Arizona Trip, Day 2!

Boy oh boy was today a long day. It seems like we took every wrong turn that we could take, followed bad directions, and just generally got to see a lot more of the desert around Tucson than we planned on seeing. We were gone 13 hours from our hotel room! I will add pictures to this post later, at the moment I'm just too exhausted to sort through them.

First stop in the morning was the Sonora Desert Museum just outside of Saguaro National Park West. It opened at 7:30, and we got there around then. That was a good idea because it got really crowded later in the day. We were out of the museum by 12:30, which was good, because it was getting warm and bright. The temperatures were in the low 80s, but the constant sun was wearing. Saguaros don't cast much of a shadow. Anyway, the desert museum was really cool, and had some cool birds in aviaries (Yellow Grosbeak!) and in a live free flight show that we saw - but those don't count birding wise. Here's the list from the grounds (asterisks are lifers - I don't have energy to highlight the excitement).

1. Cactus Wrens (everywhere)
2. Curve-billed Thrasher
3. Gila Woodpecker
4. Pyrrhuloxia*
5. Mourning Doves (nesting right on the path)
6. White-crowned Sparrow
7. House Sparrow
8. White-winged Doves
9. Turkey Vulture
10. Cooper's Hawk
11. Red-tailed Hawk
12. Chihuahuan Raven*
13. Wilson's Warbler
14. Black Vulture*
15. Costa's Hummingbird
16. Canyon Towhee*
17. Lesser Goldfinch
18. Verdin
19. Gambel's Quail

After wearing ourself out at the museum, we headed off down the road to the visitor's center of Saguaro National Park West. We ate lunch in our car, and then checked out a slide show about the Native American's perspective of the Sonora. We then just lolled around on the deck there for awhile to enjoy the birds and relax in the shade. It turned out to be pretty productive, none the less.

1. Verdin
2. Nashville Warbler
3. Hooded Oriole
4. "Western" Flycatcher (didn't vocalize)
5. Gilded Flicker*
6. Gila Woodpecker
7. Cactus Wren
8. Turkey Vultures
9. Red-tailed Hawks
10. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
11. House Finch
12. Pyrrhuloxia

After resting for a bit there, drinking some fluids, and feeling generally better, we set off on a misguided and torturous trek over to the East unit of Saguaro National Park (which is actually on the opposite side of the city - there is no East-West freeway). After more than an hour, we stopped at the very Northern trail-head. A short walk there gathered a few birds, and then we ate dinner at the main area of that unit. We also took the loop over there, and in all we gathered these few birds:

1. Brewer's Sparrow
2. Black-throated Sparrow
3. Gila Woodpecker
4. Cactus Wren
5. Gambel's Quail
6. Verdin
7. Common Raven
8. White-winged Dove
9. Mourning Dove
10. Canyon Towhee
11. Curve-billed Thrasher
12. Ash-throated Flycatcher

There may have been other birds, but we don't think we forgot to put any lifers. So far, this trip isn't producing enormous day-totals of species. Tomorrow, however, is Madera Canyon!