Day 9— Huachuca Mountains

Saturday, April 28th

Jeanine picked us up at 5:00 and we drove about an hour and forty-five minutes to the San Pedro Riparian National Wildlife Conservation Area. Two HUGE cottonwoods towered over the area, the limb of one resting on a small house. Jeanine was worried about the tree because she'd heard that it had been pruned, but she was relieved when she saw that the pruning was minimal. Jeanine is very protective of the native plants in the area and at the Desert Survivor Nursery. In fact, now that I am writing up our account, I think the Internet photo I used earlier of the immense Freemont Cottonwood is the same tree as this and that the woman to the left may be a younger Jeanine.

In order to get the tree in I had to be pretty far away and a bush hides the enormous trunk, but if you look closely you can see how the limb resting on the rock house is gradually crushing it

Gilded Flicker

Immediately after we exited the car, we spotted a nest cavity in the end of one of the pruned limbs from which was peeking a Gilded Flicker. I think that Deb got a photo of it. There were many other woodpeckers and flickers flitting about in the giant tree. There were also many other bird species in the trees, bushes, and feeders. 

A Guide was getting ready to take a group on a bird walk and asked if we would like to join them, but we declined. Jeanine, a very knowledgeable birder, who confessed that as a teen she slept with a copy of Peterson's Warblers at bedside, would be our guide for the day. We  walked down to the cottonwood lined San Pedros River so that we would not meet the group on the trails. At the river, which still had water in it, we saw an Ash-throated Flycatcher, Mallards, Lark Sparrows, and in the field before the river two Coues Deer. Near the parking lot we saw a Black-throated Gray Warbler, Canyon Towhee,Vermilion Flycatchers, Barn swallows, a Say’s Phoebe’s on a  fence, more Lark Sparrows, Canyon Towhee, Green-tailed Towhee, House Finches, and Gila Woodpeckers. In the field before the river we also saw Gambel's Quail, one sitting atop the tall grass.

Ash-throated Flycatcher

Black-throated Gray Warbler Ash-throated Flycatcher

After some good birding and some excellent shade at the river, we drove to Carr Canyon. Jeanine, managed to drive her 2006 RAV up the canyon's steep, narrow, winding, cliff-hanging dirt road to the top. Beyond the last switchback we entered a Ponderosa Pine forest and a picnic area, We had snaked up the side of the mountain and were 7400 feet above the valley. Looking down, we could see a blimp tethered at the Fort Huachuca Military Reservation and some fields that seemed intentionally burned, leaving large black rectangular scars. 

At the top, I sat at a picnic table, drank some water, and ate one of my tomato sandwiches while Deb and Jeanine went in search of birds. They found a Buff-breasted Flycatcher building a nest. I think Deb got a photo. A guy was up there with his family and reported seeing a Painted Redstart, but we never caught sight of it and, in fact, Deb and I did not come across one during our Arizona visit. While in the picnic area we all ate the lunches we'd brought (I eating my second tomato sandwich). We saw Turkey Vultures, Common Ravens, Yellow-eyed Juncos, an Audubon's Warbler (Yellow rumped) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, American Robin, Mexican Jays, and White-throated Swifts. There were pretty flowers with red leaves on the banks along the road. I think Jeanine told me they were wild Coral Bells.

According to my Birds of Southeast Arizona guide, White-throated Swifts are "among North America's fastest fliers, easily reaching speeds of 100 miles per hour; nonetheless, in Arizona they are frequently taken by peregrine Falcons."

Next we visited Miller Canyon—We found a Townsend's Warbler (right) and other good birds in the canyon before we dead-ended at Beatty’s Guest Ranch and Orchard, advertised on the net as a "green southeast Arizona nature retreat." Passing a garden of rhubarb, we came upon an artificial wet area near the gate to Beatty's house. In it were several leopard frogs. The sign below told us of how the Beatty's were involved with saving the endangered leopard frog. 

We walked across a bridge over running water and climbed up to some bleachers before several hummingbird feeders. Several other birders and photographers were sitting on the bleachers observing the feeders. Deb was too close to get a good photo and we'd seen each of the species at the feeders, so walked back across the bridge and birded a wooded area near where Jeanine had parked the car. On the way to the car, we stopped to talk for a bit with the owner who told us that he rented cabins. He had several Redbone Coonhounds, one of which had recently had puppies. We watched the puppies frolicking in the orchard.

As we were about to exit the canyon we came upon a man with a shovel beside his pickup. He was digging at the side of the road and Jeanine stopped to ask he what he was doing.
"Just trying to dig up this plant [an agave]," he explained, "It's hard going. The damn thing cut me."  
"You should buy one at a nursery," Jeanine told him. "Agaves have very big, long taproots." 
"Don't get caught," admonished Deb as we pulled away.
Minutes later the guy passed us in his pickup, apparently having second thoughts about digging up roadside cacti.

On way back to the Airbnb, Jeanine drove slowly past a ditch in front of a big Tucson mall. She told us that burrowing owls had built burrows and lived there, but we could not find a one. Deb and I were disappointed. Shortly after, we stopped at a gas station and filled Jeanine's tank as a thank-you for being our guide. We were set to treat her to dinner, too.

Amanda, Deb, and Jeanine

At the Airbnb, Amanda told us of La Cocina Restaurant and Cantina, a good Mexican restaurant downtown, and offered us drinks in the Airbnb courtyard. We were hoping that Nate would get home so that Jeanine could tell him about the guy at Miller Canyon who was trying to dig up the agave, but Nate did not arrive before we famished trio hit out for La Cocina, a courtyard open-air restaurant in downtown Tucson. We were going to treat our "guide" to dinner. 

Susan with Deb and Jeanine

After circling the block a couple of times we found a parking spot. The restaurant was packed but the hostess quickly found us a table. There was a group playing guitars, and a lot of din from fellow diners. We waited an unusually long time for our food to be served, the hostess and waitress apologizing several times. While we waited, we drank through three pitchers of water. I ordered a Mexican roast beef platter. The roast beef was stringy and tough, so I ate mostly the spicy potatoes, carrots, and onions served with it and gave my big roasted green chile pepper to Deb, whose younger caste iron digestive system seems to handle such spicy fare with ease.

Jeanine drove us back to the Airbnb. This time both of us hit the sack at about the same time.