My World: Arivaca Cienega

Amado Sewage Pond with clouds streaming off the Santa Rita Mountains 1-3-09 by Gus

In pursuit of my Big January Count Gus and I headed to Arivaca Cienega on Saturday morning. Our route takes us south on I-19 to the Amado exit south of Green Valley. As we exit the highway we take a left and cross beneath the underpass to the frontage road and the Amado Sewage Pond. I have never stopped here before but I have been seeing the pond full of winter ducks when w pass by on the highway. It’s early morning and the sun is still low in the sky as we pull up on the western edge of the pond. We pull off on the frontage road, which I assume will have little traffic, and try to see the birds. The pond is fenced all around with “No Trespassing” signs attached, but you are allowed to view the duck from beyond the fence. I count 6 species of duck here before we head on our way.

We continue our way west-southwest on Arivaca Rd. Here the terrain is hilly and the road winding. We greet the border patrol as we pass by, telling them to look for us on the way back, we are going birding! Soon the pinnacle of Baboquivari Peak looms ahead before disappearing beyond the horizon as the road dips once again. Finally we pull into the parking lot of Arivaca Cienega at 10 a.m. MST. Arivaca Cienega is part of the Buenos Aries National Wildlife Refuge and an Audubon Important Bird Area.

As soon as I open the car door a huge white and brown raptor flies low overhead. It looks just like a photo I saw on someone else’s blog of a Rough- legged Hawk, but I see the dark leading edge to the wings that indicates a red-tail. This puts me off and I am unsure of which bird I am seeing. Gus hasn’t gotten the camera out yet, so we don’t get a photo. Soon the bird disappears beyond the tree line and I don’t add it to my count.

Red-tailed Hawk soars over tree top by Gus 1-3-09

Though the sun is shining brightly, a stiff wind is blowing cold. I bundle up with three layers of shirts and we head down the path. Last year I found sparrows, woodpeckers, and wrens along this paved walkway, but today all is silent. There is no bird movement around as we walk through the Mesquite Bosque. Soon the trail opens up to the grassland and marshes of the Cienega. Towering cottonwoods stand as sentinels along the creek bed. At the point where the path diverges left and right a huge old cottonwood is often a great place to find Great-horned Owls, but today it is void of birds, except for raptors. A red-tail sits on a high limb and the sky is full of them. Red-tails circle endlessly above us. I search their numbers for harriers, but so far this common raptor is missing from the fray.

Arivaca Cienega by Gus 1-3-08

We decide to head east on the loop trail, hoping to find the Green Kingfisher in the pool where we found him last year. Nope. The pond is empty except for a lone Black Phoebe. This is also the area where I usually see Abert’s Towhees. Nothing. As the wind gusts past us I hold onto my hat. I am starting to think the wind is keeping all the small birds down. We continue around the trail under wind scoured skies. A red-tail lands in a nearby willow trailing bronze limbs like strands of hair blowing in the wind, but no other birds are found. No song sparrows by the creek in the forest, no great blue herons in the marsh. No towhees anywhere.

Searching for Birds by Gus 1-3-09

Then, at the far eastern point of the boardwalk, where the path becomes dirt again, I see movement low in the brush at the edge of forest and field. The initial shape looks like a flycatcher, but this bird is bobbing its tail like a phoebe. However, its shape is like an Eastern phoebe and not our more common Say’s Phoebe. What am I seeing? It disappears farther into the trees and I take the camera from Gus and try to follow it, hoping for a photograph, but the bird is gone. Later on I look it up in my bird guides and discover that the Gray Flycatcher is our most numerous winter flycatcher and is noted for its habit of bobbing its tail like a phoebe! ID confirmed: 1 Gray Flycatcher!

Cottonwood Giant by Gus 1-3-09

We wander past the hilly eastern edge of the loop trail with the marshland off to our right. Where the trail takes its turn back towards the west I see some motion and a slight patch of red in the thicket. A look though the bins reveals first one Pyrrhuloxia, then another. Deep in the thicket they hide from us, and we continue down the trail. In this open area we can see across the marsh to the cottonwood tree beyond where all is tan and blue.

The wind is starting to die down a bit as we enter another wooded section of the path. I usually like this section, for it reminds me of the eastern forest I prowled as a child with dappled sunlight speckling the trail before me. We are so close to the marshland now that the cattails and rushes are seen through the trees and red-winged blackbirds call from deep within. Today I hear the call of one, simply one red-winged blackbird. I feel lucky to have heard that one, for this is not the usual time of day for them to give voice. But other than that, this path through the woods is void of birds, whereas last year I saw towhees, cardinals, juncos and sparrows all on this section of the trail.

