Valley of the Sun 2013: Tubac hawk watch, and much, much more....

Another amazing day of birding in southern Arizona!

Dana and I left Green Valley at around 8:00. We were destined for Patagonia where we hoped to spot the Elegant Trogon that has been resident there for a couple of weeks. On the way we planned to stop in Tubac and hopefully spot a Common Black Hawk. Boy, did our plans change in a hurry!!!

We did stop in Tubac, 10 miles south of Green Valley, but what we found exceeded any expectations we might have had regarding the Common Black Hawk. We were fortunate to find "ground zero" of the migration Hawk Watch that has been going on since March 1st. An avid birder has been set up in the County Park in Tubac every day this month and is recording the annual Black Hawk migration. We arrived at the County Park at around 8:45. We found the fellow and 6 other birders already scanning the horizon for hawks and vultures. They welcomed us and in no time included us in the observation. At 9:15 the main event began. First there was a Zone-tailed hawk rising into the sky on the horizon to catch the thermal highway north. Then suddenly there were one, then 2 Common Black Hawks. Then a Gray Hawk could be heard calling from the cottonwood trees that line the Santa Cruz river adjacent to the Park. Over the next 30 minutes the action was fast and furious with 8 Common Black Hawks clearly observed. A pair of Gray Hawks thrilled us with their aerobatics as they flew over the trees next to the park. Also observed were 4 Zone-tailed hawks, 60 Turkey Vultures, 13 in a single "kettle", 2 Black Vultures, 1 Red Tailed hawk, 1 Cooper's Hawk and 1 Northern Harrier hawk. Wow! That was way cool. To think we just dropped in to see if maybe we could spot a single Common Black Hawk and then to be part of the observation of all these magnificent birds. I can't tell you what a thrill it was. But wait, there is more, much more.....

During the Hawk Watch we observed a Cassin's King bird sitting on a fence not far from where we were set up for the Hawk Watch. Then, a couple of Vermilion Flycatchers showed up, maybe to watch the show??? Also, we observed a Ladder-backed woodpecker in a tree adjacent to the park. All this, before coffee break!

When it appeared that the daily migration of hawks and vultures was over we headed into Tubac for coffee and a rest. We decided that birding in Tubac was so hot that we would delay our trip to Patagonia and spend the rest of the day birding the Juan Bautista De Anza Historic trail that runs along the Santa Cruz River near Tubac. I mean, after the thrill of seeing all the birds before coffee this morning any other sightings would just be icing on the cake.

Our luck did not run out with the sightings of 8 Common Black Hawks. In fact, it got better..... Here is a list of the birds we identified between 10:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.:

Vermilion Flycatcher (male and female)
Say's Phoebe
Black Phoebe
Yellow Warbler
Lesser Gold Finch
Northern Cardinal (male)
Yellow Rumped Warbler
Bewick's Wren
Gray Flycatcher
Rufous Backed Robin
Bridled Titmouse
Broad Billed Hummingbird (many)
Ruby Crowned Kinglets
Green Tailed Towhee
Bell's Vireo
White Crowned Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White Breasted Nuthatch
and, the grand finale.... Gray Hawk sitting in a tree! That was awesome!

We are now at 116 species for our year to date list. Tomorrow we will definitely go to Patagonia and hopefully spot the Elegant Trogon and a few more species to add to our growing list.

The day ended as it has the past 2 with us lounging pool side at our hotel. You know what? This birding thing is alright...... Ciao!

Here are few pictures from the day. Enjoy!