in SOUTHERN
ARIZONA

& in nearby NORTHERN 
SONORA, MEXICO  


At some great places
in the mountains and the desert

During a great time of year for birds,
with breeders and some migrants


With numbers of Waterfowl,
Raptors, Cranes, and Sparrows.
 

Also, during the tour, weather permitting,
a visit to an ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY
to see celestial objects in a clear night-time sky.  


January 15-26, 2009

(tour: FON/AZ-1, '09)

Tour to be led by Armas Hill.

Birds of southern Arizona (with photos)

Mammals & Other Wildlife in Arizona (including Amphibians & Reptiles) (with photos)     

Butterflies of Arizona (with photos) 

Birds of Sonora, Mexico (with photos) 

Mammals in Mexico  (with photos)

Amphibians & Reptiles in Mexico (with photos)

Highlights of Previous FONT Tours in Arizona

Highlights of Previous FONT Tours in Sonora, Mexico

Cactus Wrens are year-round residents in deserts 
in Arizona & Sonora.
(photo by Doris Potter during a FONT tour)

Itinerary:

Thu, Jan. 15:  Arrival mid-day in Tucson. Afternoon birding nearby, including the area of Mt. Lemon, for birds such as Lewis's Woodpecker, Townsend's Solitaire, Mountain Bluebird, and Mountain Chickadee. Overnight in the Tucson area.

Fri, Jan. 16:  Much of this day will be in the San Rafael Valley, a valley of grassland, in Arizona not far north of the Mexican border. This is a particularly good area during the winter for various kinds of raptors and sparrows. Also Chestnut-collared Longspurs can be in wandering flocks with which there can be a few McCown's Longspurs. Sprague's Pipits and Baird's Sparrows may not be easy to find, but they can occur. Overnight in the small town of Patagonia.

In the San Rafael Valley in southern Arizona, 
in January there would be less wildflowers in bloom
than when this photo was taken there in late August, 
but there would be more hawks and sparrows. 
January is a wonderful time for nature in that scenic valley. 

Sat, Jan. 17:  In the morning, places to be visited in the Patagonia area will include the Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Sanctuary and Patagonia Lake. At each, a number of birds should be seen. 
At the Patagonia Lake, expected, of course, would be waterbirds. Possibilities in the winter include: Common Loon, Eared Grebe, and Common Goldeneye along with other ducks.
In the reeds around the lake there could be rails, Wilson's Snipe, and Swamp Sparrow. Elsewhere by the lake, some birds of the desert should be present.   
In the afternoon, we'll head east to the town of Willcox, by way of Kansas Settlement in the Sulphur Springs Valley. Thousands of Sandhill Cranes winter in that part of the valley, and late in the day, we should have a nice encounters with them, as flocks fly about.
Overnight in Willcox.

Reflected clouds in Willcox Lake
Although no birds are to be seen in this photograph,
we should see plenty of them at the lake when we visit in January.  

Sun, Jan. 18:  Nearly a full-day of birding in the Sulphur Springs Valley near Wilcox. In addition to the many Sandhill Cranes already noted, we'll also see numerous other birds. Chihuahuan Ravens can be particularly common. At Willcox Lake, there should be an assortment of waterbirds, and some shorebirds too. Grasslands in the valley are the winter habitat of Hawks such as the Ferruginous and the Rough-legged. Sage Sparrows winter in patches of desert scrub. And many other species of wintering birds may be found, such as other sparrows in the grasslands and blackbirds in the corrals at ranches. Lastly, here, but certainly not least, Mountain Plovers can be seen in the open fields.
Late in the afternoon, we'll head south to the town of Douglas on the Arizona/Mexican border, where we'll spend the night in an historic hotel.  

The Ferruginous Hawk is one 
of the wintering raptors in Arizona. 

Mon, Jan. 19:  In the morning, we'll cross the border into the northern Mexican state of Sonora, to go to a place, for birding & nature, that has been special for us in the  past. It's the property of a large ranch, about 30,000 acres, in the High Sonoran Desert. Elevations range from about 3,300 to 7,200 feet above sea level, and the area includes a number of habitats, from riparian woodland to desert. Additionally, there are some spectacular canyons to be explored and in which some notable wildlife is to be found. 

Following this itinerary, a series of photographs taken on the property, during our Sep '08 tour, show some of the marvelous scenery, topography, and the flora & fauna to be found there.

Wildlife does abound in the area. Pumas are said to be common. Deer and Coyote are as well. Many birds occur. During a previous tour, both Montezuma and Elegant Quail were found. In one of the canyons, there were Rufous-capped Warblers. A Mexican Yellow Grosbeak was seen, as were Five-striped and Rufous-winged Sparrows. The last of these species can be seen locally in southern Arizona, but not as readily as it has been in the past. Overall, the global range of the Rufous-winged Sparrow is nearly restricted to the Mexican state of Sonora.
What probably is best about where we'll be in the remote hills of Sonora is that it IS NOW, as places such as Arizona WERE in the past - before the "development" brought highways, agriculture, and many people. On the property in Sonora, such things are missing. The place is "natural". Oh, there are some cattle on the ranch, but not many. As one travels about on the property on tracks in a four-wheel drive vehicle, one can sense for a while, during the visit, what a "natural place" can be like - and how it was before the highways, agriculture, and many people.
Looking at the photos just noted, that follow below, one can see that a place that is quite similar in the United States to this special area we'll be visiting in Sonora is Big Bend National Park.
The first of 2 nights in the Sonoran hills.           

