Road Trip USA, Birding the Southern Border. (3 Viewers)

[Jos Stratford]

Introduction
Skirting the entire length of the US-Mexico border from December to January, this twenty-two day road trip looped from southern California to Arizona and onward to New Mexico and thereafter down the Rio Grande Valley all the way to the Texas coast. After birding the riches of this area, plus a certain focus on butterflies, the return route swung further north taking in the Albuquerque area before re-entering California. Total kilometres amounted to 10,400 km (6500 miles), though it didn't feel very excessive with most long distance drives done in the evening to avoid losing birding time.

Targets
Basic goal was simply three weeks of excellent birding, primarily revisiting favourite spots in southern Arizona and the lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas, both areas renowned for species typical of Mexico and for harbouring winter rarities. Having missed them on earlier trips however, Montezuma Quail, Scaled Quail, Scott's Oriole, Rufous-backed Robin and Rufous-capped Warbler were high on the priority list.

Additionally, the region also supports impressive numbers of wintering birds from further north, be it assorted passerines or other birds such as Whooping Cranes on the Texas coast, immense flocks of Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese in both Arizona and New Mexico and, another very much wanted bird, high chances of flocks of the enigmatic Mountain Plovers. All in all, a lot to squeeze into three weeks.

Additionally, I also wanted to focus on butterflies - the lower Rio Grande Valley is the most productive butterfly area in the United States and, even in winter, 50-60 species are possible at a single site.

 

[Jos Stratford]

Rio Grande, borderland birding:

 

[Jos Stratford]

13 December. Arrival in California.

I had been due to fly late on the 14th, but due to flight rescheduling by the airline, the flight was brought forward by 36 hours, effectively giving me a bonus day in America. Flight departed at 8.30 am for the short flight to Warsaw, thereafter a two-hour transfer, plus a bit for a delay, then a 12.5 hour hop to Los Angeles. Arrived 3.00 pm local time, Red-tailed Hawk on a post adjacent to the runway at LAX, navigated immigration and the airport, only an hour in all, then collected a car and hit the congested freeways of California. Destination this evening Moreno Valley, two hours east in heavy traffic.

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Ooh goodie, another one of these. Some good reading ahead methinks.

 

[jurek]

Looking forward to your travel journal, Jos! I plan such a trip myself, but maybe a bit later in the season (Varied Bunting!).

 

[foresttwitcher]

Yep, also looking forward to reading this.

 

[Jos Stratford]

14 December. San Joachim, Lake Elsinore, Chico Bolso.

This was essentially a bonus day resulting from the flight schedule change, so I decided to start my US birding trip with a mini twitch before beginning my eastern trek. Rising before dawn, I set off to San Jacinto, an area of protected wetland in the Riverside area - target was a Bendire's Thrasher that had been present for the previous two weeks on a hillside above the wetland. Clear sky as the sun edged above the horizon, a slight chill to the early morning, chunky California Towhees the first birds of the day, jumping about in thickets, soon joined by numerous White-crowned Sparrows, a couple of Blue-grey Gnatcatchers and a Loggerhead Shrike. The thrasher had been occupying a row of spindly olive trees, so along those I concentrated, a Rock Wren doing it's best to distract, so too a three Northern Harriers quartering the slope, but all too soon, as sun lit the bushes, up popped the very fine Bendire's Thrasher and there it sat preening and taking in the morning warmth. Totally unconcerned by my presence, the bird was a very nice beginning to the trip - and if plan went according to plan, the first of an attempt to see all of the eight thrashers in the United States. Also here, several Say's Phoebes, my only Nuttall’s Woodpecker of the trip and a Northern Mockingbird.

Plan had been to then explore the wetlands, a Zone-tailed Hawk hanging out there, along with numerous waterbirds, but I hadn't realised that entry is prohibited in Saturdays and Wednesdays for wildfowl hunting! Discovering this, I then rejigged ideas and randomly decided to go to Lake Elsinore an hour further west. A very nice lakeside trail here at the southern end, the birding fairly productive with good concentrations of grebes, ducks, pelicans and cormorants - over 60 species seen in three hour stroll, nothing unduly unexpected, but did include several hundred mixed Western and Clark's Grebes, a couple of dozen each of Pied-billed Grebe and Eared Grebe, a nice collection of American Avocets and other waders, plus 60 or so White Pelicans, several Belted Kingfishers, several White-faced Ibis and one of the few Peregrines of the trip. Passerines more limited, but large flocks of Horned Larks and Western Meadowlarks on the grassy margins, plus eight Cassin’s Kingbirds in scrubby edge.

