Rufous-capped warbler seen today at 11:16 a.m. MST. It was seen at the Florida Canyon above the dam working its way up steam crossing back and forth across the creek. It was traveling with a Ruby-crowned Kinglet and was seen by Kathie Brown and Jeff and Dawn Fine and 1 other couple. More photos and story to follow!
All photos taken by Kathie Brown with the Nikon D80 set in sports mode and the 70-300mm lens.
You get the picture!
It is early morning and I am literally up with the birds in anticipation of a visit from Jeff and Dawn Fine. We have our sights set on a hike in the Cienega Creek Preserve today, but first they are meeting me here at my house to see all the wonderful birds in Sycamore Canyon. I filled the feeders and slathered on the bark butter the night before. The birds do not disappoint as they flock to my yard.
Jeff and Dawn arrive around 8:00 a.m. Gus greets them at the door as I slide a German pancake into the oven. With fresh brewed coffee we watch birds and wait for the breakfast to finish cooking. The birds do not disappoint as Costa’s hummingbirds, gilded flickers, black-throated, white-crowned and rufous-winged sparrows put in an appearance. To top off the experience a rufous-crowned sparrow shows its single-whiskered face. Larger and more round-headed than the rufous wings, it has a darker beak and a pale eye-ring and only one dark whisker mark outlining its throat. As Gus leaves for work, we sit around the kitchen table with plates and forks before us and binoculars close at hand.
With breakfast finished we pack up the car and head for Cienega Creek Preserve. Located off Marsh Station Road in Vail, it is a short drive from my house and we are soon there. I drive Dawn and Jeff to the bridge first to see the creek from above. We gaze down steep rock cliffs, past train tracks and bridges, into a green crevice. We are looking down on treetops where we hope we will see birds. Then we double back to the parking lot to the south where we hike the trail into the canyon.
As we leave the car the scolding of a cactus wren fills the air. In the distance the Empire Mountains rise soft and smoky looking today. A ragged dirt trail leads downhill through creosote bush covered slopes. Jeff carries the gear and the scope for us. Dawn and I chat companionably as we make our way down into the crevice that is Cienega Creek.
I have only been here once before and I am anticipating a great birding experience, but as we descend the slope all is strangely quiet. We enter the canyon in the dry wash of Davidson Canyon. Figuring that we will see more birds if we head toward the water, we head north towards Cienega Creek. Along the way we travel over gravel and sand. Rocky cliffs rise around us covered with willows, mesquite and Arizona ash trees. Saguaros poke their arms and heads above the tree line on the canyon rim above and some even grow out of the rock ledges. We finally join the creek and follow it westward towards the bridges but still, all is strangely silent.
I am thinking to myself; where are all the birds? I know I saw black phoebes here last time, as well as song sparrows and others. But though we see green grass and water plants, though we find a dead mammal of some sort in the water, we are not finding birds. We go as far as we can before the water prevents further travel and it is at this point that Jeff finds a Great Blue Heron downstream wading casually among the reeds and riffles. It has no fear from us. We cannot get down there. We each take a look through the scope, and then decide to try our luck up stream. It requires several stream crossing to make our way back, but we are able to find places where the channel is narrow or else a path has already been laid with stones and we step quickly across. Dawn decides to stop halfway across one creek crossing to answer one of my questions and loses her footing with a splash. Later on I am the one who ends up with mud on my ankles, but none of us cares, we are having a good time.
The day has turned warm and we peel off a layer. At the junction of Davidson Canyon and Cienega creek we turn east. Dawn wants to see if we can find the source and so we cross the creek once again and walk through a densely forested area with grass actually growing beneath our feet! For me it almost reminds me of walking through the woods of New England and I revel in this remembered experience.
We are hearing a sharp chipping noise now. We look ahead and find a black phoebe hunting insects from an overhanging branch. The dark little bird darts out quickly, grabs its prey and alights once again on a twig. We watch this entertainment quietly for a few moments before pressing on. The little phoebe precedes us upstream, always staying a few feet ahead of us, but it never flies off in fear.
We find the source of the creek as it spills out of the ground. Here the water is murky, and stagnant in some spots. An orange algae seems to flow with the water like strands of rust colored hair. The waterline fades to damp gravel then dry wash but we can see where someone dug down just a foot and found the water groundwater once again.
