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A dusk flight of Sandhill Cranes. (Photo by guide Chris Benesh)

This year’s Arizona Winter Specialties tour was a pleasure. Despite some cold weather for some of the time, we managed to dodge any significant rain and were treated to a nice variety of species. We started off in Phoenix, spending our first afternoon at the Gilbert Water Ranch. Lots of waterfowl, a few waders, and a smattering of Inca Doves were treats, and dueling Peregrine Falcons and a female Williamson’s Sapsucker added to the excitement.

The following morning, we headed west to the thrasher spot, where we tracked down some Sagebrush Sparrows, Black-tailed Gnatcatchers, as well as Bendire’s and Le Conte’s thrashers. We then explored the Arlington Valley, where we came across some flooded fields filled with various blackbirds, White-faced Ibis, and Long-billed Curlews. We were entertained by a few Ferruginous Hawks along the way. In the afternoon, we tracked down Bell’s Sparrows and Rosy-faced Lovebirds before heading to the hotel.

Our brief morning around Phoenix turned into a more involved deal while we waited for a courier to deliver our new tire. That gave us time to really enjoy the Glendale Recharge Ponds. We saw quite a few good waterbirds there, as well as some Bald Eagles, and two species of gull. Plane nerds picked up lifers too with sightings of F-35s from nearby Luke AFB. After lunch, we were finally free to continue on. While all small geese were elusive, we did see a nice Gilded Flicker before heading to the Arizona Flats. There we connected with some Mountain Plovers, Burrowing Owls, and a Sprague’s Pipit.

The following morning, we headed up to Catalina State Park for a morning encounter with a Rufous-backed Robin. Once it warmed up a bit, conditions were perfect and we had quite a parade of birds coming to drink in the stream. We also had a fabulous view of a Great Horned Owl here. In the afternoon, we hit a couple of spots in Tucson, Tohono Chul, and Sweetwater Wetlands.

The last day of the year found us heading southeast to the natural grasslands of the Empire Ranch and the San Rafael Grasslands. We had a handsome family group of White-tailed Kites, and a beautiful male prairie Merlin. A Sora paraded in the open in front of us. In the afternoon, we visited Pena Blanca Canyon where our best sightings had to be a couple of coveys of Montezuma Quail.

After saying farewell to Hans and Ann-Margreth, the rest of us started in on some New Year’s birding. Our first stop was in Continental. Despite the chilly winds, we had great views of swirling flocks of Horned Larks and a hunting Prairie Falcon. We then headed to Florida Canyon, where Golden Eagle and Elegant Trogon stole the show. Then it was off to Whitewater Draw for the grand finale. We arrived in the afternoon to the sight of many thousands of Sandhill Cranes lounging around the wetlands. As the sun sank lower in the sky, the cranes began heading off to their night roosts, with large streams of birds flying past. Yellow-headed Blackbirds arrived by the hundreds, coming to roost in the cattails. What a climax!

Thanks to all of you for making the trip such a success! It was a pleasure birding with all of you and I look forward to seeing you all again on another trip!

--Chris

KEYS FOR THIS LIST
One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Totals for the tour: 153 bird taxa and 5 mammal taxa