Arizona Three

We didn't take many pictures on our third day, but that wasn't because we were bored. First thing in the morning, we got out of bed, took down camp, and headed to Florida Canyon to go for a hike. We really like this little canyon. It doesn't have a real trail, but you can hop up the rocks to a stone dam, around which there have been Rufous-capped Warblers seen for the last few years. None this summer, however, but we like the place well enough to visit it even if they're not there.

It turns out that during the summer, the canyon is pretty well choked with vegetation. It's hard to move about in it, but there are still neat birds. There were Scott's Orioles chasing each other around, and Varied Buntings singing, including some female-plumaged birds which I assume were first spring males. We also found some more tree frogs, a pretty little Ring-necked Snake, and a cool little pond with water bugs living in it.

After our hike we drove to Sierra Vista via Patagonia. This means taking the 19 south to Nogales, whence you head north-east on the 82. Just before Nogales, we pulled off and checked some ponds for Black-bellied Whistling Ducks and Tropical Kingbirds. The Kingbirds were not around, but we did find some Whistling Ducks pretty easily.

We tried again for the kingbirds at Kino Springs off of the 82, but it was hot by the time we arrived and there was precious little going on. So, we jumped back in the car. We made the obligatory stops at the Patagonia Roadside Rest, where we enjoyed Thick-billed Kingbirds and riparian birds, the Paton's, where we enjoyed Violet-crowned Hummingbirds and a nice male Rufous Hummingbird, before hitting the road, again.

Once we were into the Patagonia-Sonoita grassland area we started stopping and checking for Cassin's Sparrows, again, which would be a lifer. We'd be trying for these in any likely habitat we could find, even resorting to tapes. We had found lots of Botteri's Sparrows, but no Cassin's Sparrows. Past Sonoita, though, we pulled off onto the Elgin intersection and rolled down the window. A beautiful Cassin's Sparrow song floated in. You can hear what they sound like here. There were several singing, but it took awhile to get one into the scope. Meanwhile, we also picked up our only Lark Sparrows for the trip, and got a great look at a beautiful little Grasshopper Sparrow that came into playback and posed fetchingly on a barbed wire fence.

Then it was on to Sierra Vista, where we got the last available room at the Best Western. It was great to take showers after a couple of sweaty days of camping. After dinner we made a visit to Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast, where we enjoyed talking to the gracious hostess, and a few other birders while we watched and waited for the local Lucifer Hummingbirds to make their evening visit. They did, and we were appropriately wowed by these neat birds before heading back to bed for the night.

A few pictures from our morning hike are here: Arizona 3.