Thursday, October 11, 2012

Birding Rio Rico

1. Vermillion fly female-kab Vermillion Flycatcher (female) in Rio Rico 9-20-12

Though the temperature remained near 100 degrees last month it was beginning to look a little bit like autumn as my friend, Celeste and I set out on a birding adventure on a somewhat cool Thursday morning. We were thankful for the cloud cover as we drove south on Interstate 19 towards Rio Rico for a day of birding adventures and sightseeing fun.

2. amado skull-kab Since my friend, Celeste is originally from England I just had to show her the giant cow skull door entrance to the Long Horn Bar and Grill in Amado. I must say that I was sad to see it was being sold at auction the next week, apparently a casualty of the current economy here in Arizona. Still, Celeste got a kick out of seeing it as well as the Cow Palace Restaurant across the street where John Wayne is reported to have eaten on occasion. I first met Celeste a few years ago through our mutual interest in birds and blogging. Since then we have become good friends. Having her nearby here in Tucson has certainly helped ease the homesickness for family I have experienced since moving back. But we did not stop in Amado just for  the giant cow skull, we also stopped there because the Amado Sewage Ponds can be a great place to find birds. We drove over to the east side of I-19 next and parked the car. Though we walked quietly around the pond and the grasslands searching for birds, they were few and far between, so we moved on.

3. black bellied whistling ducks-kab Black-bellied Whistling Duck Family at the Rio Rio Pond 9-20-12

Farther down the highway we exited at Rio Rico drive stopping first at the De Anza Trailhead. It had been two years since i have been here and i was sad to see the parking and picnic area in such disrepair. there were a few Cassin’s and Vermilion flycatchers flying around the parking lot, but not many other birds, even down along the Santa Cruz river which flows just beyond the picnic tables. All in all it was a very quiet day bird wise.

4. Rio Rico pond-kab Just a little farther east on Rio Rico Drive we came to the Rio Rico Pond. While it was not a birding bonanza, we did see a few more species here, and I was quite excited when I spotted this family of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks at the far end of the pond. The pond was fuller than I have ever seen it with just a few swallows swooping low over the water. We did see a Black Phoebe as well as the resident Great Blue Heron, but these ducks were the real find of the day. I was surprised that they still had such small ducklings. I thought it would be too late in the summer for such small babies to survive.

5. TUVU-kab From there we moved on to a place along Pendleton Drive that I call Swainson’s Hawk Field because when I lived here before I found Swainson’s Hawks by the hundreds gathering in the field for migration at the beginning of October. I know this was about two weeks early, but still, I hoped we would see something! However, the only bird that was there to greet us was this Turkey vulture warming its wings on a utility pole. After stretching and preening and warming its wings it finally took to the air and started circling, trying to catch the updrafts from the valley floor.

6. Rio Rico ag fields-kab So Celeste and I drove high onto the side of the San Cayetano Mountains where we had a lovely view out over the Rio Rico Valley. It was lunch time now and all the birds were down, so we drove into town for pizza and while we sat and ate, we discussed our plans for the rest of the day. Where to next? Well, Celeste had never been to Madera Canyon, so that made sense to me. I had not been there since moving back either. After a relaxing meal we were soon on our way.

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16 comments:

  1. Jeremy Medina took Laurence and I to Rio Rico once. Great birding there!

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    1. Robert, if you ever come back let me know and I will take you there also! It is indeed, Great Birding!

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  2. I've only seen the Black-bellied whistling ducks in south Texas. So glad you two are having so much fun.

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    1. We had a delightful day and were exhausted by the time it was all over!

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  3. That's total sweetness thur with the Whistling Ducks.

    Have a great week Kathie

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  4. Hi Kathie, sounds like you and your friend had a fun time. The Whistling Duck are my favorite and would have made my day. I love them they are so cute. Happy Birding!

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    1. Eileen, this is the first time I have ever seen the ducklings!

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  5. Hi Kathie

    I am sad to hear the economy is still struggling, that was an impressive cow skull. The first photo was just lovely and I am glad you are enjoying birding, the mountains are beautiful.

    All the best
    GUY

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  6. Your photos are stunning Kathie, I don't know what happened with me I was really disappointed with all of mine. Luckily I have very good memories of the day and that is the best thing of all :) See you soon.

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    1. Celeste, your photos are fine and I love the way you told the story!

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  7. Uwielbiam też ptaki, ale mieszkam w takim miejscu, ze tylko czasami uda mi się ciekawego "złapać" aparatem. Dziękuję, ze byłaś u mnie i pozdrawiam.
    I also love birds, but I live in a place that only I can sometimes interesting "catch" camera. Thank you that you were with me and greet.

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  8. You and Chris are filling my notebook with lists of great places to visit! I would LOVE to see a river with water in it...it would be a wonderful excursion just for that! We haven't gotten out much this summer, and now we want to hit the roads.

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  9. Love the vermillion flycatcher!

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  10. i really really Love that first photo of the vermillion! The colors are awesome.

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Welcome to my nest! I hope you will enjoy spending time here with me and the birds. Thank you for your comments. I will try to get back to you as soon as I get back from counting more birds.