Southwest Wings 2024: Monsoon Birding on the Border

9/28/2024

Blue Grosbeak singing in the Rain, July 31, 2024, California Gulch, Arizona.

Heat, humidity, and rain, a great time to go birding in Arizona? Well, yes it is!

During our summer rainy season, the monsoon, local birds are breeding as are residents of Mexico and Central America who just barely make it north over the border to nest in the U.S. becoming RARE BIRDS. So, Southwest Wings runs a festival in late July and early August, followed by Tucson Audubon a week later.

From July 31st to August 2nd we ventured out with SW Wings and Richard Fray for a three day, two night trek to find some of our summer visitors amid a bit of rain and some muddy roads! We had a great time with great people.

Of all the species we saw, here are the highlights. Let's start with one of the stars of the show, the Five-striped Sparrow.

To keep you oriented, below is a map of our tour generated by Adobe's Lightroom with my annotations showing the location of all of the images in this post.

Note that this was a three day van trip, starting and ending in Sierra Vista. We did our two overnights at the Rancho Santa Cruz*, on the Santa Cruz River, just south of Tumacacori. Photo (in the rain!) to the right.

* Highly recommended! Many thanks to our hosts Susan and Peter!

Five-striped Sparrow

Canon R6, RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/250 sec., f/7.1, ISO 3200, +0.33 EV

This large sparrow actually has seven stripes, a white one over each eye, and five alternating black and white stripes below a thick bill, with a thin white crescent below each eye. Underparts are mostly gray and white, with a black central breast spot. In the U.S. the species favors dense, thorny vegetation on dry hillsides.

This year Five-stripped Sparrows were spotted in California Gulch, very remote and very close to the border, as well as Box Canyon, on the road from Madera Canyon east to Sonoita. The breeding population in the U.S. is considered among the smallest of any bird in the country (Ref: All About Birds).

Five-striped Sparrows feed on insects, mostly moths and caterpillars, with some nuts and berries. They nest in a shrub or on the ground.

Above, a range map from All About Birds, Cornell Lab. These sparrows are year round residents of Mexico, with a small population in Arizona.

The images here were captured in California Gulch at 6 pm on July 31st, in the rain. California Gulch is just south of Ruby, Arizona, and very close to the border. There are two roads in and out, one very muddy this day, and one very rocky. The muddy route was okay coming in, but not going out! Fortunately the rocky route was a welcome alternate at 9 pm, providing us a welcome path back to comfy beds at Rancho Santa Cruz.

This series of images shows the markings of the bird as he slowly turns and begins to sing. Nest building coincides with the first significant summer rainstorms, with the first eggs of the season from early June to late August (Ref: Birds of the World).

Males sing during all daylight hours, especially in the early morning and late evening. This is likely a male, and the calls/singing may be to keep contact with his mate during foraging. He likely has a nest nearby. (Ref: Birds of the World).

The third day of the trip, August 2nd, we spotted Five-striped Sparrows in Box Canyon, east of Madera Canyon in open grassland on the road east to Sonoita.

To the right, a view looking west down Box Canyon. Below, a Five-Stripped Sparrow posing for a portrait. This is likely a male.

Canon R6, RF 100-500mm with 1.4x Ext., at 700mm, 1/2000 sec., f/10, ISO 4000, +0 EV

We had a clear day, with this bird perching up close, a bit backlit.
And below, calling, "Hey, I am up here, with the birders!"

In the image below, our subject pulls his tail forward showing the length and markings.

Blue Grosbeak

Canon R6, RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/400 sec., f/7.1, ISO 4000, +0 EV

Back in California gulch, about 20 minutes before we found the Five-striped Sparrow, we encountered this Blue Grosbeak. I was fortunate to be sitting in the front seat of the van, and as Richard paused, I was able to get these shots out the rolled-down right front window.

Blue Grosbeaks are vibrantly blue buntings with a large silver bill and chestnut wingbars. The males are blue, the females cinnamon with brown wingbars.

Blue Grosbeaks are considered long-distance migrants, wintering in southern Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, breeding across the lower U.S., including Arizona. Birds breeding in the eastern U.S. probably migrate across the Gulf of Mexico. They feed on insects, especially grasshoppers and crickets, but will eat snails and seeds of wild and cultivated grains.

They nest in small trees, shrubs, and tangles of vines and briars, often near open areas or roads (Ref: All About Birds). The low shrubs and understory of California Gulch seems to suit them.

Like the Five-striped Sparrow, the Blue Grosbeak breeds with the monsoon rains. Only males sing, and this male is likely defending his territory. (Ref: Birds of the World).