Now we hear the” chink, chink!” of an Abert’s towhee. Dawn and Jeff find a pair of them in the dense underbrush on the opposite bank, but all I get is a ghostly glimpse of a feathered shadow fleeing into the brush. Here even the trees look ghostly as we travel past white cliffs with tree roots exposed by the sculpting power of water.
As the wash widens the trees start to thin and we are suddenly hearing the twittering of birds. Tall cottonwoods and willows rise above us and now it is so busy we don’t know where to look first! On tall tree is putting out its catkins and it is covered in lesser goldfinches. Before us a flock of orange-breasted birds flies up into a different tree. Robins! We see the undulating flight of a woodpecker and focus in on a ladder-back female. From yet another tree a Gila woodpecker squeaks its alarm to the rest of the forest. Then I see the white rump of a flicker as it flies to the top of a cotton wood. Jeff gets it in the scope as we try to see if it is a red-shafted Northern flicker or the Gilded Flicker of the Sonoran desert. With this habitat I expect to find a red-shafted flicker and with the help of the scope I can just barely see the red feathers on the wing edges of a female as this magnificent bird clings to the silver tree trunk casually preening herself. It seems to know we mean it no harm as it gazes down on us from its lofty perch.
We stay here for several minutes. This is the richest bird area we have found down here this time. We start to speculate why here and not farther downstream. It is Dawn who comes up with the best theory. We must be just enough higher in elevation here that the trees have already started to bloom. The blooms bring insects and the insects bring the birds. From the junction of Davidson Canyon with Cienega Creek onward we have seen the phoebe, towhees, 3 kinds of woodpeckers, a ruby-crowned kinglet, 2 Bewick’s Wrens, a Verdin, a yellow-rumped warbler, and a whole flock of robins.
It is late now, long after lunch time and we reluctantly pack up our gear and bushwhack our way back to the Davidson Canyon channel where we pick up the trail to the parking lot and the car. As we hike back through creosote and cactus we know once again that we are in the desert and I marvel as always at the water that flows below. Here in the desert where water seems such a miracle, such a precious resource must be protected at all costs. Now that I have done it, I will have to go back when all is lush and green to see what else I can find; to see what else lives along this life-giving creek.
A Visit to Cienega Creek Preserve starts with a visit or a phone call to the Pima County Natural Resources office to obtain a permit. The permits to Cienega Creek are free but you need to have one in your possession to hike there. Cienega creek is a year round stream that flows from Davidson Canyon into the Pantano Wash. It is located on the southeast side of Tucson. Having only visited here one time before with friends, I was a bit intimidated by the permitting process, but it really was no big deal. The website has all the information necessary but what I learned was that you have to apply for the permit at least 2 business days ahead of time unless you want to do a walk-in. The website has three different phone numbers listed for information. Call the Permit line to learn about the process and leave a detailed message for your permit. I tired the info line but was only directed to voice mail. Since I needed a permit on short notice, I really wanted to talk to a person and ask a few questions before I drove the 30 miles or more to get it. I discovered that by calling the 520-877-6000 number I was able to talk to a live person and get my questions answered. The office is located at 3500 W. River Road in Tucson.
Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation: 520-877-6000
Permit Line: 520-877-6158
Additional Questions: 520-877-6123
Read The Thrush and I
a poem inspired by this walk.
Gila Woodpecker eating bark butter 2-22-10
A rainy day always brings the birds out to feed. Before the storm rolls in the hungry birds gather at my feeders. They particularly like this new bark butter feeder I purchased with a gift card from the Wild Birds Unlimited store on East Tangue Verde. I did not even know this store existed here in Tucson until I was given a gift card and looked it up online. Since then I have been back three times. The birds really seem to like this bark butter, which is a combination of suet, ground peanuts and cornmeal. You can spread it directly on the bark of a tree, but I happen to like this little feeder. I have seen woodpeckers, wrens, and finches all feasting form the feeder and my only complaint is that they eat it up so fast! However, on a cold day like today, I know they need this extra fuel to stay warm.
Gray skies over Mt. Fagan 2-22-10
When I lived in the northeast I would get tired of the gray skies in the winter, but here they are a welcome relief and I am enjoying this stormy winter birthday. It is a perfect time to stay inside and drink a cup of tea from the mug my sister sent to me for my birthday. It was a total surprise when I received it in the mail this weekend, but it is especially significant because of the bird on the mug. My grandmother loved cardinals and my mother has carried on the tradition of using them as a theme in Nana’s house where my mother now lives. I knew my sister liked cardinals also and so I sent both her and my mom kitchen towels and potholders with cardinals on them for Christmas. I kept a set for myself so we could all feel connected so far away. To have her send me this cardinal mug is just one more thread in our family fabric and I am enjoying steamy hot cups of Earl Grey Tea on this cold and blustery day!
