From a small town to a big city...
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A Birding Blog
By Jared Conaway
From a small town to a big city...
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Hi everyone! I have not posted in a LONG TIME. With laziness, business, and lack of time combined, I slack on my blog. Sorry 'bout that. But hey, I just couldn't postpone a post like this for weeks! Have you ever heard of the Chiricahua Mountains of southeast Arizona? Well, if you've never been there, you MUST GO! It is SO BEAUTIFUL! Trust me, it's a place you will want to visit in your lifetime, and revisit... The Chiricahuas- or Sky islands- is an isolated, and massive range in extreme southeastern AZ. To the east of the range, New Mexico, and to the south, Mexico.EARED QUETZALS, THICK-BILLED PARROTS, and TUFTED FLYCATCHERS have been found there in the past. After visiting the mountains, I saw very clearly why they're known as the Sky Islands. Huge mountains- the tallest peak, Mt. Chiricahua- erupt over 9,000 ft. over an ocean of savannah, the Chihuahuan Desert. One moment, you're driving through a vast grassland, the next, in the most beautiful mountain range in Arizona! The landscape is incredibly unique, both in distribution and beauty. Over 1000 plants reside there, most endemics, and 374 species of bird found within Chiricahua National Monument! Even species that aren't endemic, typically have an extremely tiny range, or are really rare. From Glendale, it was about 3 hrs & 50 min, a VERY long drive! But a great one! I can't wait to revisit the location, especially now that I know about the spectacular birds that live there! South of Tuscon, past the small, remote town of Willcox, I saw my first lifer of the trip. Many CHIHUAHUAN RAVENS soared over the vast, yellow sea. The only vegetation besides grass were sparsely distributed PRAIRIE ACACIAS, WHITETHORN ACACIAS, and various Agaves. The Chihuahuan Ravens are very magnificent birds in flight, very acrobatic like their cousin. The tail, and size in relation to nearby Commons, habitat, range, and size in relation to their surroundings are the best objects to take into account when identifying these Corvids. The easiest way to identify them has to be the tail, it is shaped like a pentagon (best way to describe it), whereas the Common Rave's tail is diamond-shaped, and longer/narrower. Chihuahuan Raves also don't have that stretchy appearance that Commons have (long bill, long tail, and long, narrow wings) One more thing about these Raves, if you see a Raven soaring over a canyon or peak in the Chiricahuas, it's a Common. If you see a Raven soaring over the dead, yellow sea surrounding the sky islands, Chihuahuan Ravens outnumber Common Ravens. I saw quite a few more Chihuahuans than Commons once closer to the mountains, (also where the grassland looks the deadest). With how dead the landscape is for hundreds of square miles, a high elevation, forested island oasis seems impossible. Ominous Mountains seem like just a dream. And then, that moment struck and we were in shady, green Coniferous forest. We got in & and out of the Visitor Center quickly, with a map of the hike that lay ahead. There were a few birds that were making magpie-like contact calls. I gave a guess of what they were in my head, and my suspicions were confirmed when a juvenile MEXICAN JAY flew over to a try near to me. Franticly, I snapped some great (but not quite perfect) photos, just so I had a couple for my blog in case I didn't find any again, or those ones went somewhere else. If I encountered them again (which I had a feeling I would) I would take my time, and get a few or a lot more spectacular photos. With the Jays photographed, we began the hike. The floral diversity was phenomenal, particularly with conifers and oaks. The dominant trees were APACHE PINE, CHIHUAHUAN PINE, JOHANN'S PINYON, and BORDER PINYON, all lifers. A few other additions were; SILVERLEAF OAK, MEXICAN BLUE OAK, ARIZONA MADRONE, NETLEAF OAK, and PARRY'S AGAVE. That's just a few. A little into the hike, I spotted a PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER just as it returned from its fly-catching routine to its perch. The Pacific-slope Flycatcher and Cordilleran Flycatcher are said to be 2 of the hardest empids to identify. The only reason I was able to identify this beautiful flycatcher with confidence is because its the only 1 of the 2 to be in the Chiricahuas this early in the year. That's lucky. Having his cousin around to deal with would have made things difficult. I had the camera with me, but didn't photograph my fly-catching lifer. I can't believe I didn't. The very next