Tubac Hawk Watch 3-14-2020

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, Northern Caracara, Cooper’s Hawk, Black Vulture and Turkey Vulture were seen. A Scott’s oriole was a surprise.

Ron Morriss park is very near Tubac Village. There is a similarity between Tubac Village and Old Town in San Diego. There is very little of Old Town that survives from the 19th century. Tubac Village, convincingly looks to be from that era, with patina that Old Town lacks. It is authentic, where Old Town has a bit of Disneyland’s Main Street esthetic. Both places are tourist traps and hawk good art, gewgaws, food and strong drink. The Old Town Mexican Cafe is the greatest Mexican food joint in the southwest. Tubac Jack’s is the best restaurant south of Tucson. And they have a great patio, like like the patio restaurants in Old Town.

Next door to the village is a small annex, built to modern commercial standards. It is not ugly on its own, but does not really attempt to match the village. The area needs to institute historical district design, requiring new building to mimic style from, say, 1880 to 1920.