Date: 6/24/26 1:39 pm From: dpsiminski (via aznmbirds Mailing List) <aznmbirds...> Subject: [AZNMbirds] San Pedro River Birding Walk
This morning, 10 birders participated in The Friends of the San Pedro River’s
Birding Walk. From the San Pedro House, we birded the river, Garden Wash, old
farm fields, Chihuahuan desert scrub, a flooded abandoned gravel pit, and an
old oxbow pond along the San Pedro House trail system. This is all within the
BLM’s San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area. We saw 45 species of
birds.
Our bird of the day was a juvenile Peregrine falcon. We saw it perched on one
of the Soaptree Yuccas south of the San Pedro House. Peregrines are highly
unusual in the Conservation Area during the summer. We speculated that it
might be a dispersing juvenile from one of the eyries in the Huachuca
Mountains. We had a distant view, but still an exciting sighting.
Some other highlights were a Lesser Nighthawk making as few passes at Black
Phoebe Pond before dipping its beak in the pond for a drink, Barn Swallows
nesting again on the San Pedro House for the first time in many years, and
lots of Blue Grosbeaks.
The one occupied Great Blue Heron nest on this stretch of the river still has
nestlings, but very large nestlings, seemingly as big as the adults but with
black foreheads, not the white foreheads of the adults. With the river
reduced to just puddles on this stretch of river, the puddles are packed with
invasive American Bullfrogs. Easy prey for the adult herons, and tasty meals
for the nestlings.
A non-bird highlight of the walk was three species of velvet ants. The
Magnificent (it is) Velvet Ant, the Thistledown (it resembles a downy creosote
bush seed tumbling along the ground) Velvet Ant, and the Fox’s Velvet Ant.
The Friends of the San Pedro River leads birding walks on the second and
fourth Wednesday of each month. For the months of June, July and August, the
walks leave at 6:00a from the BLM’s San Pedro House south of State Route 90
just west of the San Pedro River. We walk about 4km, and we are out for about
three to three and one half hours. Bring your own binoculars, a hat and water.
The next San Pedro River birding walk is on Wednesday, 8 July, at 6:00a.
See you there.
Pete Siminski
Friends of the San Pedro River
Sierra Vista AZ