rest break, just a few minutes later, I found another flycatcher. This one was tiny, warbler sized, but was certainly an emp. He would give brief glimpses of color when he jumped into the light, but of course, he was uncooperative. He kept singing, and every close approach resulted in him moving away. All I wanted was for him to sit in front of my binos. And a photograph. And of course I didn't get that either. From what I did see when he showed color, he had black wings with white wing-bars, and an eyering. He never really left the area, but he moved everywhere, and I did get great looks, just not colorful ones (you know how when you're looking towards the sun and the bird just happens to stay in that direction, so it's just a silhouette. I'm lucky this bird sang, because without its distinctive song I would have never concluded what it was. I can't wait to see the BUFF-BREASTED FLYCATCHER again! Next time in color! Birds are beautiful, but I would like to see that! Leave a comment if you have the same problem. Anyways, great bird to see in southeast Arizona, but mean't to be enjoyed. Besides, I would be able to hold my case better when the ebirders strike, which they shouldn't if I included in the comments that I saw the bird well. 20 minutes later, someone yelled, "PEEK!" Not eek, peek. Because it was a woodpecker. Guess in the comments below the genus of woodpeckers that make that call. A heard-only (come on) ARIZONA WOODPECKER, another bird I really wanted to enjoy! He made sure not to show himself, and only called twice. Right now I wish I was still in the Chiricahuas. I probably shouldn't complain, because; My great friend that I've called hundreds of times and only birded twice with is coming down next week, right after Easter I believe. My Spring Break will be that week because he's coming down. He also said he wants to check out southeast Arizona while he's here, so him and I HAVE to go to Chiricahuas! Some of the birds I saw (and missed) will be breeding in much larger numbers then, like the Buff-breasted Flycatcher. A bird I did finally get great looks at (and I did try to photograph) were BUSHTITS, which would sporadically show up during the hike, skulking, jumping around us, and calling. Here's some epic photos Dad and I snapped during the first half of the hike. Above is the JOHANN'S PINYON, a species restricted to the Chiricahuas in the US. It's a very beautiful conifer. APACHE PINE adjacent to an ARIZONA CYPRESS, photographed at the visitor center. It has the longest needles of any American pine. Very similar to the Ponderosa Pine, to which it is closely related, but like the Johann's Pinyon, is restricted to AZ's Sky Islands, very common. Also notice the grayer bark, with a slightly different texture. SILVER-LEAF OAK and yet another photo of an Emory Oak. A 3rd species, MEXICAN BLUE-OAK, was not photographed, even though I should've. And here's some BORDER PINYONS for ya! It's not just the birds that are specialties for southeast Arizona... I'm sure you know the reason they're called Border pinyons. Border Pinyons are much like the northern group of pinyons, having the same short needles, and similar bark texture & color. Johann's Pinyon looks similar to the Chihuahuan Pine, with longer needles than other pinyons. YARROW'S SPINY LIZARD. One of 2 species of spiny lizard seen during the hike. And then we were higher up. The pines to the far right are CHIHUAHUAN PINES, unique with black bark and grass-green needles, about the length of Lodgepole & Limber pines' Can you see why the Chiricahuas are nicknamed the Sky Islands? Well in these photos you should! And here's a Chihuahuan Pine for ya. PARRY'S AGAVE and MOUNTAIN YUCCA. The latter was a common plant throughout the trail. Arizona's Sky Islands are like nothing you'll ever see... This is a Net-leaf Oak: Notice how the leaf broadens as further away from the stem, and how the edges curve down and in. Below is a SCARTLET-CUP HEDGEHOG-CACTUS, PANCAKE PRICKLY-PEAR, and TEXAS PRICKLY-PEAR. The CLARK'S SPINY-LIZARD. The only common reptile seen on the trail. I saw 3 GOLDEN EAGLES do simultaneous shallow stoops, indicating a family relationship (mated pair with juvenile), they were beautiful birds, that I hadn't seen in a while! I used to see them all the time at Hatcher Pass, and I believe I was the only one in the valley who actually got photographs. TURKEY VULTURES and COMMON RAVES were commonly seen soaring over the archipelago. Just a quick note: I never highlight the latter, and rarely the former! I even caught sight of a singing BEWICK'S WREN! Closer to the beginning of the hike, I heard what I swear was a male MONTEZUMA QUAIL