Date: 7/27/26 10:20 am From: Richard Webster (via aznmbirds Mailing List) <aznmbirds...> Subject: [AZNMbirds] [SEAZ] Eared Quetzal heard in South Fork, Cave Creek Canyon
Hi Folks:
Mid-morning Rose Ann Rowlett and I were walking up the trail in South Fork,
Cave Creek Canyon, when we heard two songs that we both identified as Eared
Quetzal. We saw nothing then and in the hour more we spent in the area,
nor did we hear anything more. Dave Jasper had passed us a few minutes
earlier, and he came back, having independently identified singing Eared
Quetzal after seeing naked eye a red trogon-like bird in flight flying down
canyon toward us (his 14th Eared Quetazl in this region!!). We looked with
him for a little while, and left him up there. The bird was along the
trail above the end of the road, on the left bank (river captain’s
perspective/rule, facing downstream), up canyon from the second stream
crossing above the Wilderness Area sign; this is next to the nice stretch
of semi-permanent water in the creek just below the third crossing (about
the only water you will see on your hike unless we start getting some
serious rain). That is three observers experienced with this species who
are sure that they heard Eared Quetzal and are sorry they don’t have
something more useful to tell you. If I did manage to record a fragment of
the second song, I will add it to the eBird list. There was a
Coppery-tailed Trogon vocalizing occasionally above the right bank in this
area. We really don’t think someone was using playback in this area,
someone we otherwise didn’t encounter.
