Greetings Birders,
Five hours after leaving Yuma in the dark on Sunday (15 June) I was making my way south along the San Pedro River at Hereford. BLUE GROSBEAKS, YELLOW WARBLERS, and VERMILION FLYCATCHERS were just a few of the many beautiful birds there. Once I arrived at the spot where Brian had spotted the vagrant Yellow-crowned Night Heron the day prior, I ran into another couple. “Have you seen the Night Heron?” “Well, we did, but we scared it off, and it flew south.” So south I went. More fine birds like SUMMER TANAGER, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, and a pair of GRAY HAWKS. By 10:30 the heat surpassed all the fun I was having, and I cried Uncle.
Shortly after noon I made it to Harshaw Creek, in search of a nesting ROSE-THROATED BECARD. I succeeded in finding the big hanging nest using Cathy’s coordinates, but didn’t see hide nor hair of the becard. I did see a WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE on a nest, and watched a pair of ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS. Then, in a huge cottonwood along the creek, south of the hanging nest, I heard a ROSE-THROATED BECARD give its chirpy/scrambled call. And after a few minutes, it called again. An hour later, at the river ford just north of the nest, I was really happy to see the female becard on a low branch and snap a few photos!
The next day (16 June), shortly before dawn, I stopped along Monson Road, and was greeted by a fine morning chorus. Both GAMBEL’S and SCALED QUAIL were calling, as were NORTHERN CARDINALS, a GREAT HORNED OWL, doves, finches, and best of all, two BOTTERI’S SPARROWS.
As the sun peeked over the horizon, I started my second quest for the Yellow-crowned Night Heron. Early on, a YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO was my first for the year. A surprise was my first opossum for Arizona, which scampered right next to my feet in the moist river channel. A flock of 8 WOOD DUCKS were nice to see, and I got fine pics of the GRAY HAWKS. But after several miles of hiking, I once again accepted defeat at the hands of the night-heron.
A trip over to the Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary yielded many good birds—the SCOTT’S and BULLOCK’S ORIOLES were the most colorful. Box Canyon, the Santa Rita Lodge, Madera Kubo, and the Paton’s Hummingbird Haven all had a wonderful assortment of breeding birds. I was going to drive home during the heat of the day, but my wife Suzanne convinced me to give the heron another chance or two at fame, maybe even trying an evening hunt.
So that’s what I did. As the sun crept lower, and the temperatures abated, I went to the big bend in the San Pedro River where the bird had originally been seen, and within minutes had the beast, the Yellow-crowned Night Heron, in my binoculars! Unfortunately it flew off before I could snap a photo, but thanks to Suzanne, I had my bird, #368 for the year.
eBird reports with some photos:https://url.usb.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/jl0jC7DqomiWzMm63s8fkhoFpv-?<domain...>
Good Birding!Henry D. <Detwilerhenry_detwiler...>, AZ
Finding Birds in Southwest Arizonahttps://url.usb.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/u90SC8XrpnfwX3jMnF1hOhynLmL?<domain...> Birds at the Salton Sea and in Imperial County, https://url.usb.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/qp5aC93vqouYznmKoF3ivhqyTRB?<domain...>
