Though the SE AZ adventure took me an inordinate amount of time to write about and you multiple posts to slog through, the reality is that all of these experiences AND the adventure I’m about to lay before you all transpired in less than 48 hours time. Intense doesn’t even begin to describe it. Typical stories have rising action reaching a climax and then giving way to falling action. That’s not what happened–we redefined the plot diagram. Each thrill one-upped its predecessor. So without further adieu, here is the exciting and jaw-dropping finish to the day that began with an Elegant Trogon lifer.
After a leisurely, sight-seeing drive from Green Valley on April 1st, my family and I made it back to Maricopa around 4:00. Since Evan, Dad, and I were going owling late that evening with Tommy DeBardeleben, the girls of the group (Melissa, Marin, Mom) decided to make it a girls night and see some princess-something-or-other movie. Perfect. Once back at the Maricopa house, the gender-segregated groups went to their respective destinations immediately.
I wanted to get to the Coon Bluff Recreation Site on the Salt River before dark anyhow as I was hoping to pull out a couple more lifers. Mainly I had a gaping Phoebe-hole in my list–the Black Phoebe, which is best Phoebe of all. As we waited for Tommy near the Coon Bluff entrance, we soaked up the last rays and views of an incredible day that began in Madera Canyon.
Cactus Wrens, despite sounding like a motor that won’t start, have motors that are always running as they could be constantly heard throughout the desert.
But no bird dominates the desert habitat near Coon Bluff like the Phainopepla. Try to not see one if you go to Coon Bluff.
Once Tommy arrived, we all went down to the mesquite-bosque near the river to look for some of our pre-dusk targets.
Right away we saw some Vermilion Flycatchers and encountered two Ladder-backed Woodpeckers. The Ladder-backed was a lifer for Evan. The Woodpeckers of Arizona were generally an unfriendly lot to us, snubbing photo attempts and giving poor looks in general.
Once we got next to the Salt River itself, Tommy found us a couple of our Black Phoebe targets. The tail-bobbing and water’s-edge perching behavior was gratifyingly reminiscent of our lone Phoebe species back East.
Shortly after this, Tommy found Evan a Lucy’s Warbler lifer.
But after that tidy-lifering, it was time to head out to the entrance road and wait for darkness to fall.
Darkness and owl hoots weren’t the only thing we were waiting for–bird blogger Laurence Butler of the famed Butler’s Birds was set to join us for some nighttime owl escapades. Whenever a herd of bird nerds gathers, especially of the blogging variety, there is bound to be magic. Tonight was no exception. In fact, once we were all together and started walking the road pictured above in the twilight, Laurence got the night off to the right start by spotting a Great Horned Owl atop a Saguaro.
As we walked along, the nighttime sounds were immediate, omnipresent, and subtle to the untrained owler {me}. Common Poorwills could be heard, and one gave us our life look as it buzzed our heads. Western Screech-Owls proved to be a frustrating lot as we would hear one and head in its direction only to have it mock us by suddenly shutting up. We’d give up and walk away and later hear it back in the same location. This scene replayed many times with different Western Screech-Owls.
Giving up on WESO, Tommy was now hunting Elf Owls. It didn’t take him long to hear one of the tiny guys barking. The hunt was on. Tommy had the Elf confined to a large mesquite tree. Flashlights were immediately bathing the tree from all directions. Then, Tommy called out that he spotted it! As I was heading toward him, Laurence called out that he too had it from the other side with an unobstructed view! So I headed over to Laurence. Nice guy that he is, he waited to take his own pictures and held up the light so I could get my life look and photograph of the Elf Owl. Too bad I was a nighttime-owling novice and blew this gift by not using flash! I distinctly remember watching the yellow blur of the eyes through the viewfinder as it swiveled its head at the last second. And then it flushed further into the tree disappearing altogether.
So now the hunt was on again for the 6 in. owl in the large tree. I may have thrown away an incredible photographic opportunity, but I somewhat made up for it by making my only contribution to the owl efforts that night as I refound the sparrow-sized Elf buried deep in the branches.
This Elf Owl never did give us any more good lucks, though Laurence found and crushed a second bird in a different location. At least Evan was with him and got good looks at that bird. With crush in hand, the punctual Laurence departed from us at his preordained time. This decision was both foolish and sacrificial, for whenever one leaves a birding party prematurely, it all but guarantees that greatness will happen for those who persevere. And indeed, that is exactly what happened.
Dad and Evan decided to rest back at the van in the parking lot while Tommy and I were going to take one more crack at the owls. With just the two of us, we could haul and cover a lot of ground quickly. It turns out that covering lots of ground was not necessary since we once again had a calling Western Screech-Owl. We set after it immediately. The sound was subtle and quiet to me, so I was baffled when Tommy said it was really close. I thought for sure it was a long way off. However, we heard it in front of us, walked a short distance, and then heard it behind us! We now had the Screech confined to one tree! We shined our lights on the tree and in seconds Tommy hollered, “Josh! I got it!”
There, there on a branch in the middle of the tree with nothing blocking our view was the amazing Western Screech-Owl! It was stunning.
After we each got several nice photographs, it dawned on me that this Owl was very content. So I left Tommy to go back and get Dad and Evan so they could see this cool bird too. Though in my excitement and in the darkness, I ran up to the wrong van. Thankful to not be shot by the camping inhabitants or see the goings-on behind the blanket curtain that hung from the open lift-gate, I collected myself enough to find the correct van. After startling my dad awake and hopping in, we punched it to get back to Tommy.
