Benson, Willcox, Whitewater Draw

Sharon, Ed, Sharon and her ten year old son and budding birding star Ken joined me for March’s Fun Birding Workshop, headed for the Sulphur Springs Valley.

We stopped in at Benson Wastewater Treatment Plant to get the list off to a good start. We sorted through various duck species, including several splendid male Buffleheads. This was Ken’s very favorite bird name of the day, and proved to be a new and excellent term of abuse – are you reading this Ken, you total Bufflehead?!

An Eared Grebe was amongst the more usual suspects. A young male Vermilion Flycatcher, looking like a female but with random patches of pink and red, demonstrated the transition between different plumages nicely. Early spring swallows swooped over the water, a few Northern Rough-winged but mostly smart blue and white Tree Swallows. Small flocks were passing through in waves, as they were at the other sites we visited later in the day. Just as we were leaving we got another demonstration of how birds migrate at this time of the year – or generally wander, in the case of this species – when a Ring-billed Gull dropped in.

At Willcox Twin Lakes we enjoyed good views of a covey of 25 or so Scaled Quail near the golf club. With all the recent rain the water level on Lake Cochise was understandably high with little habitat for shorebirds, and there was nothing too unusual on the water. I heard a familiar call high up in the sky and before long we saw our first Sandhill Cranes of the day, a flock of around 300 which dropped into a field by I-10.

We headed into the valley and began exploring the agricultural fields around Kansas Settlement and Elfrida. We found some of our target species (I’d given everyone “homework”) such as Lark Bunting and Vesper Sparrow but in general there was little moving. Good scope views of a gorgeous Ferruginous Hawk near McNeal was a real treat and knocked another target species off the list.

We arrived at Whitewater Draw and I immediately went to confirm the presence of a Great Horned Owl in the barn, like I’d promised… but alas, no owls. The last few times I’ve been to Whitewater Draw I’ve witnessed people approach the owl/s pointing and shouting, going way too close, talking loudly while standing right underneath them, waving their arms about… I wasn’t all that surprised to learn that two owls had been in the barn earlier in the day. I may be wrong, but it’s my assumption that these nocturnal birds did not depart from their sheltered roosting spot, where they were trying to get some sleep, and head into the stiff breeze and rain showers, at around lunchtime, because they fancied a change of scenery. I wish people would just think, but with that being an impossible dream, I hope AZ Game & Fish close access to the southern half of the barn. The owls are very tolerant of people if they behave appropriately and if everyone stayed back they’d be around all the time. One of the pair this morning was apparently investigating the nesting platform, but I can’t envisage a successful breeding attempt if the current level of harassment continues. I suppose with all the cranes set to depart in the next few weeks, they might get a little more peace.

About 2,000 Sandhill Cranes were already present at Whitewater Draw mid afternoon but very few came in after that. They were all huddled together on the furthest shoreline and we waited quite a while to see if there would be any action. I was willing an eagle to pass by, but no such luck. We spoke to a couple who had been staying in an RV there who said numbers had dropped noticeably over the past three days. We had a record number of Sandhill Cranes in the Sulphur Springs Valley this winter, over 40,000 for the first time. Usually they’ve all left for their northern breeding grounds by the end of the month and it looks like the majority of our winter birds are already making that journey.

The habitat looks good for shorebirds at present, and indeed it was good for shorebirds, with 100 Least Sandpipers, 30 Long-billed Dowitchers, four American Avocets, a Greater Yellowlegs, three Wilson’s Snipe, a couple of Spotted Sandpipers and the usual smattering of Killdeer. A couple of Soras gave good views in the open on the permanent pond, a Great Blue Heron tried (unsuccessfully) to hide amongst tall grass on the main lagoon and a Great Egret lurked on the marsh.

The white goose flock was off in the distance, presumably the same mix of 96 Snow Geese and 18 Ross’s Geese that has been around all winter (at least, that’s what I counted on the Elfrida CBC in December).  Three more Ring-billed Gulls were loafing out on the water, in the same spot that gulls always seem to hang out at Whitewater Draw. All the Scaup we scrutinized were Lessers – I couldn’t find the long-staying male Greater Scaup or the pair that was reported the previous day.

We headed back to the parking lot for snacks and bathroom breaks, and as soon as we bit into our sandwiches the entire crane flock took to the air, honking like crazy, giving us a great aerial display. We heard a pack of coyotes yipping excitedly as if making a kill shortly afterwards, presumably the source of this panic. After a few minutes the cranes settled back down again, some of them a lot closer than previously. We headed back out to the viewing platform and got better views. Ken showed an amazingly keen eye to pick out a juvenile, one of the homework items I’d set him.

Still wanting to show everyone an owl, I put my best foot forward and started to check the willows. I got lucky after about ten seconds when, through the branches, the wing of an owl materialized in my field of view. Thankfully the rest of a Great Horned Owl was attached to it. It was vocalizing repeatedly, apparently in response to a singing White-winged Dove. It was also chewing on branches in a mildly excited manner, a fascinating behavior I’d not seen before.

Sharon, Sharon and Ken said their farewells and headed back on the long journey to Phoenix, so Ed and I took the last hour of light to check the Central Highway near McNeal. I had two thrashers down as target species, Crissal and Bendire’s, but so far we’d only managed Curve-billed. We stopped at a likely looking spot (but not one I’d really scrutinized before) and right away I heard a thrasher singing, a Bendire’s. After brief and distant looks as it popped up every few minutes, we finally got good close scope views and Ed was able to check all the critical ID points. By now another two birds had started singing nearby (and a Curve-billed was also in the area) so the spot by milepost 17 is now firmly on my thrasher radar.

As we headed back north towards the freeway I hoped in vain for a dusk Burrowing Owl or preferably a Short-eared Owl, but that was just being greedy. We saw seven of our ten target species (I’ll make them easier next month!) and we finished on 72 species.

Pulling off I-10 back in Tucson, a sharp piece of metal popped one of my rear tires, so our day ended with a wrecked tire and a little grovelling around on the ground in a Denny’s parking lot. It was still worth it though!

My thanks to everyone for making it such a great day, especially Ed for fixing the tire as I crucially supervised, and Ken, a charming and smart kid whose enthusiasm gave me a bit of hope for the future.

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