Hummingbird Banding

July 25, Saturday

Today I began an adventure that I have wanted to do for a long time: bird banding! I was fortunate that Pat was willing to go with me, even though she just got back from Florida. We drove to Paradise for the second time this summer. We left around 9:00 am and tried to stop at Picacho Peak to get gas, but everything was closed due to a power outage. We therefore drove to Tucson for gas - to Cortaro Road, which turned out to have easy access on and off the freeway. Our next stop was in Willcox at the Coronado Vineyards for lunch. I thought it would be interesting to try their lunch menu, and it turned out to be pretty good. I had a ham & brie sandwich that was delicious. Here is Pat outside the winery/restaurant, with a view of the vineyard in the background:

After lunch, we checked out "Peach Mania" at Apple Annie's Orchard, (Exit 340 off Hwy-10) where you can pick your own fruit. At 94 degrees, this was perhaps not the best day to be out picking our own peaches, but we decided to got for it anyway. We managed to pick several dozen before giving up - here we are in action:


After picking fruit, we enjoyed some of the homemade ice cream (peach cobbler flavor) that they were making outside at the festival. Later, we stopped at the Crop Circle Winery. The outside of this building is not impressive, but the inside is nicely decorated with antiques. As for the wine, well, we didn't buy any, even though I especially like the "alien" artwork on the labels.

While we were inside the winery, the heavy doors blew open and a big storm moved in. We later encountered it on the freeway, where we were deluged by rain and hail. Many cars were pulling off the road, but I was behind a tractor-trailer, and could see its tail-lights and just kept slowly following it. It was a scary 10 minutes or so, until we passed through the worst of it. In an odd twist of fate, the gas station at San Simon also had a power outage - what are the chances?!? This is the last normally-priced place to get gas before getting to Rodeo, so we were forced to go there for it. Here is literally the last gas station on our route at Rodeo, where the price was $3.21 a gallon, and where they have to turn on the pump when you drive up:


After getting gas, we headed towards our destination, with one eye on the rain - there was a huge wall-of-rain that seemed to be following us. We arrived at the George Walker House around 4:00 pm, and were greeted warmly by Jackie and Winston, the owners. Thanks to the rain, it had cooled off to about 70 degrees, so it was pleasant to sit out on the screened porch and watch the birds at the feeders. Our favorite bird today was the Rufous Hummingbird, which glowed a bright orange, just like in this photo.

We ended the day by watching the "bat drop," and this time saw perhaps 50-75 bats emerge for the evening.

July 26, Sunday

When I woke up this morning, the first thing I saw was a mouse on the wardrobe in my room. While I don't like mice at all, it did solve the mystery about all the noises I had been hearing during the night! The day began at 5:00 when we got up and had breakfast before the banding began. We reported to Jackie's porch at 6:00 to begin the process of assisting in the research done by the Hummingbird Monitoring Network.

The first step of the process is to net hummingbirds in order to take measurements. Here is one of the nets that was set up to capture the birds. It was Jackie's job to drop the net, and she was very skilled at it:

After a hummingbird is captured and retrieved in a tiny individual net, it is taken to the banding table where biometrics (age, gender, wingspan, etc.) are done on each hummingbird. At the banding table below, Lee (citizen-scientist) examines the plumage and pattern of a Black-Chinned Hummingbird (BCHU is its research code). He then puts a very tiny, numbered band on it - too small to see without magnifying glasses:

Pat records the data as Lee gives her the information:

The final measurement is the weight. The bird is wrapped in a small piece of fabric and weighed. This one weighed 2.9 ounces:

Then hummingbird is held and given a drink of sugar water before being released:

Last but not least, the bird is released - this is the fun part. Richard laughed when he found out that this was my "job" in the process (the easiest part). It actually takes months of training, and banding 100 birds, to become qualified as a citizen-scientist to do hummingbird banding. Maybe someday I will be able to take this training, but for now, I enjoyed just releasing the bird. I could feel its heartbeat and watch it breathing! Pat took this photo incredibly quickly, as the bird flew off immediately:

Later on, Pat also released a bird. If you blink, you'll miss this video of her releasing a Black-Chinned Hummingbird. You can see how very anxious it was to split:

Our fourth hummingbird capture was a Broad-Billed one. Pat watches as Lee does measurements on a it. This species is coded as BBHU for the research study.

This Broad-Billed Hummingbird was much more cooperative, sat there for quite a while, and actually had to be encouraged to fly off:

The banding project ended by 11:30. In total, we banded 4 hummingbirds and observed a total of 10 at the feeders - pretty minute numbers compared to the abundance of hummers in May. I guess the hummingbirds in the Chiricahuas disappear about this time of year, and then return in larger numbers in August - go figure! After the banding was done, we set off to have lunch at the Portal Cafe. Once again, we had the Mexican food, which wasn't bad. I had a taco salad and Pat had a smothered burrito.

