May 17-21, 2025 with Micah Riegner
We crammed a lot of birding into this short 4-day tour. Our first afternoon we went straight to day roosting Flammulated Owl that Andrew Core, a local Tucson birder, had shown me in the morning. Thank goodness it was still there, tucked away in the fork of a Tamarisk. Leaving the owl, we headed straight to Box Canyon, where we saw Five-striped Sparrow and Golden Eagle, then we drove to Madera Canyon for a picnic dinner. Some Dusky-capped Flycatchers came in while we were eating. After dinner we were entertained by Mexican Whip-poor-will that looped around us, some low flying Lesser Nighthawks and a couple of close Elf Owls—not a bad start to the tour!
Excitement continued the next morning at Miller Canyon in the foothills of the Huachucas. We walked up the main trail finding Arizona Woodpecker, Greater Pewee, Grace’s Warbler, an eye-level Red-faced Warbler, numerous hummingbirds, and the main target of the day: Spotted Owl tucked away in an oak. On our way back down, we found the female Flame-colored Tanager that had been reported from the canyon. We did had lunch at a nice Mexican restaurant in Seirra Vista, then took the southern route through Douglas into Portal, finding Scaled Quail and Swainson’s Hawks along State Line Road in the late afternoon. We checked into our rooms in Portal Peak, had dinner, then went to John Coons’ property at dusk. A Poorwill called from the dry wash, but it didn’t show. Later, we did find Poorwill on the Paradise Road. Working our way towards South Fork we encountered both Western and Whiskered Screech-owls that were not far apart from one another, a nice way to conclude a full day of birding.
The following morning, we birded South Forkfor our main target: Northern Pygmy-owl, which we eventually found, sitting in the gorgeous Arizona Sycamores. We then birded the Sunny Flat Campground where there were loads of migrant Wilson’s, Townsend’s and Hermit Warblers at eye level in the mesquites. In the afternoon we visited the Portal feeders seeing huge numbers of migrating Western Tanagers, Scott’s and Bullock’s Orioles and a sneaky Crissal Thrasher that came in for a drink. We birded State Line Road again, this time finding a pair of Bendire’s Thrashers in the Soaptree Yuccas. Our final day of birding we climbed way up into the mixed conifer forest of Rustler Park. Here, we saw a couple Olive Warblers, some Mexican Chickadees, close Steller’s Jays and an Eastern Patch-nosed Snake, a lifer herp for me. From there, we drove to Barfoot finding Virginia’s Warbler on the way. We decided to do our picnic lunch at Pinery and, while I was setting things up, a Spotted Owl vocalized from up the hill. We found it and had great views of it roosting in the shade. After lunch we found a pair of Buff-breasted Flycatchers, then we made our way down the mountain and over to Willcox. Lake Cochise was full of birds, including a number of interesting shorebirds like Snowy Plover, American Golden Plover, Baird’s Sandpiper, and Wilson’s and Red-necked Phalaropes. On our way out we saw a line-up of several Bank Swallows: an uncommon migrant in Arizona. Before reaching the interstate, we stopped to see a flock of Chihuahuan Ravens picking up saltine crackers in someone’s yard. We had great scope looks at them and could even see their white neck feathers when the wind blew just right.
We reached Tucson, had our final dinner, then got some much-needed sleep before our flights the next day. I’d like to thank Caroline in our office for making the arrangements for this tour, Andrew Core for showing me the day-roosting Flammulated Owl in Tucson, and you all for joining me on this short, but productive tour. I look forward to seeing you again soon!
Mammals
Desert Cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii) We saw one outside Portal.
Black-tailed Jackrabbit (Lepus californicus) Seen crouched in shade of a bush at Lake Cochise.
Cliff Chipmunk (Neotamias dorsalis) Highly abundant in the Chiricahuas.
Harris's Antelope Squirrel (Ammospermophilus harrisii) These were at Dave Jasper’s feeders.
Common Rock Squirrel (Otospermophilus variegatus) Another common species in the Chiricahuas.
Mexican Fox Squirrel (Sciurus nayaritensis) Also known as Chiricahua Fox Squirrel; these gorgeous squirrels were running about at South Fork.
Northern Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) We saw one run by at night in Portal.
Northern Raccoon (Procyon lotor) Also seen in Portal.
Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis)
Collared Peccary (Dicotyles tajacu) We saw some along State Line Road outside of Portal.
White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) Highly abundant. Seen every day of the tour.
Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) We saw a few on our drive from Sierra Vista to Portal.
Reptiles
Eastern Patch-nosed Snake (Salvadora grahamiae) We came across one on the road to Onion Saddle in the Chiricahuas--a rare find!
Ornate Tree Lizard (Urosaurus ornatus) One was on the rocks at the Beatty’s.
Yarrow’s Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus jarrovii) A couple were seen at Miller Canyon.
Tiger Whiptail (Aspidoscelis tigris) Seen near State Line Road.
You can see my complete trip report on eBird at this link: https://ebird.org/tripreport/375302
Micah