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On July 5th, 2010, I hiked World-famous Sycamore Canyon in the Pajarito Montains west of Rio Rico, Arizona with the intention of walking all the way to the Mexican border for the first time in my 12-plus-year residency in the state. I have been awed by the majesty of this beautiful place many times before, but have never gone much further downstream than the confluence with Penasco Canyon, almost three miles from the parking area near Ruby Road. The border fence, it turns out, is over 6 miles from the parking area, making for an almost 13-mile roundtrip through this deepest, wettest, and most biologically diverse drainage in one of Arizona’s most remote border ranges. The rainy season had not really arrived yet and, although there may have been some recent precipitation prior to our hike, most of the pools were Read the rest of this entry »

On Thursday, June 24, 2010, I took my usual late-June hike on Sonoita Creek upstream from Patagonia lake to look for possible nesting Rose-throated Becards. The mile-and-a-half stretch between the upper end of the lake and the boundary with the Circle Z Guest Ranch contains a lot of lush, sub-tropical-like habitat, including a couple of large Sycamore trees near the boundary line which the elusive becards have nested in before.

It’s always fun making this hike, because any number of  Mexican vagrants could be found, but unfortunately, even though the morning was very birdy and there were no dull moments, I really didn’t run across anything unexpected, Becards included. Expected birds along the creek can be pretty fun, though, and while I was a little surprised to not run across either Thick-billed Kingbird or Black-capped Gnatcatcher, I did manage to see some nesting Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, a couple Gray Hawks, literally dozens of calling Common Ground-Doves, many Broad-billed hummingbirds, lots of Gila and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, several Northern Beardless Tyrannulets, Bell’s Vireos, Bridled Titmice, Phainopeplas, Yellow and Lucy’s Warlers, Yellow-breasted Chats, Summer Tanagers, Abert’s Towhees, Blue Grosbeaks, Indigo Buntings (with a few Varieds on the hillsides), and some Hooded and Bullock’s Orioles (with a couple Scott’s, again on the hillsides). Plus lots of other stuff.

Like I said, though, nothing too unusual. That being the case, I think my favorite critter of the day was a little Sonora Mud Turtle (Kinostrnon sonoriense)

Sonora Mud Turtle

which was bull-dozing his way right up the middle of the creek. I was amazed at how worn and algae-covered the plates of his carapice were, and I imagined him to be, possibly, as far along in years as my own near half-century (even though in size he was inferior to a round-backed shoe-brush).

I removed him from his wet surrounding just long enough to chek out his bright yellow belly-side (the plastron, which was hinged at both ends to allow the old guy to close himself tighly inside), then placed him back in the current where he plowed upstream and under a fallen willow branch. A close-up of him tucked up inside his shell barely shows the diagnostic vermiculations on his face and throat which separate him from the congeneric (but not locally sympatric) Yellow and Arizona Mud Turtles.

This list shows all the birds known to be present in Santa Cruz County at this time, with rarities and posted dates gleaned from the AZ/NM Listserve (BIRDWG05) and the Tucson Rare Bird Alert, as well as personal observations both first- and second-hand.

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