We then meandered down to Dave Jasper's bird yard, and were sad to see it completely empty of birds and bird seed. We had great luck there in May, but not this time.

Next we visited the Chiricahua Desert Museum, a fascinating new herpetology museum and gift shop. I had visited there in June with Richard, and wanted Pat to see it. Of course, I succumbed to the temptation to buy some merchandise (2 bat sculptures).

On the way back from the museum, we saw a wall-of-rain shower, like one we saw the day before in this area. This photo doesn't capture that wall-of-water effect, but you can still see the storm clouds:

We made a stop at Cave Creek Ranch, and were treated to a guided tour of two of the cabins, the Stone Cottage and the Ranch House. Here is a view of the central courtyard:


July 27, Monday

Even though we were heading home today, there was still time to goof off on the way back. We made a stop at Colibri Vineyards so that I could show Pat where it is. It is in a fairly isolated spot called East Whitetail Canyon. We stopped by a private home to look at all the bird feeders and met the residents there, Mr. and Mrs. Taylor. Mr. Taylor was out watering his yard when we stopped on the road, and I'm sure he wondered what we were doing. I said hello and that we were birders. He is not only a birder, but also owns a birding tour company called Borderland Tours. He invited us into his yard to see a nesting Violet-Crowned Hummingbird that was just amazing. We stayed there a while and watched the hummingbirds at his feeders. I think we saw more there than we did the previous two days, but still there were not large numbers.

Back on the interstate, we made a stop at Fort Bowie Vineyards. They have a good Sangiovese and also the best homemade fudge I've ever had - my favorite was the pistachio flavor.

Our next stop was the historic downtown area of Willcox. Here I am at the old train depot:

Jackie told us about a good restaurant in Willcox called Big Tex Bar-B-Que, so we decided to check it out. Turns out, it was not only great, but also located inside a old dining car:

After lunch, we headed back to Exit 340 (Fort Grant Road) and Apple Annie's Orchard. Our first stop was the u-pick orchard, where we picked gala apples. We bought some freshly made apple pie and apple bread as well. The apple bread is especially delicious! We then drove another few miles to the other Apple Annie's location that sells every other kind of produce except apples and peaches. At this other produce location, everything is already picked - yeah! I'm afraid I went a little overboard on the fresh produce - I bought a watermelon, green beans, squash, sweet corn, and cucumbers. We left the Willcox area around 3:00, got home around 6:00, and managed to avoid the Valley's rush hour for the most part...

The Trogon Trail

Welcome to my blog about casual birding in southeast Arizona! Casual birding involves chasing birds, but it also includes stops for shopping, wine-tasting, and fine dining. Every year, Pat & I make a visit to this area to see all the migratory birds. The first year we did this trip was 1999. My favorite migrant is the trogon! This year, we saw the Elegant Trogon on the South Fork trail. We were very fortunate with the weather this time -- partially cloudy & cool for most of the trip.

May 26, Tuesday

Today Pat & I left around 10:00 am, and drove the 287-mile trip from Phoenix to Portal once again. We stopped in Tucson for lunch at Le Rendezvous, a local French restaurant that I cannot praise highly enough. We both had the seafood crepes - magnifiques! I am happy to be on the trogon trail, and off work for now - yeah. Technically, we bypassed Portal today and went directly to Paradise. We took the San Simon shortcut road, and then turned off to Paradise. Yes, that's the name of this little town, which consists of about 10 houses and a cemetery. We checked into the George Walker House around 4:00 - plenty of time to enjoy the evening bird show at Jackie's feeders.

Our cabin (above) was very clean, spacious, and decorated with antiques. Next door, Jackie's house was having construction done, but her yard (not visible in the photo below) is birding heaven. At dusk, we saw so many Magnificent Hummingbirds there that I thought I was hallucinating. The bright turquoise & violet heads of the hummingbirds seemed to emit luminescence - one feeder was lit up by hummingbirds, and reminded me of a Christmas tree with blinking turquoise & violet lights. This year the hummingbird migration is larger than ever - I have never seen so many hummers at one feeder.

Another guest at Jackie's place was Nancy - she gave us a tour of her trailer, which was quite cozy . She had lights that lit up during the evening outside her trailer - a hummingbird, a lighthouse, and a turtle. I have seen Montezuma Quail at the feeders here in the past, but not this year. Perhaps the presence of a cat has something to do with that? In any case, "Mischief" was very good at catching mice. We enjoyed watching her parade around, showing off the mice she caught.

Around 7:15 pm, we enjoyed watching the "bat drop," during which about 200 bats dropped out the bat box installed there. I missed the big drop, but saw quite a few stragglers afterwards. Later in the evening, I shone my spotlight outside and saw a swarm of bats, feeding in Jackie's yard.