With Elsinore finished, I then took to the freeways again and headed back towards Los Angeles - a quasi-masochistic idea that puts you smack bang in the middle of bottlenecked lines of brake lights all competing to turn twelve-land and fourteen-lane highways into car parks. Got though that and found myself at the altogether more peaceful Bolsa Chica for the last couple of hours of the day - a sizeable chunk of coastal wetland a little south of Los Angeles, this place was buzzing with birds. Again fairly expected species, primarily headed by abundant wildfowl (Black Brant, American Wigeon, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead et al) and shorebirds (hundreds of Western Sandpipers, 40+ Marbled Godwit, 50+ Willet etc), but also two Reddish Egrets, both Yellow-crowned and Black-crowned Night Herons, both White and Brown Pelicans and the almost obligatory Osprey, these pretty standard fare even in highly urbanised waterside.

So ended the first day, a respectable 90 species notched up with little effort. As darkness fell, it was back to the freeways - an hour or so on pretty high-speed road, then I was in San Diego, destination for the night.

 

[temmie]

I understand you don't want to be traced, but trying to reconstruct your travels (as this part of the world is unbirded by me and I have some plans in the next couple of years):
San Joachim = San Jacinto wildlife area
Chico Bolas = Bolsa Chica ecological reserve
right?

 

[Jos Stratford]

San Joachim = San Jacinto wildlife area
Chico Bolas = Bolsa Chica ecological reserve
right?

Ah yes 🙂

Wrote that on a plane and had intended to go back and check the spelling - apologies 🙂

 

[Jos Stratford]

16 December. Salton Sea, Yuma, Spot Road Farm.

Up before dawn to drive a couple of dozen miles to the Sonny Bono Unit 1 area of Salton Sea, wafts of mist hanging over the serene pools on this fairly chilly morning, already chattering of Red-winged Blackbirds and Great-tailed Grackles noisily announcing the approaching day. The reward for getting up early was a true spectacle of sight and sound - a cacophony of 5000 Snow Geese rising from roost, waves of black and white catching the morning sunshine a treat. 50 or so Sandhill Cranes trying to make their voice heard too, plus plenty of other birds already active - primarily wildfowl such as abundant Shovelers, Green-winged Teals, Pintails et al, alongside a few Cinnamon Teal, Buffleheads, but also assorted extras including a Green Heron, three Horned Grebes (only ones of the trip) and raptors such as Northern Harriers. Also added Common Ground Doves, Gambel's Quails and several Abert’s Towhees at feeders at the park headquarters, as well as a couple of Verdin and overhead Rough-winged Swallows.

My most desired birds for this morning however were not in the wetlands adjacent to Salton Sea, but rather in the irrigated agricultural lands stretching to the south and east. Key target I hoped to find was Mountain Plover, a bird that I had previously seen only as a flyby - a flock of 13 birds some years earlier in Texas. Zigzagged across various fields to the direct north-east of Brawley town, all surprisingly rich in birds - as well as heaps of Great-tailed Grackles and Brewer’s Blackbirds, also saw a flock of Horned Larks, a peppering of American Pipits, 150+ White-faced Ibis and lots of American Kestrels. A true feast for the eyes however came when I stopped to scan one potential field for Mountain Plovers - no Mountain Plovers seen, but instead the amazing sight of about 350 Mountain Bluebirds, many sitting on the tilled soil, many hawking little sallies, many hovering, all looking quite stunning in the glow of the morning sunshine. A couple of miles further, the morning got even better - another recently ploughed field, but this one absolutely packed with Mountain Plovers! Strutting their stuff, a careful count revealed no less than 340, far above the number I had expected.

The morning was now qualifying as a success, so with this I turned the car eastward and headed for the Arizona border a mere hour to the east. Obligatory stop at McDonald's for a flavour of US culture at the border, then a fairly random birding break at the West Wetlands Park on the Colorado River in Yuma, this literally across a stone's throw inside Arizona. Pretty good birding, especially as it was now in the heat of the day, temperatures rising nicely to about 25 C. First Gila Woodpeckers and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers of the trip, plus the only Yellow-bellied Sapsucker of the trip, a local rarity that had been present for a week or so previously. Two Crissal Thrashers were also very welcome, very engaging individuals hopping around a picnic area, as were the motley collection of added extras, not least Gambel's Quails, Common Ground Doves and Verdins.

It was then back to Interstate 8 and onward and eastward. Destination for the day was Tucson, another 240 miles. Seeing daylight would not last that long, I decided to break the journey midway with a small detour to ‘Spot Road Farm’ - an island of irrigated pivot fields in otherwise hundreds of square miles of arid desertlands. Mountain Plovers are frequently recorded here too - I didn't see any, but it was still quite productive birding: among the birds seen, hundreds of Horned Larks and American Pipits, plus smaller numbers of White-crowned and Savannah Sparrows, as well as a flock of Killdeers and both a Prairie Falcon and a couple of Northern Harriers.

