The High Catalinas

Darlene and I left poor Alison and Gellert in the heat and headed up the mountain this morning. Low 100s in Tucson, high 60s in the Catalinas: an easy choice!

Cool and green and shady: Marshall Gulch

There was a lot to see up there, from Red-faced Warbler families to gangs of noisy Pygmy Nuthatches. Fledgling Yellow-eyed Juncos were begging, and two Wild Turkey hens had 11 poults between them–impressive for a species that has just been reintroduced to the range.

I especially enjoyed the great views we had of Cordilleran Flycatchers.

“See-wup!”

We ran into this species just about everywhere from Bear Canyon up, and it was awfully nice to be back in a part of the world where males give an honest-to-goodness disyllabic call. How simple life was back in the days of Western Flycatcher!