Rose-throated Becard

Canon R6, RF 100-500mm with 1.4x Ext., at 700mm, 1/400 sec., f/10, ISO 800,
+0 EV.

Above, a female Rose-throated Becard near its nest just east of Patagonia along Harshaw Road (see tour map at the top of this post). The male is likely nearby, but was not spotted this day.

Rose-throated Becards are in the tropical and subtropical family Tityridae. They are the only members of this family that enter the United States as non-vagrants where they breed on an irregular basis along the southern borders of Arizona and Texas. The species favors wooded riparian habitats dominated by cottonwoods, where they nest in bulky, messy, domed nests that are suspended from the drooping ends of small branches, with an entrance near the bottom.

Above, a becard nest just south of Harshaw Road. Below, the same nest with mama sitting on top. The entrance to the nest is likely on one side and toward the bottom.

Females are gray to brown with a black, gray , or rusty brown crown. Males sport a bright pink throat. They eat insects, and occasionally fruit if available.

Below, mama takes a break from her nest duties to preen in the sun, including an occasional scratch.

Canon R6, RF 100-500mm with 1.4x Ext., at 700mm, 1/100 sec., f/10, ISO 400, 0 EV.

Violet-crowned Hummingbird

Canon R6, RF 100-500mm with 1.4x Ext., at 508mm, 1/3200 sec., f/8, ISO 20000, 0 EV.

On the morning of July 31st, before venturing west to California Gulch, we stopped in Patagonia where the Rose-throated Becard was spotted along Harshaw Road. We then stopped at the Tucson Audubon's Paton Center for Hummingbirds where we spotted this Violet-crowned Hummingbird.

Like the Five-striped Sparrow and Rose-throated Becard, the Violet-crowned Hummingbird lives most of the year in Mexico, with a breeding range that just crosses into the U.S. in southern Arizona and New Mexico.

With no gorget, the Violet-crowned Hummingbird is white on the underside, with a brilliant violet crown and neck. The bill is red with a black tip.

Violet-crowned Hummingbirds drink nectar from flowers and forage for insects off of plants or in mid-air. Of course, they also come to nectar feeders! They nest in small cups at the end of branches often in sycamore trees up to 40 feet off of the ground (Ref: All About Birds).

Above, a Violet-crowned Hummingbird comes in for a landing at a feeder at the Paton Center, and below, appears to be fending off competitors. We get a good view of the details on the crown.

Below a low light shot of a Violet-crowned on August 3, 2023 during a daylong SWW tour on hummingbirds led by Kristy Gallo. We see good detail of the wings and underparts. For more on that tour see my post: Southwest Wings: The Hummers of Summer!

Canon R7, RF 100-500mm at 300mm, 1/2000 sec., f/7.1, ISO 10000, +1 EV.

Broad-billed Hummingbird

Canon R6, RF 100-500mm at 270mm, 1/3200 sec., f/5.6, ISO 8000, -0.33 EV.

The Broad-billed Hummingbird is another species that lives most of the year toward the south, venturing over the border in the summer to breed. They are common in Tucson and Mt. Lemmon, as well as Patagonia and Madera Canyon.

The bill is broad when seen up close and at the correct angle, but what is striking is the red bill with the black tip. The image above is a male with a blue throat, greenish/blue belly (just hitting the light correctly) and a notched tail. This image was captured at the Santa Rita Lodge in Madera Canyon on August 1st. The images below were shot at the Paton Center for Hummingbirds in Patagonia on July 31st.

Canon R6, RF 100-500mm with 1.3x Ext., at 420mm, 1/4000 sec., f/8.0, ISO 5000, 0 EV.

The color of the feathers, especially the gorget, varies by the feather's angle to the sun. The feather's internal nanostructural geometry generates refraction and interference that separates and reinforces only a subset of the wavelengths of light. (Ref: The Cornell Lab of Ornithology Handbook of Bird Biology, 3rd Edition, page 141). This effect can be seen in feathers of many species, but is especially prominent in hummingbirds. The Broad-bill's gorget can go from bright blue to black with a turn of the head. In this series of photographs we can see color variation as the bird turns his head and neck.

There were many Broad-tailed Hummingbirds at the feeders this day, so it is impossible to tell if the bird shown above is the same as the bird shown below. In any case, the bird shown below is definitely molting, the process of replacing all the feathers on the body that in most species occurs once a year after breeding.

Some species can lay back and "chill" while molting, a process that requires a lot of energy. For example, Canada Geese are vegetarians eating a wide variety of grasses, as well as some seeds and fruits in the fall. They can eat and molt without doing much else. However, other birds, including the hummingbird, need to fly to eat, and the molting process literally occurs "on the wing" in a sequential fashion that allows flight to continue. A bit like changing tires on an 18-wheeler without pulling over to the side of the road!