Species we saw from our front porch include Mexican Jay, Black-headed Grosbeak, Acorn Woodpecker, Gila Woodpecker, Hooded Oriole, Bullocks' Oriole, Scott's Oriole, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, and White-winged Dove.

May 27, Wednesday

Today was a great birding day in both quantity and quality! After making breakfast, Pat & I headed to the South Fork Trail around 8:30 am. Right before the third river crossing, we joined up with a group of birders who were focused intently at a high point in the trees. We spotted the trogon there, but continued on for a better view. We crossed the river for a fourth time - at this crossing, there is water flowing - and this is where the trogon put on a real show, so we got great looks. Fourth river crossing:

After lingering there for quite a while, we started back down the trail, and the trogon followed us most of the way back to the trail head. Every time we heard it calling, we just had to stop and get another look. By this time, it had started to rain. We thought we could evade the rain by heading to lower country, so we visited Dave Jasper's bird yard, in the desert area. We didn't manage to outrun the rain, but we did get to see Pyrrhuloxias, Cardinals, Gambel Quails, Lesser Goldfinches, Band-tailed Pigeons, Arizona Woodpeckers, and Black-Throated Sparrows. It was great to be able to do side-by-side comparisons of the Pyrrhuloxias and the Cardinals! We met Chris West, who is the caretaker for the place until the new owners arrive. He was very helpful in identifying the birds to us.

Lunch at the Portal Cafe (the only restaurant within 80 miles) today was homemade tamales, which were pretty decent. The interior of the cafe has a coat-rack made of deer hooves. I'm at a loss for words about this, but one picture is worth a thousand of them:

Pat shows us the old Chevrolet parked outside the Portal Cafe:

In the afternoon, we headed to the Research Station where we saw lots of hummingbirds at the feeders, especially the Blue-Throated, Broad-Billed, and Black-Throated. I used the phone outside in the booth here - the only place in the area from which to make a phone call. I had to shelter inside of the booth because a serious rain started up. We later sat at the feeders and observed the hummingbirds. This area has been recently upgraded with a pond, grass, shade, and feeders. (Last year, we spent quite a lot of time near here at Herb Martyr lake, looking for the Tufted Flycatcher. We eventually saw this bird, thanks to a Borderlands tour group that came along and found it for us).

After observing the hummingbirds for a while, we moved on to Cave Creek Ranch. We saw lots of birds, as well as a deer that came up to the front porch to eat orange flowers off a blooming bush.

In the evening, we entertained our friends, Rose Ann and Richard, who have the best stories of anybody I know! I met Rose Ann and Richard when they were trip leaders on a birding tour of Bhutan in 2004. A highlight of this trip was to touch base with them, and hear about their exciting adventures! Here is a photo of them, from one of our previous visits.

May 28, Thursday

The construction workers showed up at 6:00 am, so they helped us get an early start! It was time to reluctantly leave Paradise, and head off to Patagonia. First we made a stop at the Myrtle Kraft Library to use the Internet, but it was not open yet - it didn't open until 10:30 that day. The post office next door was open and I mailed some postcards.

Of course, we had to make our usual stop at The Chiricahua Gallery in Rodeo, and happily, there was a show of Narca Moore-Craig's work -- and Narca was working there! I bought an original watercolor of Red Warblers, which are found in Michoacan, Mexico. I think I will have to put them on my list of must-see birds now!

On the road to Nogales, I almost hit a large flock of Black Vultures, or should I say they almost hit me? At such close range, they seemed ginormous!

We stopped in Bisbee for lunch, and then took Hwy-80 toward Quarry Canyon to the Hwy-90 turnoff. Taking this route, we were able to bypass a lot of the traffic in Sierra Vista. Passing through the lovely (not!) Huachuca City, we turned off near Elgin in order to meander through the vineyards. We stopped at Sonoita Vineyards, which is in a beautiful area that kind of reminds me of the opening scenes of "Dallas" - a sea of grasslands. We then stopped at Keeling Schaefer vineyards which is located in a towering chateau. We finally ended up in Sonoita at the Dos Cabezas Winery, where I sampled some of the best wine I've ever had - seriously! I was shocked it was so good -- I recommend the Red, El Norte, and Graciano. All along the wine route, there were Western Meadowlarks perched on the fence.

Once arriving in Patagonia, there was no time to waste, as no trip there is complete without visiting the great shops - few in number, but high in quality. Our favorite shops are Creative Spirit Artists, Global Arts Gallery, and the Mesquite Gallery. The Mesquite Gallery is run by Regina, who also runs the place we stay, Cross Creek Cottages. This owl totem pole is along the main street in town.

