At exactly 0530 hours, as planned, Laurens Halsey from
Desert Harrier Birding and Nature Guide Services arrived at Joe’s place. Still
in mild distress from his date with the dentist the previous day, Joe stayed
behind so Corrine did, too. Natalie and
I piled into Laurens’ moon rover-vehicle-thingy and moved on with our morning.
One of the most ridiculous adventures in Southeast
Arizona birding is the hunt for the Five-striped Sparrow. They BARELY make it into the United
States. Favoring brushy hillsides in
canyons, one location has come forward as the most reliable place – California
Gulch. Basically, that’s it. Sure, they can be found elsewhere on
occasion, but still only within a few miles of the Mexican border.
It is often advised that one be totally prepared for this
trek. Spare tires. Extra water. Big vehicles.
You are in the middle of nowhere
and if anything goes wrong, you are so screwed and there is a great chance no
one will know you’re there.
Hiring a guide for this bird is the way to go, if you ask
me. They know where they are going. They
know what they are looking for. And they
have ham radios in the vehicle if needed. Forget cell phones. You might as well
be on Mars. Play it safe. Get a guide.
90 minutes or so later, we were parked outside the gulch
and we began our descent. The hike is
not bad at all (remember it is getting there safely that is tricky).
Not twenty minutes into the Gulch, we heard and then saw, one of the
flashiest sparrows in the United States. Life bird #660. Five-stripped Sparrow.
If you are wondering why the photo looks a little odd, we
were looking down on it! The gulch (or
canyon or whatever you want to call it) has a rough road along the edge. We
descended into the gulch by walking the road. Below us was the stream bed and
that is where the bird was feeding.
But the birding didn’t stop there! Knowing we needed other birds, Laurens took
us deeper in the gulch. For the next
hour so, we had super looks at more Arizona goodies (all of which were new for
Natalie) including Gray Hawk and
Dusky-capped Flycatcher. Unlike the Varied Bunting at Madera Canyon, this bird
put on quite a show.
The drive out gave us good looks at Cassin’s Kingbird and
a fleeting glimpse of a Zone-tailed Hawk.
Natalie wasn’t happy with that look and was hoping for a better look
later.
Hoping for a cold drink, we made a quick stop at the
Gadsden Coffee Company. Located basically in the middle of nowhere, we secured
Canyon Towhee in the courtyard. Ice
coffee never tasted so good.
By lunch time, we were back at Joe’s as we hired Laurens
for just a half-day adventure.
For the record, if you find yourself needing a guide in
Arizona, consider Laurens. He is good, friendly, punctual, professional,
flexible, and licensed! Yes, folks, there are lots of guides available in
southeast Arizona. But, per the law, some run their operations illegally as
they are not licensed to run a guide service in some locations like the
Coronado National Forest.
After a casual bite of lunch (somewhat by "lunch standards"), Natalie and I simply ran
out of gas. By the time we returned from
dining, we were functionally dead.
Nappy-pooh time.
After dinner, Joe (feeling slightly better), Corrine,
Natalie and I headed back to Madera for more owling. Come on – the place is THAT cool!
Like clockwork, the Elf Owls were back feeding the kids
again. At one point, Joe exclaimed “Look
at the rail! Look at the rail!” My first
thought was “Holy cow, the heat is getting to this man….there are no rails,
Black, Virginia, or otherwise, in Madera Canyon…” A moment later, I realized he was talking
about the hand rail. There, in all its
glory, was the Elf Owl. So small. So incredibly small.
Further up the mountain, we secured more Mexican Whips
along with Whiskered Screech Owl and Northern Pygmy Owl. Calls only. Nobody showed themselves. Damn…
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