Tucson: A Birding Mecca

Tucson 2020

Our guys weekend to southeastern Arizona exceeded my expectations in every way. I had been looking forward to exploring one of the country's premier birding mecca for months. Over the course of four days, the birding was superb, but more importantly, so was the company. Standing under the star-filled desert sky each night, situated just outside a national park, we appreciated the relaxing escape from the big city. And we enjoyed every minute of it. As Dwayne said, “getting away from it all gives one a greater perspective on life.” I absolutely agree with that. I often speak of the deafening silence of Anahuac NWR. Our accommodations in Tucson, far from any major freeways, was similarly, strikingly quiet. I think solitude will be one of key criteria for planning future trips.

During our stay, Liam came up with a theme for our trip, inspired by a pillow at our rental house: "Life is too short... live every moment." Those are good words to live by, indeed. As I grow older, I gain a greater appreciation for the fragility of life and our relatively short time on this Earth. It’s a cliché that shows up on embroidered pillows, but there's something to be said for taking all the little moments and making them count. For me, spending quality time with family, and documenting some of those moments through photography, forms the foundation of this philosophy. Photography allows us to recall little details of faded memories many years later. Spending increasing amounts of time outdoors has given me a greater appreciation for the stunning beauty of nature that shows up in so many different ways and never ceases to amaze. It's easy to miss the small details until you view life through a macro lens.

Day 1: Land of the Saguaros

After picking up Dwayne in midtown at 5am, we had a smooth Saturday morning flight to Phoenix. Even the rental car experience was superb. That echoed a theme throughout the weekend... everything simply fell into place. Not before long, we were headed down I-10 toward Tucson, with cruise control set in our Fusion Hybrid.

Our first stop was Sweetwater Wetlands Park, a popular local birding hotspot that is managed by the Tucson Audubon Society. For the Houstonians, we ticked off species from our "most-wanted list" within seconds of pulling up. Gambel's Quail? Check. Gila Woodpecker? Check. Costa's Hummingbird? Check. This area consists of a protected water source, a scarcity in the desert. And so it is very, very birdy. After hiking around for an hour or so, we continued east toward our Airbnb rental.

Our Airbnb was located just outside the Saguaro National Park East entrance. It was situated in a quiet neighborhood, surrounded by horse stables and partially ringed by mountains. After a quick stop for coffee, we headed toward the park entrance. I'm sure locals are quite used to their presence, but the Saguaro cacti, found only in this part of the world, are truly stunning. The scenic, hilly 3-mile loop drive within this park offers spectacular views of the forty-foot tall beauties. The hills are sprinkled with Saguaros of all shapes and sizes, as far as the eye could see. The shapes of the cactus arms vary widely, making the landscape quite varied. The visit here reminded me, once again, of the incredible majesty of our national park system. Saguaro live up to 150 years, and serve as home to a variety of species, including woodpeckers, elf owls, purple martins, finches and sparrows. The small holes in many of the Saguaros serve as visual evidence of this. Many birds can be seen perched on the top of the cacti, or just outside of the holes, seemingly undisturbed by the spines of the cactus. Understandably, Saguaro are a source of great pride for Arizonians, and serve as a symbol for the state. We took a few photos of Liam standing beside some of the older Saguaros, in order to gain a sense of the massive size of this indisputable king of the desert.

After a few hours and a few camera clicks later, we completed the park loop drive and headed out for a quick grocery run. In speaking with the cashier at the check out, we mentioned that we were from Houston. Her response was, “Houston – wow it rains all the time there!” We couldn’t really argue with that one. That night, we grilled delicious steaks, drank local IPA, and enjoyed the wildlife viewing from our backyard patio as the sun set over the mountains. Backyard birding included Gila woodpeckers, Anna’s hummingbirds, Curve-billed Thrashers, Cactus Wren, Gambel's Quail, Roadrunners, Pyrrhuloxia, and Phainopepla. [Note: one challenge for Arizona birders is simply trying to figure out how to pronounce the names of certain species.] There were also many Desert Cottontails hopping within the scrub brush around the house. The owners refilled the hummingbird feeder when we arrived, which made for non-stop entertainment for the duration of our stay. It was quite an epic first day and a wonderful introduction to Tucson.