After some productive shopping, we checked into the Cross Creek Cottages (the Studio room is pictured below) and walked around the area. The cottages are located on a farm, which has burros, llamas, and dogs. On our walk, we saw a Roadrunner, Summer Tanagers, Vermillion Flycatchers, and the largest, scariest Common Ravens I have ever seen. The ravens seemed to enjoy strutting around the farm. They were about the same size as an adult javelina - seriously huge birds! It started to rain again today in the afternoon.

I believe this is Obe pictured below. He greeted me every morning when I stepped out the front door of the Studio.

We had dinner tonight at our all time favorite restaurant, Velvet Elvis Pizza Company. Pat ordered a slice of custom pizza that included pesto, cheese, artichoke hearts, and carmelized onions that was probably the best pizza I have ever tasted. I have to remember to order that next time!

This photo shows Pat & I inside the Velvet Elvis, during an earlier visit. The interior has changed since this photo was taken, but I like it because it shows the famous black-velvet Elvis painting on the wall behind us.

Since we had been driving and wine-tasting all day, we were pretty tired. Back at Cross Creek Cottages, I enjoyed watching the bats come and take drinks out of the pool. One flew so close to me that I could see its nostrils even in the dusky light!

May 29, Friday

We had breakfast this morning at the Gathering Grounds, a very nice coffee shop, in Patagonia. It's an unexpected pleasure to find gourmet coffee in this remote location. Our first stop today was the rest stop, before it got too hot. Unfortunately, we didn't see much; although I thought I caught a glimpse of the Varied Bunting. We saw lots of Phainopeplas and a Canyon Wren. We also crossed the highway over near the Circle Z Ranch to look for the random Rose-throated Becard, but no luck. I think Pat is beginning to doubt my claims that I have seen it there because it's never been there when I've visited that area with her!

The photo below is probably the only one I will ever be able take in this area - the hot, open trail in the Patagonia Sonoita Creek Preserve. I have never been able to hike this trail before, due to the heat. But today it was cool enough to do so this morning. It was quite pleasant for most of the hike, and we even saw a Thick-billed Kingbird.

We then had lunch at the Velvet Elvis and discovered the awesome "quinoa primavera." It was a ball of cooked quinoa with shallots, shredded carrots, dried cranberries, dried pomegranates, fresh cilantro, pine nuts, capers, sundried tomatoes, and feta. The quinoa is served on a bed of spinach and tomatoes and topped with raspberry vinaigrette. I have the recipe because Cecilia came out of the kitchen and gave it to us! Later in the day, we visited the Mesquite Gallery, Regina's shop. She has a sign on her door giving you her cell phone number, so that you can call her and she will come and open the shop. Here Pat is waiting, after we called Regina.

After lunch, we decided to check out a B & B that I had made reservations for, but had been cancelled on me. On the Web site for this B & B, it looked quite gorgeous, but when we arrived there, it sure looked like a trailer to us! We discovered that Patagonia has some kind of "rejuvenation center, " and that folks come from all over the world to undertake fasting and "cleansing" regimens here. It's not that I am interested in this center, but my past 3 reservations at 2 different locations in Patagonia have been either cancelled or altered, due to last minute requests for lodging from these folks!

Around 4:00 pm, we visited the Paton's house where we really hit the birding jackpot. We saw a Violet-Crowned Hummingbird, Indigo Bunting, Yellow-breasted Chat, Lark Sparrow, Song Sparrow; as well as several Summer Tanagers and (finally) Blue Grosbeaks! We had been hoping to see Blue Grobeaks during the entire trip, and they really put on a spectacular show today -- we saw at least 5 of them in the Paton's yard.

This is the viewing area in the back of the Paton's bird yard - they kindly provide a tent for shade! We saw so many Summer Tanagers and Vermillion Flycatchers in Patagonia that we resorted to using shorthand for them - STs and VFs!

Of course, we went to the Velvet Elvis one last time for dinner. We had ordered 24-hours ahead to get the quinoa pizza, which I have wanted to try for years, but have never managed to plan ahead for. It was interesting - sort of like a pot pie filled with vegetables in a corn meal type crust. Pretty tasty, and spicier than I thought it would be. Still, my favorite food at the Velvet Elvis this time was the quinoa primavera. In the evening, we went back to Cross Creek Cottages and watched the bats fly in to drink out of the swimming pool.

May 30, Saturday

Sadly, this is the last day of our trip, but there is still time for one more shopping opportunity by stopping in Tubac. Today was Tubac Gala Costume Day - yes, Halloween during summer in the desert!

I did some damage to my pocketbook in Tubac, as usual, but the shopping was great. I bought a quail bowl and a hummingbird platter by Chris Bubany, an artist I really like. One last stop at the Tubac Golf Resort for a truly delicious lunch:

Does this look like desert...? Not really, but it's quite a nice view from the patio at the Tubac Golf Resort.

Well, we made it home in good time, and our trip is over for now, but the good news is that we are planning a return visit in July to participate in the hummingbird banding at the George Walker House - yeah!