singing, a few times. But, I think I should SEE the freaking gorgeous bird before I list him, and second, it could've something else. Even if it wasn't something else, that bird is too beautiful to list without a sighting. Like mentioned earlier, a return to southeast Arizona should be happening soon. We're going to be escaping the heat often this summer, and later in spring. You expect an Alaskan to survive the upcoming oven temperatures? Above photo is of a probable MEXICAN PINYON. First identified as Border Pinyon. By now you've probably noticed that my style of photo placement has changed. It used to be I would right about my adventure, have a column of labeled pictures, followed by a conclusion. Then I decided I liked the idea of manipulating the photos into the story, livening up the post a little. Just so you know, there was a 3rd pinyon species that wasn't photographed, because it was seen while driving, called the MEXICAN PINYON. All right, here's a quick story about an amazing event that happened before the end of the hike; We were looking around, admiring the beauty of the place we were visiting, and talking. Then there was a high-pitched rattling. "There's a freaking rattlesnake!!" Screamed my Dad. He didn't scream, but he didn't yell either, plus he said it kinda higher-pitched than normal. I'll call it a "scream" for now. Anyways, the rattler turned out to be a little one, rattling as it slithered on through away from us. I'm positive a lot of you are making disgusted faces and maybe reading in horror, but SERIOUSLY, it's just a rattlesnake. Right after Dad screamed "rattlesnake," I quickly spotted the little serpent slither off the path and towards cover. At this, in desperation, my reaction was; "Oh my gosh, oh my GOSH! I HAVE to get a photo!" Luckily, I had the camera already strung around my neck. I popped off the lens cap, a bit slow because my fingers were shaking with excitement and desperation, so I couldn't get a grip, and snapped a couple photos. YES!! I had seen my first, wild, RATTLESNAKE! That little juvenile was adorable too. In the end, it was identified as a BANDED ROCK RATTLER, apparently a small species, and my very first! This was a lucky encounter, because that species is only found in that area of the entire stat! They are widespread in Texas and New Mexico, though. That kicks off my goal to see all 13 of Arizona's rattlesnake species! After the phenomenal encounter with that magnificent snake, we got slapped by rain and wind. In an area that was sheltered from rain and wind for about one second, had chickadees. MEXICAN CHICKADEES! (!!!!!) Like a Brideled Titmouse, but with a husky voice. I saw them quite a few times, but again, in awful lighting. And the sun wasn't even out. Some large passerines with tapering primaries flew over while we were there. Townsend's Solitaire, American Robin, Greater pewee, Olive-sided Flycatchers, Sulfur-bellied Flycatchers seem to be the only matches. They made no sound, so it's really hard to confirm what they were. I listened to the songs and calls of all my guesses on Audubon and Cornell lab, but none of those sounds rang in the canyon. We saw 4 deer, COUE'S WHITE-TAILED DEER cross the road -just as we left the national monument visitor center- and disappear into the woods (actually they never disappeared out of sight). We stopped at Massai Point to see what birds we could find. The wind was horrible there, threatning to blow me off the Chiricahuas. There was a little overlook "hut" with a door to look out at the astonishing view, but be safe from the whispering wind. The wind wasn't as terrible once we left the shelter, but still slammed the door shut. A few adult Mexican Jays were active, talking to one another about the guy with a camera and binoculars. It was great when one of them posed and perched pretty still, despite the roaring winds of the Sky islands threatning to blow him right off his resting branch. And these are the photos I got: Litterally, a few seconds after we left Massai Point; "YELLOW-EYED JUNCOS!" I proclaimed, as 2 juncos with a limited amount of white on the outer tail feathers and extensive red on wings fltted right across the front of the car! That was my last lifer for the trip. And that's what it looks like pretty much all the way from the Chiricahuas to Tuscon (and vise versa). From a dead landscape to a lively one...
I hope you all enjoyed this post, I enjoyed the adventure! I have a TIMELINE post I'm currently working on. I'm Jared Conaway, and stay tuned for my next adventure!!
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December 2019
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