March 2020

March 30, 2020 Have you started your End of the World bird list? It’s getting late to start. I’ve written about Santa Gertrudis Lane before. It its famous for the Rufous Backed Robins that visit the pyracantha hedge in winter. It is just south of the Tumacacori National Monument on the I-19 frontage road (east) […]

March 29, 2020 So the end is coming, the reliable pundits on YouTube tell me. Stay at Home! So today I drove down to the Arivaca Cienega, 55 miles south of Tucson. Take I-19 until you get to the Arivaca Road turnoff at Amado. Go east to the frontage road, then right. Almost immediately you

March 24, 2020 The Conoa Conservation Park is located along I-19 about 4 miles south of Continental Road. Take the (east) I-19 Frontage Road south from Continental about one mile past the hospital. The entrance is hard to see. Canoa’s gate is open from 6am to 4pm. If you get there before the gate closes

Birds through March 24, 2020. This post is about the trail going south from the Tubac Bridge. The trail is easy to follow compared to the north trail. South of the bridge you will come across two gates and just south of the second is a decent grassland, a stand of pines, mesquite and a

March 19, 2020 The Santa Rita Lodge in Madera Canyon is the most user friendly birding spot in the canyon. Good parking, a covered observation deck, good comfortable seating plus benches. A gift shop with snacks. No restrooms – there are restrooms close by just north of the lodge. It its best to visit during

Posted March 15, 2020 Camera Review Panasonic FZ1000 for Birding. I researched smaller digital cameras for use in the field where the terrain is difficult.  On flat trails or on stakeouts, the 5+pounds of my Nikon camera and lens are not so much of a problem. But I find it dangerous and tiring to lug

Posted March 14, 2020 Nancy Christiansen, Mel Senac, and I arrived at the Tubac Hawk Watch (Ron Morriss Park) about 8 am and set up near about 40 birders, with scopes and cameras. Comfortable folding chairs are a good idea. Besides the species seen below (Common Black Hawk, Zone-tailed Hawk and Golden Eagle) Red-tailed hawks,

Posted March 11, 2020 The San Xavier Mission, on the San Xavier Reservation, was constructed between 1783-1797 and is considered to be one of the finest examples of original Spanish Colonial Architecture in the United States. It is located just south of Tucson on I-19. The grounds of the San Xavier Indian Reservation are a

Yard Birds This page is more-or-less a compendium of yard birds.

Winter Birds in Madera Canyon A good place to start looking for the Elegant Trogon, surely the signature bird for Southeast Arizona, is the Madera Canyon Picnic Area. As you climb Madera Canyon Road after you’ve gone over the three narrow bridges, you will pass the Proctor Trail Head, then immediately south is Proctor Road.