As the sun dipped towards the horizon, I headed back to the Interstate and continued the journey to Tucson, arrived about 7.30 pm local time.

 

[birdmeister]

Much anticipation for this report, Jos! It's fun to read about travels in my neck of the woods, including places I still haven't been to yet. With a few exceptions, Yuma and northward along the Colorado River are so underbirded. And such a flock of Mountain Bluebirds must have been breathtaking.

 

[ilikebirds-124]

I saw an Elegant Trogon in a canyon very near the border in Arizona in the '90s. Back then, that was the northern-most extent of its range. Now it seems that it has moved north.

 

[Jos Stratford]

17 December. Sweetwater Wetlands, Florida and Madeira Canyons.

Target today was Rufous-capped Warbler, indeed this was one of the main targets of the trip. A single individual had been seen fairly regularly at a small drinking pool high in Florida Canyon, so I had high hopes. However, as reports suggested this bird was very rarely seen before 11 am, it gave ample time to explore another of Tucson's hotspots, the delightful Sweetwater Wetlands.

Cold at dawn, minus 2 C, but Sweetwater was really enjoyable. In reality a water treatment plant, it is actually a fantastic little oasis consisting of reeded pools, a small creek and productive riverside scrub and mature cottonwood trees alongside. And in this tangle of undergrowth, Yellow-rumped Warblers and both White-crowned and Song Sparrows were two-a-penny, Albert's Towhees also plentiful, plus vocal Marsh Wrens. Despite considerable effort, I failed to find a reported Chestnut-sided Warbler, but did find both Yellow Warbler and a cracking Wilson's Warbler. Away from the thickets, both Anna's Hummingbird and Broad-billed Hummingbird engaged, as did an eyesore bright male Vermilion Flycatcher, plus a good mix of waterbirds, including five Cinnamon Teals.

As the day turned to teeshirt weather, I turned my attention to Florida Canyon, 40 miles south of Tucson. Parked and hiked the short distance to the specified drinking pool for the Rufous-capped Warbler, a tiny trickle of water below an otherwise dried-up dam. Sat myself on a overlooking rock and began the wait - not a lot of birds to while away the time, five Pyrrhuloxia and a Northern Cardinal about best. A half hour after arriving, +/- 11.20 am, a discreet movement in the bushes behind the pool and out emerged the cherry on the cake - rufous cap and cheeks, smart white eyebrow and bright yellow throat, Rufous-capped Warbler! Hopped about on the rocks aside the pool a while, not drinking but hunting insects, then vanished into tangles for a while before reappearing on the rocks again. Views down to a few metres, very nice - the ghosts of a previous visit to this very same site for a Rufous-capped Warbler some years back were put to bed.

With that, I relocated to the nearby Madeira Canyon, two Roadrunners on route, for an afternoon at the truly impressive feeders of Santa Rita Lodge. A constant flurry of activity, left, right and centre, Acorn Woodpeckers and Mexican Jays in constant flight back and fro, plus a nonstop flitting in of other visitors - a scrum of Pine Siskins, Lesser Goldfinches and House Finches on their favoured feeders, a bunch of Bridled Titmice and White-breasted Nuthatches, a couple of Arizona Woodpeckers, a single Gila Woodpecker and, shuffling around on the ground, both Dark-eyed and Yellow-eyed Juncos, plus Lincoln's Sparrow and a couple of Bewick's Wrens. In amongst all of these, also visits by two Hepatic Tanagers, a nice male included, and a stunning Black-headed Grosbeak.

Alongside all these birds, at feeders literally a metre from the kindly provided sitting places, a regular buzz of hummingbirds zipping in - almost exclusively the big chunky Rivoli's Hummingbirds at this site, but one Anna's Hummingbird too and a brief visit of a Berylline Hummingbird, this ABA rarity having been present for a month or so, but very much not welcomed by the Rivoli’s Hummingbirds who almost immediately chased it away.

One Painted Redstart also had the good grace to pop in, another seen in the creek a little further down the valley, as were quite a number of Western Bluebirds, one Red-naped Sapsucker, a flock of Bushtits and three Hermit Thrushes.

Did have ideas of staying here an additional day and searching for Elegant Trogon in the canyon area, but reports suggested they were scarce this winter, so I opted instead to continue on - drove down to Nogales on the Mexican border, good location to attempt to find Rufous-backed Thrush in the nearby Paton area next morning.

 

[Lisa W]

You are bringing back so many memories of my years birding SE Arizona. Nice finds.

 

[Jos Stratford]

You are bringing back so many memories of my years birding SE Arizona. Nice finds.

It brought back memories of my previous trip too 🙂 All in all, Arizona is pretty amazing.

