Southeastern Arizona, May 2001
by Andy Birch
Saturday 26th May 2001
It's 6 am and already getting quite hot. We've been in French Joe Canyon in SE Arizona for the better part of an hour, hoping to catch a glimpse of a Rufous-capped Warbler, one of a pair of this vagrant Mexican species at this location. The birding is pleasant enough, a Black-chinned Sparrow sings from the hillside and a Scott's Oriole zips through the trees at the upper spring. We start to lose faith that we will see this bird and are preparing thoughts for a hot return walk back to our car. Suddenly, a warbler zips over our heads and lands briefly in a tree at eye level. Sporting flashy eye stripes, a stunning yellow breast and rufous crown and cheeks - this is our bird! Patient waiting, and the bird comes down to the stream and bathes right in front of us and preens for a short while before dashing off again. Feeling very lucky at the views we had, we decided to head out of the canyon before it gets too hot.
Ramsey Canyon have some busy hummingbird feeders and a Broad-billed Hummingbird entertains us for a while whilst a Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher calls over head. In the distance, a barking noise soon reveals itself as an Elegant Trogon in some trees above the path. The bird peers down inquisitively at us below. A crazy mix of pink underparts and deep green head, it really is an elegant bird except for the call which feels like it should belong more to a hairy rodent than this exotic creature.
Sunday May 27th
The drive to California Gulch is a tough one even in a 4X4. We did this drive a couple of years ago and came back empty-handed. This time, we're hoping to see Five-striped Sparrows, the only known population in the US close to a road (?!) After some deliberation about which way to go next, we found the gulch rather later in the morning than we had hoped. Varied Buntings were singing prominently and one or two Blue-Grosbeaks joined in the singing contest too. Finally, after a lot of searching, we caught a glimpse of a pair of Five-striped Sparrows. The male later appeared out in the open further up the hillside and sang for a short while. All stripes, it really is quite a distinctive bird.