Day 2: Snow Day

It's not every day that you can travel from an 80 degree desert floor covered in cacti to an icy, snow-capped mountain peak in less than an hour. Welcome to Tucson, folks. On Day 2, we woke up early and headed out in the pitch black after a quick egg scramble breakfast. By the time the sun began to rise, we were starting our hike through Sabino Canyon. It was relatively deserted, outside of a few hardcore marathoner types. Sabino is one of the most popular destinations in Tucson, and it doesn't take long to see why. The canyon trails hugging the river make for great hiking and superb birding. The highlight of the morning for us was our close encounter with a Greater Roadrunner displaying colorful breeding plumage. Local birders, well acquainted with this species, pointed out the call to us well before we spotted him. What a spectacular creature! The Roadrunner was one of our favorite birds of the trip, I think. And I give Dwayne kudos for spotting him.

From Sabino, we headed up to the legendary Sky Islands of Arizona, passing throngs of bikers as we made the ascent to Mount Lemmon. The twisty drive is incredibly scenic, with geological stunners such as hoodoo formations, along with epic views of the valley floor below. Geologists would go nuts on this drive. Once we arrived in the small village of Summerhaven on the top of the mountain, we were greeted by a whole different group of species. It's like we had been transported to another world. This is the land of the Acorn Woodpecker, Steller’s Jay, Yellow-eyed Junco, and White-breasted Nuthatch. Tassel-eared Abert's Squirrels raced up and down the pine trees. What an amazing species that I never knew existed! While we birded, Liam loved playing in the snow, although I had to warn him about the potential pitfalls of icy sidewalks. One advantage of visiting in February is having easy access to freshly fallen, powdery snow.

That evening, just before sunset, we returned to Saguaro NP East and hiked around the Javelina Rocks. We enjoyed heading back into the park when it was much quieter, after most of the tourists had left for the day. It was an incredible first full day.

Day 3: Go West, Young Man

We began day three on the other side of Tucson, visiting Saguaro National Park West. Saguaro National Park consists of two sections, each about 10 miles from the city center. The West side, at 25,000 acres, is much smaller than the East side. The East side consists of just under 70,000 acres, most of which is designated wilderness. During the first few hours of our visit to the West side, we passed only a few other cars, despite it being the tail-end of a holiday weekend. I think the West side of the park is slightly less traveled and more birdy. Upon stepping out of the car at our first stop, as we watched the sun rise over the mountains, birds could be seen and heard in every direction. I imagine that if I lived in Tucson, you could find me here on many early weekend mornings.

One of the surprise highlights of this trip was visiting a remote site of ancient Petroglyphs within the park. We were the only people around for miles, and I felt like we were in an Indiana Jones movie, deciphering powerful symbols from thousands of years ago. It served as a reminder that this part of the world is a special place, and ancient man believed so too. Liam asked a lot of questions about the symbology, and we tried to explain the meaning of the ancient art.

From the national park, we headed to the Sonoran Desert Museum. This was the most crowded place we had visited since the trip began, and one part of me felt like we had been transported to the Houston Zoo on a summer day. We saw a few amazing butterflies and hummingbirds, but our visit did not last long. From the "museum" we headed to the university campus and feasted on dumplings. This particular dumpling house, a dive located across from the university, was full of college kids. I think we ordered 35 dumplings and ate every last one. Liam and I continued our tradition of eating dumplings while we are on vacation. A morning of hiking works up an appetite! From there, we visited the nearby headquarters of the Tucson Audubon Society, located in a nice neighborhood just west of campus. We talked birds for a while with a few staff members, and then headed back to Sweetwater Wetlands. Everyone we spoke with knew about Houston birding... it served as another reminder that we are lucky to live along the Gulf Coast.

That night, after grilling burgers, we took a drive into the national park just after the sun had set. The edge of the mountains still had a blue afterglow. We were the only ones in the park, to my knowledge, and we came across two Common Poorwills along the road. They fluttered around like bats, and I was careful to avoid hitting them. We also spotted a few rodents and toads along the roadside. Driving around the park in the chilly night and stopping to shine our flashlights into the pitch black of the desert was a fun experience.

