Date: 2/24/25 5:15 pm From: Dan Drislane <ddrislane...> Subject: Re: [AZNMbirds] Davis Pasture Longspur spot - dry
No. Enter the gate from Curly Horse road when it takes a 90° turn to the north presuming you're coming from sonoita. People think they need to park at the gate and walk in but this is BLM... you can walk or you can drive in I prefer to drive in because then you can canvas the whole area around the paddock and the water hole. Just a tip... that gate is a real tight gate and many birders have not been able to put the gate back in the way it should and this is the one way you will be denied access in the future. Make sure if you take a gate down you put it back up. I'm not aware of any road coming from the southeast from the main Cienega road so not sure what you're referring to.
Thanks,
Dan
[signatureImage]
________________________________
From: <aznmbirds-request...> <aznmbirds-request...> on behalf of Tom Arny <tarny...>
Sent: Monday, February 24, 2025 3:18:35 PM
To: AZNMChat <AZNMBirds...>
Subject: [AZNMbirds] Davis Pasture Longspur spot - dry
I spent this morning (February 24, 2025) looking for longspurs near Sonoita, AZ. I started at the Davis Pasture spot off Highway 82 and discovered that the small pond, which had attracted longspurs and many other grassland birds, was dry. I saw only a distant Kestrel there. Whether the folks running cattle there will add water to the now-empty pond, I don't know.
I then headed to the Curly Horse Road/Smith Tank area. There was still a good deal of water in the pond there and eventually I got nice looks at Thick-billed Longspurs (at least 5), numerous Horned Larks, and 2 Mountain Bluebirds. An American Pipit or two and a Killdeer were also around.
I had a question about this spot, however. I approached it from the west but found the maze of roads/cattle tracks a bit hard to navigate through. Is it better to approach from the south east?
--
Tom Arny
PO Box 545
Patagonia, AZ 85624
tarny AT vtc.net
