willner@cfa.harvard.EDU (Steve Willner) (03/25/88)
I'll have a week's vacation in the Tucson area the first week in April and would appreciate any advice on good birding spots and what to look for. I know about Madera Canyon and am aware of a Nature Conservancy sanctuary in Patagonia. (Does anyone know where the sanctuary is located or have advice on where to look within it?) Thanks for any help.-- Steve Willner Phone 617-495-7123 Bitnet: willner@cfa 60 Garden St. FTS: 830-7123 UUCP: willner@cfa Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Internet: willner@cfa.harvard.edu
john@nmtsun.nmt.edu (John Shipman) (03/26/88)
In article <950@cfa.cfa.harvard.EDU>, Steve Willner writes: > I know about Madera Canyon and am aware of a Nature > Conservancy sanctuary in Patagonia. (Does anyone know where the > sanctuary is located or have advice on where to look within it?) Patagonia is my favorite spot in SE Arizona---so pretty, I'd go there even if it didn't have such GREAT birds. From Tucson, take I-10 about 20 miles east and turn south on the Sonoita-Patagonia exit. It's about 40 miles south to the town of Patagonia. The easiest way to find the refuge is to enter from the town end. Go through town until you get to a bar on the right that has a large ``cold beer'' sign standing out front. Last time I was there (last August), the turnoff to the refuge was marked. Turn right, go a few blocks to a T, and turn left. This dirt road goes right by all four entrances to the Nature Conservancy's gorgeous sanctuary; they are numbered 4, 3, 2, and 1 in this direction. I always like to start with gate 1, the one furthest from town. The trail from this gate crosses a corner of a meadow, then drops you on the bank of Sonoita Creek. The first hundred yards of this trail can be mind-boggling; I photographed a trogon here once, even though this is a long way from normal trogon range. The creek runs year-round and is flanked by huge cottonwood galleries. I don't have time to talk about all the nifty species you can get here, like Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet. A little ways down the trail branches; the left branch goes a long ways down an old railroad embankment, which connects with the trails from the other three entrance gates. The right trail goes a little further down the creek; please don't molest the Gray Hawks that nest across the creek here, as pressure from birders could disrupt their breeding. You can, however, see them well from the near side of the creek. Gate 1 is riparian; gate 2 goes through more grasslands, as well as a spring and a killer berry patch; gate 3's habitat is more densely wooded; and gate 4 is next to the edge of town, so it is less productive. Don't ignore the dry uplands across the road from the refuge, good for Lucy's Warbler, Bell's Vireo and other dryland birds. I could rattle on for hours (as regular readers of this group know), but I'm going birding at the Bosque del Apache NWR in ten minutes. Good luck, and don't miss the hummer action at Santa Rita Lodge in Madera Canyon---the local birders like it better than Ramsey [= Mile-Hi]. Also, try Florida Wash at dawn; that's on the road to Madera Canyon. Look for two short bridges close together; there's a hiker's stile on the left that is excellent for dryland birds. I ticked my Bell's Vireo and Bronzed Cowbird here. -- John Shipman/Zoological Data Processing/Socorro, New Mexico USENET: ihnp4!lanl!unm-la!unmvax!nmtsun!john ``If you can't take it, get stronger.'' --Falline Danforth