Patagonia CBC

Fourteen degrees F is not an unusual temperature at the start of a Christmas Count in most parts of North America; but in southeast Arizona, it was a bit of shock this morning in Patagonia. Happily, we were well dressed and the wind stayed down, but there were still moments when we had to look up at the spectacular scenery of the Patagonia Mountains to be certain that we were in fact just a couple of miles from the Mexican border!

It was a terrifically beautiful day, if chilly, and Denis and Alison and I had a blast being out in it. Matt and Abbie had very kindly assigned our party to Flux Canyon, a remote and still little-known area in the middle of the mountains, with obvious great potential for interesting birds. We ended up not tapping that potential to its fullest on this day of relatively slow birding, but we still came across some nice birds.

The highlights among the 32 species we picked up on our nine-mile stroll included  a fine pair of Montezuma Quail, the female giving their location away with her clucking and nervous scratching, which sent a small cascade of rocks down onto our path; the male, a strong silent type, was not visible until he flushed. Equally exciting was a pair of Peregrine Falcons, both adults, soaring close over the oak woodland, seeking whom they might devour. And it was my best day ever for Olive Warblers. We saw a conservatively counted 6, and had repeated eye-level views of males and females as they fed very actively in the junipers; it was a far cry from the usual neck-breaking routine in the summer, when they like to live at the tops of ponderosa pines.

My own personal “best” bird of the day was one that left Alison, after these last months in New York, unmoved. We were enjoying yet another nice flock of Oregon, Gray-headed, and Pink-sided Juncos when a spectacular male Slate-colored Junco appeared among them. Denis and I shouted the bird’s name at the same time, while Alison just kept watching the Bridled Titmice she has done without for so long!

A big thanks to Matt and Abbie for organizing a great count with excellent coverage!