Below we see that one of the flight feathers on the left wing, likely a secondary, has been lost with a new feather coming in. The variation in color of the contour feathers that cover the body may be a consequence of molting, or the bird's angle to the sun, or a combination of both.

For more on molting see these posts: Cardinals Molting in August: a Pre-Halloween Tragicomedy and Birds are Born to Do 4 things; Eat, Don't Get Eaten, Make More Birds, and MOLT!

Black-throated Sparrow

Canon R6, RF 100-500mm with 1.3x Ext., at 700mm, 1/2000 sec., f/10, ISO 8000, 0.67 EV.

Black-throated Sparrows are one of the sharpest dressers around, sporting a gray face offset by bold white stripes and a black triangular patch on the throat. They live year round in portions of the southern U.S. and northern Mexico, with some populations going north into the western U.S. to breed. They favor open shrubby deserts. The bird above was spotted at Madera Canyon near the Proctor Trailhead in the low understory.

Black-throated Sparrows eat insects and seeds, foraging off of the ground, near or under shrubs or cacti. They nest in low shrubs, often on the north or east side to maximize morning sun and afternoon shade. (Ref: All About Birds)

Rufous-winged Sparrow

Canon R6, RF 100-500mm with 1.3x Ext., at 700mm, 1/2000 sec., f/10, ISO 10000, 0 EV.

Rounding out our sparrow collection, we have the Rufous-winged Sparrow, another bird whose range is primarily Mexico with a bump just over the border into Arizona. This bird was spotted in East Sahuarita, just north of Green Valley, on August 1st.

Like other species, the Rufous-winged Sparrow starts breeding with the arrival of the monsoon. Their love of rain is such that a heavy winter rain may prompt a second breeding cycle in the spring. Pairs bond for life, and will remain on territory year round. They are ground foragers eating mostly seeds, insects, and spiders but will also forage in the understory and catch insects in flight.

Prairie Dog Colony at Empire Ranch

Canon R6, RF 100-500mm with 1.3x Ext., at 700mm, 1/500 sec., f/25, ISO 1600, 0 EV.

On the last day of our tour, as we were making our way back to Sierra Vista, we stopped at Empire Ranch, part of Las Cienegas National Conservation Area, managed by the BLM. This conservation area covers more than 45,000 acres of rolling grasslands and woodlands north and east of Sonita. Part of the area includes a Prairie Dog Colony, intended to preserve a population of these frisky and entertaining herbivorous ground squirrels in their native habitat. I was able to get my long lens over the fence and catch some of their activities.

Prairie Dogs build extensive underground colonies housing multiple family groups. They are considered a keystone species, with their mounds often being used by other species. In addition, mound building encourages grass development and renewal of topsoil. Their underground tunnels bring rain to the undersoil, reducing runoff. For more on this important species, and the value it brings to the prairie, see this entry in Wikipedia: Prairie Dog.

Prairie Dogs have a complex system of communication capable of alerting the colony not only to the presence of predators, but to the type of predator, the size, and approach. (Ref: Wikipedia: Prairie Dog). Here we see a series of images showing calling behavior, perhaps an alert that a photographer is near!

Canon R6, RF 100-500mm with 1.3x Ext., at 700mm, 1/2000 sec., f/10, ISO 1000, 0 EV.

In the series below, a Prairie Dog moves from one tunnel to another, diving for cover. Possibly the response to the pesky photographer nearby?

Canon R6, RF 100-500mm with 1.3x Ext., at 700mm, 1/2000 sec., f/10, ISO 1000, 0 EV.

Whew! Made it!

Swainson's Hawk

Canon R6, RF 100-500mm with 1.3x Ext., at 420mm, 1/2000 sec., f/8.0, ISO 1000, +1 EV.

We were almost back to Sierra Vista when we spotted a Swainson's Hawk overhead. Swainson's Hawks winter in Argentina, then migrate thousands of miles north to breed throughout the western U.S., Canada, and Alaska. Some populations may travel over 12,000 miles per year!

During breeding season they will feed their young the "three r's" of the buteo diet: rodents, rabbits, and reptiles. However in the "off season" they will switch to a diet of insects, especially grasshoppers and dragonflies. (Ref: All About Birds).

Before I go, let's have a round of applause for our intrepid guide Richard Fray, pictured below as we unloaded the van in Sierra Vista! And, thanks to all my fellow travelers from near and far on this three day trek. Great trip!

That's all for now!
Stay tuned.

Happy Trails!

1 Comment

Journal
(Blog)