Day two of my Southeast Arizona birding trip was great. I was able to go to Brown Canyon, which is only a few minutes away from Sierra Vista AZ. I also went to Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve, and the "Paton Hummingbird House" which was pretty amazing. I also went to Box Canyon which will be the topic of my next posting.
3.5 Sierra Vista Highway
Harris's Hawk 427
Wednesday July 31st 2019:
4. Brown Canyon Ranch, Sierra Vista, AZ 85650, USA
Dusky Capped Flycatcher 427
Acorn Woodpecker 428
Ladder Backed Woodpecker 429
Canyon Towhee 430
Botteri's Sparrow 431
Montezuma Quail 431 (Heard only)
Anna's Hummingbird 432
Pyrrhuloxia 433
Mexican Jay 434
5. Ramsay Canyon, 27 E Ramsey Canyon Rd (Nature Conservancy), Hereford, AZ 85615, USA
Brown Canyon and Ramsey Canyon are basically adjacent to each other. Driving up to this area was pretty amazing! I was there at 6am, just after sunrise, but it was easy to see Ladder-backed and Gila Woodpeckers on the telephone posts along the road. Pyrrhuloxia (which looks like a cardinal) was seen, along with "Mexican Azure Bluebirds" (a subspecies of eastern bluebirds), various flycatchers, kingbirds, sparrows, Acorn Woodpeckers... its was pretty amazing. At the Brown Canyon Ranch, I had heard Montazuma Quail (pointed out to me by another birder), Botteri's Sparrows (common), Says Phoebe, Vermillion Flycatcher, Anna's Hummingbirds, and Cayon Towhee.
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| Not Western Bluebirds ! These are "Mexican Azure Bluebirds" - A subspecies of Eastern Bluebirds! |
6. Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve Visitor Center, 150 Blue Heaven Road, Patagonia, AZ 85624, USA (And Paton Hummingbird Center)
Violet Capped Hummingbird 436
Black Phoebe 437
Inca Dove 438
Gambels Quail 439
Cassin's Sparrow 440 (grasslands between canyons)
Phainopepla 441
Patagonia-Sonoita area, with the Paton Center for Hummingbirds, was surprisingly awesome. Upon arrival, I had seen Gambels Quail (with chicks), Violet crowned Hummingbird, Black Phoebe, Inca Dove. On the way to this site, while driving though grassy habitat between mountains - I stopped along the side of the road for a quick break (I had lots of coffee that morning) and I noticed a singing sparrow. To my amazement, the sparrow would sing and take flight in a brief skylarking show. It was pretty cool to see this ... because this behavior is unique to Cassin's Sparrows!
I actually went to a place called "Box Canyon" after I went to Patagonia-Sonoita but I will push that into its own posting because ... it was that good.
Good birding!
Dwayne
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