On Day6 I started early and headed towards Cochise Wilcox. I had reports that it was easy to find the Scaled Quail here near the lake. Also another bird that I wanted to see were the Horned Larks and Red-necked Phalarope which were being reported here.
I did manage to reach the lake very early in the morning. There is a house right before the lake. I saw some quail sized birds moving behind the house. This got me excited. Waited here for a while to see if the birds will come near the road to get a better look at these birds. And voila in few minutes a group of 6 Scaled Quails made it to the fence of the house. They did not look very shy. I kept my distance but I was still surprise that they tolerated human presence. Spent some time here and got some pictures. After this I started driving around the lake looking for the Red-necked Phalarope. There were reports of the bird from the area but I did not find them instead there were lot of Wilson's Phalaropes. It was interesting to see their feeding pattern. The lake also had some American avocets and along with some ducks which were yet to migrate. I also saw a lone Spotted Sandpiper on the banks.
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| Scaled Quail |
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| Cinnamon Teal |
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| American Avocet |
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| Spotted Sandpiper |
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| Mexican Duck |
After this I went to Mount Lemmon looking for the Red-faced Warbler, Pygmy Nuthatch and the Mountain Chickadee. The drive to the top of the mountain was really beautiful. It was amazing to see so many people biking the mountain which almost at the height of 9,000 feet. At the top of the mountain visited some of the common birding hot spots. I did end up finding the Red-faced Warbler and the Pygmy Nuthatch but could not find the Mountain Chickadee. I did get to see my first Hairy-woodpecker here. It is so similar to Downy but one can definitely make the difference in the size of its beak compared to Downy. The drive and the walks at the top of the mountain was really great. I did see some of the trees which were part of the wildfires few years back. Looked like a good place to visit during winter for some skiing :-)
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| Yellow-eyed Junco |
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| Pygmy Nuthatch |
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| Red-faced Warbler |
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| Hairy Woodpecker |
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| Stellar's Jay |
After this I had time and went back to Madera Canyon to see if I can spend some night time here to look for Whip-poor-will. I spent sometime near the Santa Rita Lodge here looking for any new Hummingbirds. I did see the common Mountaingem, Broad-billed humming birds here. I was hoping to see Berryline here. But instead I got to see my first Hepatic Tanager here. Both male and female were present here. Occasionally coming to the feeders.
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| Hepatic Tanager |
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| Broad-billed Hummingbird |
The next day was my travel day back home. But I had 3-4hours time to do some birding in Phoenix before heading to the airport. I still had some birds that I wanted to see before leaving Arizona. Hadn't seen Costa's Hummingbird and the Gilded Flicker. And if time permitted wanted to see some of the lovebirds which have made Arizona their home. Desert Botanical Garden is a very nice place which had great collection of plants spread across. It was very active in the morning. There were quite a few Hummingbirds buzzing around but I was still waiting to see the Costa's. I saw the Ash-throated Flycatcher, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher here. And then there was a Gilded Flicker drinking the nectar from one of the flowers on the Cactus plant. I was so happy to see one of the target birds here. Nearby saw a Gila Woodpecker as well. And there is a small spot which was dedicated for hummingbirds which had lot of flowering plants here. I saw couple of Broad-tailed Hummingbirds here. I was told Costa's visit this spot quite often. So I decided to wait here for a while since I had time. After about 30-45 minutes I saw a bird which had different colored Gorget. And it went and sat on a tree top showing off its beautiful purple Gorget. It was quite a colorful bird. I was very happy that I got to see both the birds that I had on my wish list here. Looking at the ebird I found a spot(Evelyn Hallman Park) close to the city where lovebirds were being reported. Here I spent 20 minutes within which I saw couple of Rosy-faced lovebirds which were hiding from the afternoon sun in a tree. It was time for me to head back to the airport.
