The DeAnza Trail and Beyond!

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

Santa Cruz county(southern Arizona) this month has been hot and full of new birds!  

Brown-crested Flycatcher

Such locales like Tubac, the DeAnza trail, Tumacacori, the Rio Rico ponds and St. Gertrudis Lane offers people some of the best places to bird watch.

Black Vulture

I had been feeling a bit exhausted from extreme birding several days before and wanted to do a quick run to the Rio Rico Ponds to find the Black-bellied Whistling Ducks(below).  I had seen the bird before, but it would be a lifebird for me on Ebird.  Part of me was thrilled to see these birds in their natural habitat, but another part was more interested in the drive, good music, and an easy lifebird.

Of course, the minute I got out of car along side the road, the skies exploded with Black Vultures.  What should have been an easy morning getting a lifebird turned into......."What else is out here?"  My curiosity took over and I began to hike along the DeAnza trail.

I left the Rio Rico ponds and headed to the nearby St. Gertrudis Lane.  Birders are allowed to walk this gravel road but not drive.  So don't drive.  Plus if one could drive, they'd miss out on all the fun birds along the road.

Female Vermilion Flycatcher

As I walked down the road, I found myself entering a gate to walk the DeAnza trail.  There were too many birds calling and I forgot about where I was.  There was a particular bird of great interest....a Juvenile Gray Hawk!

Juvenile Gray Hawk

I didn't walk too far, but I did have a lovely stroll within the area.  By 11 AM, I was back home in my pj's for the rest of the day!

There's so much out there to see.  Life is thrilling.  The heat of our desert summer, however, sucks:) A fun nerdy post coming up next week.

"Stand by the grey stone when the thrush knocks" J.R.R. Tolkien