Day 4: The Word of the Day is ‘Riparian’

On our last day, after a delicious breakfast at an eclectic local gem called the Sonoran Brunch Company, we decided to visit the Sabino Canyon again. It was a quick trip, but we explored a few different trails that we had missed on the previous day. Also, Liam discovered that he loved to build cairns. Stacking rocks is a lot of fun, right? Plus, it's a great way to pass the time when the other people in your group are staring at birds. He built dozens of cairns over the course of the morning. After leaving Sabino, we headed to another Tucson Audubon site called the Mason Center. We had a good chat with the on-site Audubon staff member, and enjoyed a quick walk around the grounds. Once again, we were the only people around.

Sadly, we said goodbye to Tucson and headed back north toward the best birding spot in Phoenix, home to over 300 species, the Riparian Preserve at Gilbert Water Ranch. This location, which also serves as a local park and community center, did not disappoint. We spotted many shorebirds and herons that are normally found along the Gulf Coast. By mid-afternoon, however, with temperatures rising, we were tired and ready to head to the airport. It had been a superb trip, but everyone was ready for a cold drink.

Plotting a Return

"A significant percentage of American birders, if asked to choose their single favorite regional destination, would pick southeastern Arizona. Overall, Arizona’s species list of around 550 is the highest of any state without an ocean coastline.

Eventually, every birder must visit Arizona."

- National Audubon Society

https://www.audubon.org/news/birding-arizona

Almost every book written about birding has a minimum of one chapter dedicated to Southeastern Arizona. After reading about it for years, I’m now convinced that the hype around this region is well justified. In fact, I'm already planning my next visit. Next time, I would like to concentrate on the birding "hotspots" south of Tucson, closer to the border, where more than 15 species of hummingbirds and rarities such as the Elegant Trogan can be found. This area is sprinkled with birding-focused lodges, many of which offer the services of local birding guides. I might consider a guide next time, as locals always know the "secret" spots. On a return trip, I’d also like to target the high-season of March or April. On this brief introduction, we really absorbed the best of greater Tucson.

In recap, it's exciting to know that there are still so many places left to explore in Arizona. Liam and Uncle D made fantastic companions throughout the entirety of the trip, and I hope we continue to make our birding adventures a regular occurrence going forward. It won’t be long before Grant and Oliver are old enough to join us, as well. I should probably go ahead and order a few extra sets of binoculars, right?

27 Lifers:

Acorn Woodpecker... Alex's favorite bird... I love the way they hide acorns in the trees.. one of my "must see" birds

Gambel's Quail... Liam's favorite bird... Uncle D even bought Liam a miniature Gambel's Quail figurine… the “poster child” of Tucson-area Arizona birding… very fun to watch

Greater Roadrunner... Dwayne's favorite bird... we saw a male with breeding plumage... gorgeous and bigger than expected (over 2 feet high)... hard not to love this iconic bird

Harris’s Hawk… on the electric pole just outside of our rental house… distinctive coloring… another local speciality

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher

Steller's Jay... saw dozens on top of Mount Lemmon... a high-elevation bird

Pyrrhuloxia... God mixed together a Cardinal and a Vermillion Flycatcher and shook the jar... the "desert cardinal"

Black Phoebe

Phainopepla... love those red eyes!

Common Poorwill... nocturnal feeder along the road... part of the nightjar family

Costa's Hummingbird

Broad-billed Hummingbird... a real show stopper... a beauty among all the beauties... lucky to see in the wild

Yellow-eyed Junco

Dark-eyed Junco

Gila Woodpecker... easily saw over one hundred... a common site on the Saguaro, often just outside a hole

Northern Flicker

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Cassin’s Finch… not to be confused with the House Finch… seen at Sweetwater Wetlands

Verdin… a unique beauty with a striking yellow head that’s impossible to misidentify… beautiful call… spotted dozens!

Abert's Towhee… a local specialty… another unique Arizona bird

Cactus Wren... easily saw over one hundred... a common site on the Saguaro

Canyon Wren... only saw one in the Sabino Canyon, much less common than its relative above

Curve-billed Thrasher

Rufous-winged Sparrow

Black-throated Sparrow

White-breasted Nuthatch

Ruddy Duck... only saw one, briefly, at Sweetwater… striking baby-blue bill