Tue, Jan. 20:  A full day of birds and other nature in the Sonoran hills. One of the birds we should see would be the Mexican subspecies of the Wild Turkey, known as the "Gould's Turkey". It has white in its plumage where other wild turkeys are buffy.

January should be a good time to see the Costa's Hummingbird, a bird of desert scrub. That species is not commonly seen in southern Arizona or northeastern Sonora during the late summer, when other hummingbirds commonly are. In northern Sonora, there have been a paucity of records from mid-July to mid-September. Where do they go? It's not known.

Costa's Hummingbird

Also in the region in January, we'll see numerous other birds at Lake Angostura and along the Bavispe River. Not only will there be birds, but other wildlife too.
To give again an idea of how remote and wild this area is: during our last tour, as we stood on a hill overlooking Lake Angostura, we could see across the way a ridge clad on its upper parts with pines. It was there, we were told, that Geronimo had his last hangout. It was in such places that the Imperial Woodpecker once lived, and where today the Eared Quetzal still does.
In a nearby canyon, with steep walls, a couple years ago, a pair of Military Macaws were seen - the most northern sighting of that species, and the closest to the US.
Referring back to Geronimo for a second, one of the reasons why this part of Mexico has been so unpopulated is that it was, for over 150 years, the haunt of the aggressive, even ferocious, Apaches.
During our last tour on this Sonoran ranch, our early-morning wake-up call, just outside our windows, was the howling of Coyotes. Throughout the day, there were many birds, butterflies, and animals such as the Antelope Jackrabbit and the Coue's White-tailed Deer. Following dusk, owls called. After dark, the stars shone brightly, including a Milky Way that nearly jumped out at us. Our second overnight in the Sonoran hills. 

Coyote

    
Wed, Jan 21:  We'll head further south in Sonora this day to the small, picturesque desert town of Alamos. That area has been a center for ornithological exploration for many years, and, in the winter, has hosted Christmas Bird Counts annually. The Alamos area has a rich avifauna as it where habitats meet: desert, tropical (the northern limit), and montane (in the mountains known as the Sierra Madre Occidental).
Notable birds in the area (that generally do not occur further north) include: Rufous-bellied Chachalaca, Mexican Parrotlet, Black-throated Magpie-Jay, and Happy Wren. All of these species are endemic to western Mexico.
Other notables include: Plain-capped Starthroat, Purplish-backed Jay, Sinaloa Crow, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Rose-throated Becard, and Blue Mockingbird.
Northerly "tropical birds" include: Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Crane Hawk, Green Kingfisher, and Squirrel Cuckoo. Our first of two overnights in Alamos.     

Thu, Jan. 22:  A full-day of birding in the Alamos area. Our second overnight there. 

Green Kingfisher

Fri, Jan. 23:  This day, we'll go to our final site in Sonora - Bahia Kino, or Kino Bay, along the coast of the Gulf of California, north of the Sea of Cortez. Birds will be many, including: Blue-footed and Brown Boobies, Reddish Egret, Wilson's Plover, and Yellow-footed and Heermann's Gulls. Over the water, and along the coast, in addition to some marine mammals, other birds could be Magnificent Frigatebirds, loons, terns, shorebirds, and the Mangrove Warbler. The last of these was formerly considered part of the Yellow Warbler. The male, in breeding plumage, has a brick-red head. At the day's end, we'll overnight near Kino Bay. 

Above: Two Yellow-footed Gulls along the coast of the Sea of Cortez
Below: The island called in the Sea of Cortez called Alcatraz
named after the Brown Pelicans & other birds that nest there in numbers.
(photos by Abram Fleishman)   

Sat, Jan 24:  After some final morning birding along the Gulf of California coast, and nearby, we'll travel north back to the US-Mexico border, and on to Tucson, where we'll overnight.

Sun, Jan 25:  Our last day of birding to be in the Tucson area, and to the southwest, in the area of Kitts Peak, where there is an astronomical observatory. For those who wish, there will be a visit to the observatory, during this, our last afternoon and night, to see more of what was in that star-lit sky above us when we were in the Sonoran hills and elsewhere during the tour. Our last overnight in Tucson, near the airport.

Mon, Jan 26:  Departure for home.   

The Black-bellied Whistling Duck 
occurs in far-southern Arizona & in Sonora, Mexico. 
(Photo by Howard Eskin)

Includes: All accommodations and transportation. Services of an expert birding leader. Breakfasts & lunches Jan. 16–25. 

Even more, on the 30,000-acre property of the ranch

Above: The desert plant known as Ocotillo.
Below: a hillside of it.
When in bloom, its bright red flowers attract hummingbirds.

Greater Roadrunner

A cluster of butterflies,
during our most-recent tour in Sonora, Mexico.