To add to the fun of my birthday, my sweet husband bought me this wonderful birdbath/fountain that I have been coveting ever since I first saw it at the Wild Birds Unlimited Store. Right now it is sitting on my kitchen counter while we decide where it will go, but I am hoping it will be a great attraction for the birds as well as a soothing sound for us when we are outside. Yeah, it’s a fake stump, but I like it!
The lesser goldfinches huddle in the naked branches of my velvet mesquite tree trying to decide if it is safe to drop to the feeders. They appear as bright yellow blossoms against steel colored skies here on this rainy birthday in Sycamore Canyon.
A Note from Kathiesbirds: Come back tomorrow for a My World Tuesday Post about Cienega Creek Preserve. I spent the day with Jeff and Dawn Fine there on Friday and what fun we had. Many thanks to Dawn who taught me how to use Windows Live Writer which should make blogging so much easier for me than before. This is my first attempt at using it. I hope it works!
Rainbow in Sycamore Canyon 1-21-10
Peregrine Falcon in Sycamore Canyon 2-13-10
The Scenic Santa Rita Mountains 
Scenic View Open...
...but for...
...how long?
Site of the proposed Rosemont Copper Mine
Test Area 2-8-10
Red-naped Sapsucker 2-9-10 
Great-horned Owl on nest 2-9-10
Golden water 2-9-10 
Bridled titmouse 2-9-10
We are near the picnic area and so we stop to eat our lunch. We all sit at the table and remove our bins and cameras. We chat happily as the birds sing around us. Across the street a flock of robins is making short work of the berries on a hackberry tree. All is peaceful and relaxing until Dawn spies a small gray bird in a tree across the road. Like a flash we are all up with bins in hand. She thinks she sees a gray flycatcher! I am trying to locate it. Another birding couple at an adjoining table points it out to us. We watch as it bobs its tail downwards. I see wing bars and pale gray blending with pale yellow-green on its flanks. The tiny bird watches us warily, and then the bird and we are OFF! It flies toward the wash with us in pursuit. It disappears down the embankment and we follow trying to get a better look. All of our stuff is now abandoned at the picnic table and the bird is all that counts. I see it fly out from a tree over the water and back, but it is all a flash, and I still can’t find it in the tree which is on the same bank I am standing on, so I can’t get out and look at the side I need to. Then, a black phoebe flushes up and flies upstream a short distance to a new perch.
Northern Cardinal 2-9-10
American Robin 2-9-10
Dawn and Jeff on the trail 2-9-10
Rufous-winged sparrow 2-9-10 Catalina SP
Western Scrub jay 2-9-10
American Kestrel 2-9-10
Snow dusted Catalinas 2-9-10For those who are interest, all photos were taken today by Kathie with the Nikon D80 and the 70 to 300 mm lens.ed
Don't forget! The Great Backyard Bird Count starts this Friday. You can count birds in your back yard or your local state parks! Go to their website for all the details. It is so much fun! Perhaps you will get a list like this:
Location: Catalina SP
Observation date: 2/9/10
Notes: Birding with Dawn and Jeff Fine. Hiked from campground along bridle trail and wash. Wash was flowing.
Number of species: 29
Gambel's Quail 1 heard only
Red-tailed Hawk 2
American Kestrel 1
Mourning Dove 1
Great Horned Owl 1 on nest
Anna's Hummingbird 3
Gila Woodpecker 8
Red-naped Sapsucker 2
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1
Gray Flycatcher 1
Black Phoebe 1
Loggerhead Shrike 1
Western Scrub-Jay (Woodhouse's) 1
Bridled Titmouse 1
Verdin 4
Cactus Wren 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
American Robin 12
Curve-billed Thrasher (Western) 1
Green-tailed Towhee 2
Canyon Towhee 5
Abert's Towhee 10
Rufous-winged Sparrow 10
White-crowned Sparrow 15
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 5
Northern Cardinal 3
Pyrrhuloxia 9
House Finch 3
Lesser Goldfinch 20
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/)