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| Ash-throated Flycatcher |
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| Black-tailed Gnatcatcher |
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| Gilded Flicker |
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| Broad-tailed Hummingbird |
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| Costa's Hummingbird |
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| Costa's Hummingbird |
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| Phainopepla |
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| Curve-billed Thrasher |
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| Gila Woodpecker |
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| Verdin |
I had an amazing Arizona trip. One of the best birding trips ever. I managed to see most of the birds which I had in my wish list. I had 45 lifers during this trip. I realized why most of the birders recommended doing birding in SE Arizona. And the best place to look for Hummingbirds. And if I had postponed my trip by couple of weeks I would have had a chance to see Berryline and White-eared Hummingbird too which were reported from the sites I had visited during this trip.
ebird :
Cochise Wilcox : https://ebird.org/checklist/S88575024
Mt Lemmon : https://ebird.org/checklist/S88575087
Madera Canyon : https://ebird.org/checklist/S88575107
Desert Botanical Garden : https://ebird.org/checklist/S88598518
Birds seen during the 2 days :
- Lucifer Hummingbird
- Calliope Hummingbird
- Juniper Titmouse
- Cassin's Finch
- Dark-eyed Junco
- Pyrrhuloxia
- Rock Pigeon
- Band-tailed Pigeon
- Brown Creeper
- Lark Sparrow
- Elegant Trogon
- Gray Hawk
- Ladder-backed Woodpecker
- Black Phoebe
- Canyon Towhee
- Anna's Hummingbird
- Violet-crowned Hummingbird
- Black Vulture
- Vermilion Flycatcher
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Vaux's Swift
- Dusky Flycatcher
- House Wren
- Lesser Goldfinch
- Orange-crowned Warbler
- Grace's Warbler
- Red-faced Warbler
- Rivoli's Hummingbird
- Arizona Woodpecker
- Bridled Titmouse
- Bewick's Wren
- Chipping Sparrow
- Yellow-eyed Junco
- Spotted Towhee
- Hooded Oriole
- Bronzed Cowbird
- Black-chinned Hummingbird
- Broad-tailed Hummingbird
- Gray Flycatcher
- Scott's Oriole
- Painted Redstart
- Wild Turkey
- Greater Pewee
- Say's Phoebe
- Dusky-capped Flycatcher
- Brown-crested Flycatcher
- Mexican Jay
- Black-throated Gray Warbler
- Blue-winged Teal
- Cinnamon Teal
- Northern Shoveler
- American Wigeon
- Mallard
- Gambel's Quail
- Pied-billed Grebe
- Sora
- Common Gallinule
- American Coot
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Green Heron
- Black-crowned Night-Heron
- Northern Flicker
- European Starling
- Northern Mockingbird
- House Finch
- Abert's Towhee
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
- Burrowing Owl
- Inca Dove
- White-winged Dove
- Mourning Dove
- Greater Roadrunner
- Broad-billed Hummingbird
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Turkey Vulture
- Harris's Hawk
- Swainson's Hawk
- Zone-tailed Hawk
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-naped Sapsucker
- Acorn Woodpecker
- Gila Woodpecker
- Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet
- Hammond's Flycatcher
- Ash-throated Flycatcher
- Cassin's Kingbird
- Western Kingbird
- Plumbeous Vireo
- Common Raven
- Verdin
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- White-breasted Nuthatch
- Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
- Cactus Wren
- Curve-billed Thrasher
- Hermit Thrush
- American Robin
- Phainopepla
- Pine Siskin
- Brewer's Sparrow
- Black-throated Sparrow
- White-crowned Sparrow
- Song Sparrow
- Green-tailed Towhee
- Bullock's Oriole
- Lucy's Warbler
- Yellow Warbler
- Townsend's Warbler
- Wilson's Warbler
- Summer Tanager
- Western Tanager
- Northern Cardinal
- Black-headed Grosbeak
- Lazuli Bunting
- Rosy-faced Lovebird
- Costa's Hummingbird
- Gilded Flicker
- Hepatic Tanager
- Pygmy Nuthatch
- Gadwall
- Mexican Duck
- Northern Pintail
- Ruddy Duck
- Scaled Quail
- American Avocet
- Wilson's Phalarope
- Great Blue Heron
- American Kestrel
- Chihuahuan Raven
- Mexican Chickadee
- Olive Warbler
- Blue-throated Mountain-gem
- Hairy Woodpecker
- Cassin's Vireo
- Steller's Jay
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