End of the World Birding – Tubac

February 23, 2022

A Winter Wren, first reported in December, reappeared along the beautiful Sant Cruz River at Tubac. The location its truly scenic.

Santa Cruz River Tubac 2-21-2022 – A symbol of Man’s triumph over Nature.
Winter Wren Tubac 2-21-2022
Winter Wren Tubac 2-21-2022

To be fair it must be added that the accumulation of plastic is limited to a small area. Above and below the accumulation there is hardly any garbage. Still, it makes me nostalgic for the Tijuana River. The Wren was pretty easy to locate as it was very noisy.

Chestnut-sided Warbler Tubac 2-22-2022
Chestnut-sided Warbler Tubac 2-22-2022

The lovely Chestnut-sided Warbler has been seen consistently for about 2 weeks in the “Cottonwood Circle” just a bit south of the De Anza Trail kiosk at Tubac. Since this bird appeared several days after the last sighting of the Chestnut-sided at Santa Gertrudis, about 3 miles away along the same trail, it is plausible that this is the same first-winter bird.

American Goldfinch Tubac 2-22-2022

This bird had not been reported earlier. It was visiting feeders near the De Anza Trail and the very bold white wing-band caught my eye. This American was feeding with Lessers and Lawrence’s. I was looking for a White-throated Sparrow that has been seen at this spot for about 2 months. Lots of Songs, Lincoln’s, White-crowned, and Chipping – no White-throated.

Rufous-backed Robin Tubac 2-1-2022

This Robin showed up about a month ago north of the Tubac Bridge. It forages in the hackberry trees in the dense thicket that runs along the river.