Red-shafted Flicker 1-3-09 by Kathiesbirds

As we emerge into the sunlight again I spot more red-tails soaring overhead, and another darker bird. Its black silhouette is different. Its long flat wings are totally black, except for the white wingtips. Could this be a Black Vulture? I thought they had all flown farther south for the winter, but as I continue to watch, I have no doubts about what I am seeing. I did not expect to see this bird on this trip, and many others I did expect to see are not here. So, I add a black vulture to my list and continue on the trail as it crosses a bridge over the meandering creek. Another Black Phoebe chirps from the rushes and nervously flits about the reeds. Then a yellow-rumped warbler makes an appearance. Things are starting to look up. Now the Marsh Hawks are up and soaring, white rumps flashing as they fly low over the marsh. Marsh hawks were recently renamed Northern harriers, but their old name is more descriptive to me, and I use the names interchangeably. Gus isn’t feeling well and heads back to the parking lot, giving me the camera as I continue on the trail. At this point the trail turns back across the marsh over a board walk, or you can take a little spur up a hill that overlooks the big marsh and a smaller marsh and pond. I go this way and am rewarded by finding Red-shafted flickers, white-crowned sparrows and a Wilson’s snipe.

Northern Harrier (Marsh Hawk) by Kathie 1-3-09

What I love about Arivaca Cienega is the way the trail wanders in and out of sunlight and crosses various terrains. It loops up hilltops and down to marshland. Golden grasses wave in this pale winter’s light. A single lesser goldfinch peeps at me from a treetop and deep in the wooded area of the marsh I find a Northern Harrier perched on a snag looking over the creeks, its owl-like face focused and searching.

Sunflower Jungle by Kathiesbirds 1-3-09

Once past the creek and pond the land becomes quite marshy once again. In my search for birds I try to follow the path I have before where I have seen meadowlarks, plovers and snipe, but what a difference a year makes. Apparently the wild sunflowers took over this part year and now their dry canes tower overhead like a bamboo forest. Still, someone has broken a crude trail through this jungle of weeds and I follow the damp path searching, searching, searching. But, despite sunshine and what looks like it should be good birdy habitat, all I see are weeds. After a few meters of this I finally decide to turn back as the only motion or sound comes from the wind and the rustling grass and weeds.

I have surrendered. I give up. There will not be a large bird list for me here today. As I emerge from the sunflower jungle I meet a wonderful older couple on the path. Their names are Hank and Dot, short for Dorothy and Harold. I am pleasantly surprised as I tell them those were my grandparents’ names. Hank and Dot are from Green Valley and they are newlyweds of 4 years. They tell me that they dated in high school, then married other people. When their respective spouses passed away, they reconnected after all these years, fell in love and married each other. Together the three of us walk back towards the parking lot.

Red-tailed Hawk in Tree by Kathiesbirds 1-3-09

We continue to see Harriers and Red-tails. As we cross the boardwalk some Eastern Meadowlarks fly up and drop into the marshland once again. Then, a kestrel races by us and we turn to watch its rapid flight. We find Gus sitting in the sunlight on a bench where the loop begins by the old cottonwood tree and I introduce him to my new found friends. Dot and Hank are staying to have a picnic, but Gus and I both aren’t feeling well.

Chipping Sparrow 1-3-09 by Gus

We decide to leave, but before we do, I hit the restroom once again, since it is an hour’s drive through a rural landscape to get back home. By now I assume my birding is over, but as we draw near the car I finally spot a chipping sparrow in the ticket. First one, and then another, then a small flock. Gus takes some photos for me. Then, when I emerge from the restroom I hear the chipping of wood in the nearby mesquite trees.

Female Ladder-backed Woodpecker by Kathiesbirds 1-3-09

I still have my bins with me and I finally spot a female Ladder-backed Woodpecker working vigorously on a fallen limb. She pecks and pounds away, undeterred by my presence. I hurry to the car to get the camera, since Gus is already in the vehicle waiting for me. As I start snapping photos I catch some motion from the corner of my eyes.

There in another tree is a vireo. When I turn to focus on it, it disappears in the thick tangle of branches but I find a Verdin, then a Bewick’s Wren and more chipping sparrows, all in the same tree! In my last five minutes at Arivaca Cienega I find five more species of birds!


In the end I counted 23 species of birds at Arivaca Cienega. A little over a year ago, on December 30, 2007, I counted 26 species of birds. We didn’t have the D80 at the time, and though it was ordered, it hadn’t arrived in the mail yet. It was our Christmas present to ourselves last year, and now we are putting it to good use this year. Arivaca Cienega continues to be one of my favorite birding areas in Arizona and today’s visit goes to show that you just never know what you are going to see. This is part of the charm of birding, or bird watching. It is an adventure. It is full of surprise and delight. It gets you outdoors and into nature, and for me, it renews my spirit. As an added bonus, you never know when you are going to meet some really interesting and kind people. I can only hope I will bump into Dot and Hank again someday. Since they are bird watchers like me, this is entirely possible! (Dang! I wish I had taken their photograph!)

Verdin 1-3-09 @Arivaca Cienega by Kathiesbirds

(click on any photo to enlarge for the best view)

Arivaca Cienega (site profile) is desingnated as an Important Bird Area by Tucson Audubon.

