tayainno.blogg.se

Another popular access point is not far away, east of the town of Hereford. The most popular access is at San Pedro House itself, where trails wind through the riparian corridor. Volunteers here are happy to give birding advice, including directions to access points for the river corridor. Stop first at San Pedro House, seven miles east of Sierra Vista on Highway 90. Not only does the area provide home for breeding birds, it acts as a figurative highway for migrants in spring and fall. The line of trees creates a lush ribbon of green in a dry environment. This “site” actually comprises a riparian corridor around 40 miles long, following the San Pedro River as it flows north from Mexico to join the Gila River. San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area

For a birder, a mid-summer trip here can feel like a visit to paradise. One day isn’t nearly enough to cover this area, from the desert lowlands to the conifer forests in the Chiricahua highlands. Birds in the high elevations can include Band-tailed Pigeon, Greater Pewee, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Steller’s Jay, Mexican Chickadee, Pygmy Nuthatch, Olive Warbler, Grace’s Warbler, Red-faced Warbler, Yellow-eyed Junco, and Red Crossbill. Then it’s up the main road into the heart of the Chiricahuas, heading to spots such as Onion Saddle, Rustler Park, and Barfoot Park (although birding all the way). This spot is famed as the home of the Elegant Trogon, but also hosts Montezuma Quail, Whiskered Screech-Owl, Magnificent Hummingbird, Blue-throated Hummingbird, Acorn Woodpecker, Arizona Woodpecker, Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, Hutton’s Vireo, Mexican Jay, and Painted Redstart, to name just a few highlights. Many birders then head to beautiful Cave Creek Canyon in the Coronado National Forest. Scrub areas around Portal may host Gambel’s Quail, Lesser Nighthawk, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Black Phoebe, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Bell’s Vireo, Bridled Titmouse, Verdin, Curve-billed Thrasher, Phainopepla, Lucy’s Warbler, Cassin’s Sparrow, and Black-throated Sparrow. Many birders enter the Chiricahuas through the small town of Portal, just four miles from the New Mexico state line. They also rank on every top ten list of birding destinations in the United States. The Chiricahuas rise as one of several “sky islands” in southeastern Arizona: isolated mountain ranges surrounded by lowland desert or grassland. From the Chiricahua Mountains in the southeast to the world’s largest ponderosa pine forest in the north to wetlands along the Colorado River, the rewards are practically endless. The total is aided by quite a few rare vagrants that occasionally cross the border from Mexico, such as Flame-colored Tanager and Streak-backed Oriole.Įventually, every birder must visit Arizona. Overall, Arizona’s species list of around 550 is the highest of any state without an ocean coastline.

There’s more to Arizona than the southeast, of course, including Grand Canyon National Park, the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff, the White Mountains in the east, and wildlife refuges along the Colorado River to the west. The list of special species is long, but a few highlights are Montezuma Quail, Gray Hawk, Violet-crowned Hummingbird, Elegant Trogon, Arizona Woodpecker, Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Buff-breasted Flycatcher, Olive Warbler, Rufous-winged Sparrow, and Yellow-eyed Junco. Within a relatively small region here, you can find Sonoran Desert, oak woodland, high-elevation conifer forest, and riparian areas. A significant percentage of American birders, if asked to choose their single favorite regional destination, would pick southeastern Arizona.