Date: 2/19/25 9:23 pm From: henry detwiler (via aznmbirds Mailing List) <aznmbirds...> Subject: [AZNMbirds] Willcox & the Chiricahua Mts.
Greetings Birders,
It was really windy by the time I reached the road leading through Pinery Canyon (15 Jan), the path I usually take over the mountains on my way to Portal. Bird calls were lost in the wind, and sightings were few. I finally managed a few Yellow-eyed and Dark-eyed Juncos, and a handsome male Williamson’s Sapsucker. Up on Onion Saddle I stopped wherever the wind was blocked, and before long had a few montane species like Pygmy Nuthatch and the local Mexican Chickadee. Down in Cave Creek Canyon I tried some owling that evening, but perhaps due to the winds, heard nothing.
Early on 16 Jan I got up before dawn, braved the freezing temperatures, went back to the South Fork of Cave Creek, and heard four owls: two Whiskered Screech-Owls and two Northern Saw-whet Owls. I even got to see and get a couple of blurry photos of the final tiny saw-whet owl. At Jasper's feeders in Portal, I added many nice species, including Blue-throated Mountain-gem and Pyrrhuloxia, and a locally rare Rufous-winged Sparrow. At the agricultural plots northeast of Portal I missed the longspurs, but did see and photograph a Bendire's Thrasher. The road to Paradise and the surroundings yielded a Townsend's Solitaire, a couple of Juniper Titmice, and two Black-chinned Sparrows.Â
On Monday I visited a wonderful feeding station being visited by an incredible variety of birds. The best were a Brown Thrasher and a Gray Catbird. Other nice birds were Cedar Waxwings, Bushtits, Crissal & Sage Thrashers, and four species of towhees. At Cave Creek Ranch a neat American Goldfinch was coming in to the feeders with what seemed like a couple hundred Lesser Goldfinches. After lunch I drove over Onion Saddle and headed back down Pinery Canyon. The winds started up again, but I still came away with more Mexican Chickadees, Brown Creepers, a Red-naped Sapsucker, and an Arizona Woodpecker.
My final morning birding (18 Jan) was at Willcox, at the lake and golf course. Thousands of Sandhill Cranes were fanning out to the north and south from their nighttime roost. At the old wood dump I watched a Prairie Falcon, a flock of Lark Buntings, and numerous sparrows. And best of all, I heard and then saw a solitary Scaled Quail. Six Snow Geese and a Ferruginous Hawk were also nice. I made it home by 4:00 p.m.
It had been a great weekend! My 2025 total now stands at 242.
Some eBird reports with photos:https://url.usb.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/LmLQCypWZBt7gAvOmuZfRTxx7V8?<domain...>
Good Birding!Henry D. <Detwilerhenry_detwiler...>, AZ
Finding Birds in Southwest Arizonahttps://url.usb.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/yK3YCzqg1DiG3OlWNsXh9T9Mihl?<domain...> Birds at the Salton Sea and in Imperial County, https://url.usb.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/J6h2CA8EBztZgGypJu9ijTGUCBt?<domain...>
