Catalina State Park Evening

Chris and I decided to see if it had cooled off any yesterday evening, and Catalina State Park seemed the logical destination, particularly as he was eager to see Crissal Thrasher. Unfortunately, that bird had already retired, or at least fallen silent, by the time we got there, but there was lots more to see on a very beautiful evening.

It was still light when we arrived, and Rufous-winged Sparrows and Varied Buntings had started their evensong; we had great looks at the Rufous-wings, and quick glimpses at a couple of buntings along Sutherland Wash. Gambel’s Quail were everywhere, with chicks big and small, ticking and grunting as they sought their roosts.

Our turnaround point was determined by a 3- or 4-foot western diamondback that rattled agressively as we walked past; I decided that we probably did not want to have to come back that way in the dark, so we timed it to pass our irascible friend just at sunset. This time, he didn’t make any noise at us; probably more disconcerting than being rattled at!

What did make noise, though, were the owls. First an Elf Owl started to chip, then two Western Screech-Owls began their shivering duet. A Great Horned Owl pitched out of a saguaro to disappear over the ridge, and soon more Elf Owls started to sing from the hillside.

Common Poorwill lives up to both parts of its name in this area. Their sad little song surrounded us in the wash, and suddenly a big moth-like shape flitted in over our heads and landed on the trail just a few feet ahead of us. Though it was fairly dark, the white of its throat glowed from the ground, and it uttered a few popping noises as it fluttered around, nearly at our feet, catching insects. We had similar views of several Lesser Nighthawks as we left the park in full dark.