Arizona; The Final Leg

Day Five 3am

I was awoken by a noise that sounded frighteningly like footsteps in the parlor room. There were not any reports from past guest of any strange happenings while staying at The James Riordan house so I bravely chalked it up to an old house making strange sounds. After sleeping for what felt like a few minutes I was again startled by the sound. This time however the sound was moving. It started in the parlor room squeeeeak... squeeeeak... then it moved into the master bedroom where we were sleeping... squeeeeak... squeeeeak. It then came around the bed and stopped next to me.
I could not see anything because I had the blanket up over my head while curled up in the fetal position. Was it James Riordan coming to evict us from his home? Perhaps it is just JoAnna lost in the dark? Possibilities popped into my head as I was frozen in fear. After several minutes (although it could have been a couple hours) I eventually mustered the courage to reach over and JoAnna was still in bed. What was the sound that I heard? Am I going crazy? No… no you’re not crazy. Eventually I got some sleep.

Day five involved two important goals. One was to watch the Indians take on the Chicago Cubs and also to arrive safely at our next home in Vail before sundown. First we wanted to mark one bird off in Jerome before leaving. JoAnna said “check the doves that are flying around… you never know.” First thing I noticed was a collar around their neck. Some investigating and we determined that they were Eurasian Collard Doves.

During the drive to Phoenix we spotted a Great-tailed Grackle and a Bronzed Cowbird. Not the most exciting birds we have seen but they represented day five really well in that they are kind of boring and not much to write about.

I will add that the Indians won their game. It was HOT and nice to watch a baseball game, drink a beer, and eat a hotdog in early March. We barely made it to our home in Vail before dark. Of course the house down a long dirt road, pretty common for the Nerdy Birders. We had no trouble sleeping that night.

Day Six

Day six was the best day in birding that the Nerdy Birders has ever experienced. I was still getting up early and there were birds everywhere. Before we left the house we added another three birds to our life list. The three birds were the Gila Woodpecker, a Black-throated Sparrow, and a Verdin.

Our plan for day six was to drive the forty minutes south to Patagonia Lake State Park. We made a discovery in our Birding Southeastern Arizona book that Paton’s Feeders in the small town of Patagonia, was the place to go to see hummingbirds and it was on the way to the park. We decided that we would stop here first before making our way further south to the park. The minute we arrived we knew we were in the right place to bird. There were people with cameras, binoculars, and scopes. The hummingbirds were weaving through the twenty or so birders. We were overwhelmed by the activity and basically spun around in circles trying to follow the action. We were in heaven. Literally if there is a heaven for birders it is Paton’s Feeders in Patagonia Arizona. This is where we saw the rarest bird on the trip: a Violet Crowned Hummingbird. This bird can only be seen in the very southern part of Arizona and a small section of Mexico. We thought to ourselves that we might as well just go home because it is not going to get any better than this, but we were wrong.

It was fantastic to set at the picnic tables and listen to the other birders talk about the birds we were seeing. We could tell that we had a lot to learn because they could identify everything so quickly. I wish we could have captured all of the birds on camera but there was no way. We still left Paton’s Feeders having added a Broad-billed Hummingbird, Anna’s Hummingbird, Gambel’s Quail, Yellow-rumped Warbler, a Pine Siskin, and a Lesser Goldfinch. We both didn’t want to leave but didn’t have the courage to let the other down. We reluctantly got in the car and started for Patagonia Lake State Park.

We followed the directions in our trusty Arizona Guide book to a trailhead that is recommended for birders. As we entered the trailhead there was a message board that read “Mountain Lion seen in this park, please be advised” and “Africanized Honey Bees are in this area.” The threat of imminent death was all around us but instead of cowering in fear we pressed on because nothing was going to stand in the way of us observing birds.

It did not take us long to start recognizing new birds. The Bewick’s Wren and American Coot were both spotted early, along with several new ducks. The new ducks included the Northern Shoveler, the Ruddy Duck, the Lesser Scaup, and the Gadwall. As we moved further in the park there were more and more birds like the Vermilion Flycatcher, Black Phoebe, Rofous-winged Sparrow, and the Neotropic Cormorant. Throughout our hike there was a constant hum everywhere we went. It seemed to be getting louder as we continued deeper into the park. Eventually we asked a fellow birder what it was and they explained that it was the Africanized honey bee. They said that as long as the colony does not have a hive they were not as aggressive. But they were swarming and moving around the park. We continued a little deeper through the trail before turning around. We ran into a group of birders looking at a bridled titmouse. The picture is poor but it was enough for us to identify it. We then headed back to the car and home. This was the single best day in birding that we have ever had.

Day Seven

We celebrated all the birds by drinking some wine and having a few beers. Understandably day seven started off pretty slow. However, we did not want to waste a single day of vacation so again we got in the car and headed to Saguaro National Park. Luckily for us it was within a few miles of the house. When we arrived we realized that the park was a driving loop, perfect for a “hangover day.” 

There were parking areas around the loop where you could get out of your car and look around. The cacti were enormous but the birds were not as plentiful as they were in Patagonia. We did get to see one of my favorite birds of the trip: the Pyrrhuloxia. It resembles the Northern Cardinal except the coloring is a bit different (see picture below). We also saw a Curve-billed Thrasher, Gilded Flicker, Phainopepla, and Cactus Wren (Arizona’s State Bird). 

After the drive we hiked a small trail with no luck. I did get a picture of the Africanized Honey Bee sign at the trailhead (see picture below). We realized that our trip was coming to an end so we ordered some food and headed for home. On our way home we stopped at an intersection and as I looked to my left to check for cars I saw a Road Runner running across the road. I quickly turned that direction but he was gone. No photographic evidence, but we both saw it. We went back to the house and started recording the birds we have seen on the trip. Day seven ended with a beautiful sunset.

Day Eight

Day eight was our long trek home. At the airport we did see Air Force One but other than that there was not much to write home about. One thousand nine hundred and some odd miles later and we pulled in our driveway. It felt good to be home.

While we were gone a package was delivered from the National Parks. It was our guide to Yosemite the next great adventure for the Nerdy Birders.

Happy Birding!