, Vermillion Flycatcher, Cassin’s Kingbird, Hutton’s Vireo, Mexican Jay, Bridled Titmouse, Verdin, Bushtit, Cactus Wren, Rock Wren, Canyon Wren, Bewick’s Wren, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Bendire’s Thrasher, Curve-billed Thrasher, Crissal Thrasher, Phainopepla, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Grace’s Warbler, Green-tailed Towhee, Abert’s Towhee, Cassin’s Sparrow, Rufous-crowned Sparoow, Brewer’s Sparrow, Black-throated Sparrow, Lark Bunting, Yellow-eyed Junco, Pyrrhuloxia, Black-headed Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, Lesser Goldfinch

Uncommon and nocturnal Common Birds (34)
Montezuma Quail, Gray Hawk, Common Black-hawk, Western Screech Owl, Whiskered Screech Owl, Northern Pygmy Owl, Spotted Owl, Vaux’s Swift, Blue-throated Hummingbird, Costa’s Hummingbird, Elegant Trogon, Arizona Woodpecker, Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Greater Pewee, Gray Flycatcher, Pacific Slope Flycatcher, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Plumbeous Vireo, Cassin’s Vireo, Western Scrub Jay, Mexican Chickadee, Lucy’s Warbler, Townsend’s Warbler, Hermit Warbler, MacGillivray’s Warbler, Red-faced Warbler, Painted Redstart, Hepatic Tanager, Rufous-winged Sparrow, Black-chinned Sparrow, Varied Bunting, Hooded Oriole, Bullock’s Oriole

I'm birding the Tucson area Thursday and Saturday this coming week, and south of Tucson with my friend on Sunday and Monday. I'll post back with the results!

[XemaSab]

7. I was going to post a long list of spots

but I think just goofing around you should get about half.

Next time you can get all super-focused and medieval. ;)

And the time after... and the time after that...

Suggested areas are Saguaro, Madera Canyon, Patagonia, Arivaca, Portal, and the Chiricahuas...

If you dip, some of this stuff you WILL get in California, such as Cinnamon Teal, Gambel's Quail, ibis, Lesser Nighthawk, WT Swift, Anna's (this is a garbage bird here), Acorn, WW Pewee, Hammond's, Dusky, Black Phoebe, Say's, Cassin's, Hutton's, Bushtit, Cactus Wren, Bewick's Wren, BT Gray, BH Grosbeak, Laz Bunting, Lesser Goldfinch, WS Owl, Pygmy Owl, Spotted Owl, Vaux's Swift, PS Flycatcher (do these occur in Arizona?), Cassin's, WS Jay, Townsend's, Hermit, Mac, Hooded Oriole, and Bullock's Oriole.

I could get you a bunch of these in my YARD. So don't go crazy trying to find these, there will be other opportunities.

Focus on the Arizona endemics and the rare birds, and everything else will fall into place.

Good luck!

(PS my first trip there I got 58 lifers, so don't get too burned out. Pace yourself and have a good time!)

[semillama]

8. Successful trip!

I missed only 19 target birds out of 89! Overall, I had 127 species, including 59 ABA birds and 53 life birds. I spent 3 1/2 days birding and hit Sabino Canyon, Mount Lemmon, Saguaro NP West, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Sweetwater Wetlands, Patagonia, Miller Canyon and various spots in the Huachuca Mts. area, and Madera Canyon.

Highlights include hearing the Sinaloa Wren for half a second, and seeing a bobcat!

Out of my target lists, I missed Scaled Quail, Dusky Flycatcher, Vermillion Flycatcher, Bushtit, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Bendire's Thrasher, Crissal Thrasher, Grace's Warbler, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Lark Bunting, and Pyrrhuloxia from the commoner birds; and from the uncommon birds target list, I saw Gray Hawk, Blue-throated Hummingbird, Costa's Hummingbird, Arizona Woodpecker, Gray Flycatcher, Plumbeous Vireo, Lucy's Warbler, Townsend's Warbler, Hermit Warbler, Painted Redstart, Rufous-winged Sparrow, Varied Bunting and Bullock's Oriole.

Apparently, I was there during a "trough" in the migration waves, and everyone was complaining about how dead it was. I didn't mind that much, since I was still racking up great birds, but we did have to hunt pretty hard for some birds, like Lazuli Bunting. We also dipped on a couple hummers that had been around recently, like Beryline and the Plain-capped Starthroat. I did get White-eared and Ruby-throated, though (figures that the rarest hummer for AZ that I see is a Ruby-throat!)

All in all, a fantastic trip.

[XemaSab]

9. Suweet!

Well, next time you can hunt down your missed targets.

Some of those commoner birds you should get on your Southern California trip.

You are coming to California, no?

[semillama]

10. some day...n/t

[Maestro]

11. Congrats.

I need to make it over to Arizona. I was there in 2001, but I didn't do any birding.