 

[Jos Stratford]

18 December. Patagonia, Paton, Reid Park & Sweetwater

Another predawn start, this time at the decidedly frosted Patagonia-Sonoita Creek, a big flock of 55 puffed up Turkeys welcoming me as they strutted across a meadow yonder. I was here to twitch the unlikely pairing of two thrushes - a Varied Thrush from the north and a Rufous-backed Thrush from Mexico. Both were being seen periodically aside a stream at the end of an old railway abutment. Strolled the mile or so to the spot, a couple of Hermit Thrushes on route, then admired the locality - a good stand of mature cottonwoods either side a wide stream, banks of vegetation flanking. Not many birds around though, a Northern Cardinal and more Hermit Thrushes just about it. Saw almost nothing for about an hour, then quite remarkably both the target thrushes arrived within minutes of each other - the Varied Thrush mostly staying quite high in the cottonwoods, but the gorgeous Rufous-backed Thrush dropping down to the stream and feeding in a damp grassy patch beneath the abutment. By chance, another observer arrived at this moment and was very pleased to have both birds already present.

Wandering back to the car, now already quite warm, I added three Northern Flickers to the day tally, plus a Northern Harrier, about 15 Western Bluebirds in a flock and a nice bunch of 40 Chipping Sparrows. I then decided to pop up to the Paton Hummingbird Centre - just a mile or so up the road, this is another of Arizona's famous feeding stations, not only attracting an incredible range of hummingbirds though the year, but also stacks of other birds to their many feeders. An hour on the benches in the front garden notched up all the expected regulars - at least 100 House Finches, plenty of Pine Siskins and Lesser Goldfinches, 150+ White-crowned Sparrows, five Chipping Sparrows, a single Lincoln's Sparrow, three Green-tailed Towhees and a single Canyon Towhee. Also several Northern Cardinals and Pyrrhuloxia, both Gila and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, plus one of my very few House Wrens of the trip, as well as Bewick's Wren. Good for doves too -several Mourning Doves, four Common Ground Doves, 20 or so White-winged Doves and my first Inca Dove of the trip. Special mention also to two Curve-billed Thrashers, my third thrasher species of the trip.

With my fill of these, I then shifted to the hummingbird feeders in the back garden - not the best time of the year for big numbers of hummingbirds, but the absolute highlight was the frequent appearance of Violet-crowned Hummingbirds, surely one of the most stunning of the US hummingbirds. Also several Broad-billed Hummingbirds visiting, very welcome too.

With this, I had more or less seen everything that I had hoped for in this southern extreme of Arizona, so decided to return to Tucson for a little extra birding there before pushing on eastward.

Destination one was Reid Park, a downtown urban park full of folk walking around and generally enjoying the sunny afternoon. No hindrance to the birding however, the lawns and dotted mature trees are pretty good for birding, a Greater Pewee eluding me, but a nice mix regardless - three species of woodpeckers, a couple of Vermilion Flycatchers, eight Cedar Waxwings (my only ones of the trip), at least 30 Western Bluebirds and oodles of Yellow-rumped Warblers. At the park's heart, a moderately-small concrete-rimmed pool also punched above its size, not only hosting two Neotropical Cormorants, but also a Wood Duck, a single Mexican Duck, four Canvasback and about 30 Ring-necked Ducks.

And then it was back to Sweetwater for the last couple of hours of the day - still no Chestnut-sided Warbler on show, but a nice rerun of the birds from the day before, but a few additions, not least two Mexican Ducks among the many other ducks, as well as a couple of Common Gallinules (only a half dozen records on the whole trip).

With that, as the sun dipped below the horizon, I turned the car eastward, destination Willcox, some 85 miles along Interstate 10.

 

[Lisa W]

The 18th seemed like a great day for you! And Wilcox with the Sandhill Cranes lay ahead. It is site to see thousands upon thousands of cranes either lift off to head to the fields in the morning or returning at dusk. Hope you got to experience it.

 

[MKinHK]

Massively gripped by your Mountain Plovers Jos - and, to be honest, the trip as a whole! I barely scratched the surface down there and would love to go back and cover the full length of the border.

Cheers
Mike

 

[Jos Stratford]

Massively gripped by your Mountain Plovers Jos - and, to be honest, the trip as a whole! I barely scratched the surface down there and would love to go back and cover the full length of the border.

I'd have been happy with four or five, 340 was rather mind-blowing.

Road trip was really the main attraction of this visit for me - follows on from a road trip from San Diego to Deadhorse in northern Alaska, so really is the second segment of the circumnavigation of the US 🙂

 

[Jos Stratford]

And Wilcox with the Sandhill Cranes lay ahead. It is site to see thousands upon thousands of cranes either lift off to head to the fields in the morning or returning at dusk. Hope you got to experience it.

Yup 👍