I needn’t have hurried because the Screech was exactly as I left him, and Evan and Dad got great looks at their lifer too. Then, inspired by Tommy, the only birder I’ve heard of taking selfies with birds, hilarity ensued as we each found ourselves posing with the Owl. Intoxicated with some good owling luck as well the thrill that comes from good, clean fun selfie antics, we could not stop laughing.
Obviously, Tommy is much more experienced at this, and therefore much better at the bird selfies than I. One thing I have learned from Tommy is the importance of having fun while doing this hobby. It is clear that I still have much to learn this owl Jedi.
By this point we had completely lost our minds and were attempting the GREATEST OWL SELFIE OF ALL TIME–both of us posing together directly underneath the bird. Maybe it was the giggles, maybe it was that we didn’t have a mint, or maybe it was that the owl was just fed up with the freak show because it left just as we were almost in position. Oh well. It was still the coolest and most hilarious owling I’ve ever experienced. And I’ve owled a LOT.
Finally it was time to go. We said our goodbyes to Tommy until we have a frosty reunion Up North next winter. Then we headed back to my parents’ place in Maricopa for a much-needed night of sleep after an Elegant Trogon lifer at dawn and wild Western-Screech party well after dusk.
I long to return to the desert for more nightime owling. Next time, though, I’ll be prepared with a better flashlight, a well-rehearsed selfie pose, and my leather boots…
It was an unforgettable night with Evan, Dad, Laurence, and Tommy. We padded the life list with a few more birds which pushed Evan up and over the big 300. More importantly we had a lot of fun doing it. Oh, and if you’re feeling sorry for Laurence for missing the big party at the end, don’t. Our WESO shots gnawed at him enough to get him back out there for a second and very successful photo shoot.
The 2015 Arizona series has eight chapters: 1) Maricopa Birds, 2) Mt. Lemmon, 3) Florida Canyon, 4) Madera Canyon Part 1, 5) Madera Canyon Part 2, 6) Evan’s Big Discovery, 7) Owling at Coon Bluff on the Salt River, and 8) Evan’s Nemesis.
Whenever owls are involved, one should always give credit where credit is due. Here is the discoverer admiring his prize.
The Great Horned Owl wasn’t the only great bird at the hotel. I managed to find a Black-throated Sparrow, Cactus Wren, and even a lifer Hooded Oriole or three for Evan!
Tommy and Gordon actually contributed to the owl discovery as they found the male tucked up into a palm tree! We now had two adults in view!
Tommy and Gordon were excited with the find too, namely because they had gotten us this key lifer, but also because it is a fantastic year bird for them. The only comparison I have is a Great Gray Owl to a Minnesota birder–it’s a bird we can never count on, is elusive and easily missed, and is always a thrill to see. So as the bird kept calling and moving up the slope, Tommy asked me, “You want to go after it, Josh?” Um, yeah!
After double-lifering, our party of four continued up the wash in hopes of refinding the Trogon or finding a new one altogether.
Finally the sun crested the mountain peaks, washing the valleys below with beautiful light. Evan announced he had found a great photo-op of an abiding Mexican Jay while Gordon and Tommy simultaneously found him his Hutton’s Vireo lifer. I opted for photographing the Jay while Evan got his Vireo. Great photo-scouting, Evan.
And nearing the parking lot, we were also able to get Evan his Bridled Titmouse lifer. I was finally able to get a photo of them.
The Broad-billed Hummingbirds were as thick as flies around the feeding station. I am not sorry I am forcing you to look at another Broad-billed shot. Drink it in. It will be the last Broad-billed you see on this blog in 2015.
There was too much going on–internally and externally–to worry about good photos, and we had to keep the main objective in front of us–finding an Elegant Trogon that had been reported in recent days in the shady, lower regions of Florida Canyon. Things eventually slowed down as we scanned carefully for the Trogon. The secondary lifering now came at a nice, steady pace. Lucy’s Warbler clinched the coveted #4 spot for this third stop of the day.
In my naivete’ I thought this was one my chance at a Painted Redstart and therefore wanted to stay on it until I could get satisfactory photos. But Tommy and Gordon had my best birding interests at heart along with the knowledge that this would not be the last Painted Redstart of the day, so they said it was time to move on to higher ground. Before we could make it back to the car, we had two more lifers–uncooperative, tree-top dwelling Pygmy Nuthatches and an equally stubborn Acorn Woodpecker.
We got to enjoy the sights and sounds of a Spotted Towhee who was calling voraciously at Cypress before we went further up the mountain to Rose Canyon. The lifering again started immediately at Rose Canyon as a calling Hutton’s Vireo was announcing his presence.
One bird that really fired up Tommy and Gordon was a calling Buff-breasted Flycatcher. I honestly hadn’t read up on the bird, but these guys were telling me what a good find this was especially this far north. I certainly understand how rarity can enhance a bird’s desirability, so I was pleased to tally this bird for which Kaufman gives no range map in his field guide.
Good birds can be had in my parents’ yard and just beyond. My dad had been seeing a Greater Roadrunner around the house recently. Evan and I were going to set out to see if we could find it. As I was literally walking out to get Evan in the back yard, I caught a fast glimpse of the Roadrunner himself on the fence! While I was able to finally put this lifer to rest, Evan still didn’t see it–something that would become a common theme for the trip…
No trip to Arizona is complete without seeing the bodacious and skittish Gambel’s Quail.
What are a couple of birders to do when they are kicked out of the house for a bonafide girls-only, princess birthday tea-party? Hmmmm…
This sighting at a birding-rave may be the rarest thing I’ve seen yet. Just how special is a Cinnamon Teal in Minnesota? It’s drive-your-Porsche-on-gravel special.
And they were doing their courtship dances! It was an incredible thing to watch even from a distance.
