Chasing birds on Santa Cruz Flats

Crested Caracara - rare to southern Arizona

Yesterday we ventured south in search of Crested Caracara, Mountain Plover, Sprague's Pipit and any other birds that we could find.  We found 20 plus Crested Caracara but none of the other target species.  Let me tell you a little of how the day went:

5:30 a.m.  - The alarm sounded and we lept out of bed - slowly.....  Raisin Bran for breakfast, tea, coffee, pack the cooler, gather all the equipment (camera, binoculars, scope, iPhone), Jet Boil for tea and coffee on the road, water, water, water..... load everything into the 4Runner.  Don't forget the sunscreen....  

6:10 a.m  -  We're off.....  First stop is the Sacaton Rest Area on Interstate 10.  This is about 80 kms south of Mesa.  Once on I-10 the speed limit was 75 mph which means everyone goes close to 80 mph.  

7:00 a.m.  We arrive at the Rest Area.  This is where we arranged to meet our friends Marcus and Carl.  At 7:20 we get a text from Marcus to say that he overslept and is just leaving his home to pick up Carl.  His ETA is 8:00 a.m.  He calls and suggest we head to Santa Cruz Flats, an additional 60 kms from the rest area.

8:00 a.m.  -  Dana and I arrive at the junction of Sunland-Gin and Harmon Roads to begin our day of birding.  

Right off the bat we see a Red-tailed Hawk, then another, and another.  Fitting as this day we will see about 20 Red-tailed Hawks.  Then, hey, there goes a Prairie Falcon swooping low over the desert.  Definitely hunting for breakfast.  Then we spot a flock of Western Meadowlarks, some sitting in sage brush in the bright morning sun, singing their melodic song.  Wow, this is going to be a great day.  So far all the birds are either to far away for photographs or just too fast to be caught with the camera.  That will change.

8:45 - Marcus and Carl finally catch up with us.  Marcus is a local Mesa resident, although he hails from Arkansas.  He is a tremendous birder.  He knows so many bird calls.  He also has great vision, an asset when birding.  

For the rest of the day we travel the gravel roads of Santa Cruz Flats.  Did someone say dust?  It was bad.  Real bad.  We took turns leading, and following (eating dust.)  Luckily the light wind was from the east and on the north/south roads one of us was able to drive on the right hand side of the road and the vehicle following could drive on the left side of the road thereby avoiding much of the dust.  There was virtually no other vehicles on the road so at no time were we in danger of running into anyone.  East/west, and west/east travel was a challenge.    

We drove about 30 miles, criss-crossing the Santa Cruz Flats area.  We did take a lunch break but for the most part we were on the move all day.

Red-tailed Hawks were numerous.  Birders know that Red-tailed Hawks are not only the most common of the "Buteo" family, but also the most varied in appearance.  Even experienced birders are sometimes frustrated by the many varied appearances of the Red-tailed Hawk.  We are very lucky to be in what is called an "intergrade zone".  Red-tailed Hawk subspecies "calurus" and "fuertesi" can be observed here.  In addition, there are some variants of these subspecies that can also be observed.  Today we observed both subspecies plus a "dark-morph" calurus.  This dark-morph hawk was very dark, almost black, but had a red tail.  It is enough to drive birders nuts.  Maybe this is why some of our friends think we are nuts.....

Other species of birds observed were several large flocks of Lark Buntings, many Vesper's Sparrows, Killdeer and 6 Roadrunners.  The highlight had to be seeing approximately 20 Crested Caracara in one field.  20!  For a "rare to southern Arizona" species, 20 is quite special.  Their range is Mexico and Central America.  They also range north into south Texas and can be seen in Southern California and Louisiana.

Photography when birding by vehicle is tough.  I got the photo of the Caracara while standing in the 4Runner, head, shoulders and arms out the sunroof (safari style) while Dana navigated the gravel road.  I think it must have looked outrageously funny but really, it was the only way I was going to get a decent photo of the bird.  The whole scene makes me think back to when we bought the new 4Runner.  The sales person asked us if we needed a sunroof.  I replied "absolutely.  How else am I going to take photos on the go"?  He looked at me like I was nuts....  Hey, there is that "nuts" thing again.

2:00 p.m. - We were all about cooked, thirsty, tired and birded-out.  Marcus and Carl had to head back to the city.  Just after we bid them farewell we spotted a beautiful Ferruginous Hawk soaring overhead.  I got a couple of shots off, one which is posted in this blog.  Dana and I continued birding for another hour or so, long enough to spot a field of sheep, and lambs.  In amongst the sheep were 5 more Crested Caracara using our total for the day to 25.  Icing on the cake.

3:30 p.m.  Time to head for Mesa.

4:30 p.m. - Time to stop at the car wash to rinse off the dust.  The inside would have to wait until tomorrow.

Well, that is my accounting for the day of birding the Santa Cruz Flats.  What a great part of the state, one that sees few visitors, except the odd nutty birder or two.

(Click on the photos for a larger image.)

Ferruginous Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk (subspecies fuertesi)

Too cute to leave out......