Birds Seen January 3, 2009 (Big January Count Continued)

23. Red-tail hawk: Sycamore Canyon

24. Chihuahuan Raven: Sahuarita
25. Northern shoveler: Amado Sewege Pond
26. Canvasback: Amado
27. Lesser Scaup: Amado
28. Bufflehead: Amado
29. Ring-necked duck: Amado
30. Ruddy duck: Amado
31. Black Vulture: Arivaca Cienega
32. Red-winged blackbird
33. Pyrrhuloxia
34. Chipping sparrow
35. Yellow-rumped warbler
36. European Starling
37. Bewick’s wren
38. Verdin
39. Plumbeous Vireo
40. Black Phoebe
41. Gray Flycatcher
42. Northern Flicker
43. Ladder-backed woodpecker
44. Wilson’s Snipe
45. American kestrel
46. Northern Harrier; Arivaca Cienega
47. Rock Pigeon; Arivaca Junction

Saturday at the Cienega

2 February 2008 (Marsh Wren photo)

It’s Superbowl weekend and all minds are focused on the Giants and the Patriots, except for those of us bird-brained enough not to care. There we are out pursuing our passion in the fresh air and sunshine walking about with our heads tilted backwards in the inevitable posture of true birders. My husband and I are an odd mix, for he is truly a football fan, and the Giants are his team. He’s been loyal to them since childhood and has stuck with them through thick and thin. He’s also done the same with me. That faithfulness carries over into every part of his life. And so it is that on the Saturday before the Superbowl we spent 3 hours birding at the Arivaca Cienega and an hour at Arivaca Lake. His is not so much an interest in birds as it is an interest in photography. By buying the Nikon D80 we found a way for both of us to enjoy birding.

While we are standing at the picnic area trying to identify some sparrows (which turn out to be vesper sparrows) another couple comes walking up the path from the Cienega. They tell us the green Kingfisher is hanging around, so we hurry down the path to investigate for ourselves. It’s just after noon time and it is so warm that I have shed my long-sleeved shirt in favor of a sleeveless one. A slight breeze ruffles my hair and at times I have to grasp the strings of my birding hat to keep it from flying off my head, but I am comfortable and the warm sun feels so good on my skin.

We take the left-hand fork and come to the pond under a huge cottonwood tree. A wooden platform here allows us to get a good view over the water’s edge. I scan the bank for a bird as small as a sparrow with a beak half the length of its body and then I see it! Gus hurries closer and snaps off some pictures. The kingfisher is initially in the sunlight but it quickly flies into the shadow of the bank opposite from us where it perches on a tangle of branches and virtually disappears. Though the bird is green in color, the white speckles of its plumage imitate the dappled light proving to be an effective camouflage. We continue our trip around the loop and this time venture even farther out past the marsh where we see a few meadowlarks and a snipe. On our way back we detour to the pond once again and this time Gus is able to get even better photos of the kingfisher with a fish in its beak!

By now it is late afternoon but we decide to check out Arivaca Lake which is only 7 miles from our current location. The road leading into the lake is 2.3 miles long and dirt. Fortunately our new Hyundai Santa Fe is high enough clearance that we can make it. We are far from any human habitation out here. I scan the horizon looking for bandelaros, Mexican bandits who try to steal drugs and illegal human cargo from the coyotes who guide them over the border. Last year some bandelaros shot up a truck they thought was full of drugs, but proved to be full of human beings. Four people died as a result. Birding can be a dangerous business out here!

By the time we arrive at the lake the shadows are long and deep. The earlier warmth is all but gone. Now I not only have my long-sleeved shirt on over the sleeveless one, but I also have on a vest and a jacket and I’m still cold!

Arivaca Lake is nestled in a deep canyon with rocky cliffs and forested banks. The dark water is ruffled with small waves blown up by the persistent wind. Coots, Ruddy ducks and widgeons dot the surface. A lone pied-billed grebe swims away from us and our camera, and then dives beneath the surface. Two fishermen round a corner of the lake which is long and narrow with twists and turns. We can only see a small portion of it from our vantage point. While Gus is snapping duck pictures, I walk toward the far end where the creek runs out of the Bosque. Here the water is a little shallower and I find a spotted sandpiper teetering along the sandbar. Over the water’s edge a black phoebe darts out for an insect and alights on its perch again. I hear a twittering in the trees behind me and go searching for the maker of that sound. I find a small flock of chipping sparrows. I am surprised to find them here.

The cold and coming darkness drives us to our vehicle. It is an hour’s ride home and darkness hits before we make it back to the interstate. On Arivaca road we have to pass through a temporary check point set up by the border patrol. It wasn’t here last time we came to the Cienega, so I assume it is the extra security in place for the Superbowl that takes place tomorrow in Tempe, AZ. The young guard is friendly and we chat about birds and birding. He foolishily asks why people go birding and before you know it I’m off on a tangent rhapsodizing the virtues of birding and birder’s obsessions with listing. Gus rolls up the window and we drive home.