A Birder's Pilgrimage

I'm going to tell you a story about a little gray flycatcher that made history.  

The journey was rough, but it was an important one for many birders.  For some time, birders across the US have been waiting for the arrival(or discovery) of the Pine Flycatcher in the United States. 

 This bird looks like every other empid and so it took time for the confirmation to happen.  The Pine Flycatcher lives in the montane forests of Mexico and Central America.  When Dave Stejskal and his wife went camping in a remote part of Arizona's Santa Rita mountains, they discovered a different sounding flycatcher in this little shaded oasis. 

Dave spent a couple days with the experts and went over the calls making sure it was really truly the first ever US record of a Pine Flycatcher. 

The Range map for this bird

When the news came across the internet, birders were a buzz.  For me, I was thrown off.  A Pine Flycatcher?  I pride myself in knowing most of my Mexican birds but somehow this one slipped past my radar! A birder we've met on Las Aventuras, Bruce Berman, asked me "the" question. "Chris, you've birded in Mexico quite a bit.  Had you ever heard about this bird?"  I know it sounds strange, but I hadn't!  Bruce felt relieved that he wasn't the only one who was shocked by a new bird.  It's like saying there are actually unicorns in this world. So like I do with all my new birds, I studied this particular flycatcher and the call!

After the relentless heat, this shaded oasis with a breeze made me want to hang out the entire day! But I knew the heat would continue to rise and we  had to get out of there before it would become intolerable.  Heat stroke is real. 

At first, I didn't know if I would be able to make the trek alone because the conditions were too rough, but near the 11 PM hour that night I received a text from a birder by the name of Jeremy Medina.  And the next thing I knew, we were on the road bright and early 4 hours later!  During the night, I tossed and turned.  Was this a safe decision?  The roads were rough and in remote areas. What if we didn't have cell service?  Water?  Etc etc.  But in the morning, we played it safe and drove carefully on the road. We brought extra water just in case we got stranded.  At one point, we parked and hiked the remainder of the rough road into the wooded glen.  The message here?  Team work.  When we work together, we can achieve anything. 

The 10 foot water tank told us that we had reached our marker.

We were greeted by a male Elegant Trogon calling along the creek. 

A small group of birders met together in almost a religious style ceremony. It struck me that we all made this sacred pilgrimage for a historic bird. There is something very special about the treks we do.  And it cannot be put into words. We watched this amazing flycatcher hop and spin around the trees as if it were a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. 

It was a wonderful group of people who were all very respectful of the bird's space.  Together we observed it collect nesting material. 

A Gila Woodpecker tells everyone to keep it down out there!  The babies were trying to sleep!

Other birds wondered what all the commotion was about:)

There were other gray birds there like the very vocal Plumbeous Vireo below. 

We collected data on the bird and made careful observations for ebird and the ABA Bird Record's Committee.  I need to get an app to record audio.  Instead I've been using my video part on the camera.  I felt like a real tool asking everyone to stay still and quiet while I took a 20 second snippet of the bird calling.  It was important because these birds can only be ID'd by their calls sometimes.  However, I can say that the behavior on this flycatcher was rather distinct from the other similar looking flycatchers that I have observed.  If approved, this flycatcher will be an exciting addition for those who list with ABA as it will become "legit". For me, it was an amazing life bird. 

Pine Flycatcher

What an exhausting and wonderful day out in the field discovering a new bird for the United States! It has been projected that with Global Warming, the state of Arizona will see more Mexican vagrants enter into our state over the next several years.  We are seeing once rare birds like Rufous-capped Warblers, Black-capped Gnatcatchers and Elegant Trogons expand their range northward.  It was just a matter of time before the Pine and Tufted Flycatchers made their way into Arizona. Blue Mockingbirds and Aztec Thrushes have also been reported.  Yes, things are going to get interesting.  Birders have seen this global warming  trend happen for some time now with our bird populations. 

The Flycatcher group is not an easy one, but with practice and study, they are a snap to ID.  For beginning birders, I recommend meeting up with an experienced birder and learn how to distinguish the various behaviors by observation since most of these empids look similar. For example, Gray Flycatcher pumps the tail downward.  The Dusky Flycatcher pumps the tail up.  The Hammond's Flycatcher has ADD as it constantly flicks and ticks:) 

And yes, the life bird list keeps slowly inching up. The Pine Flycatcher makes life bird 716.  Will I make it to 800 by the end of the year?  Who knows?  But I will tell you that the work behind each bird has increased.  Every new addition has a cost both personal and financial. I'm just glad most of us have spouses who understand our addiction to this lifetime of ours.  The desert is getting too hot and that means it's time to cool down elsewhere.  Las Aventuras: Home continues.

The Tufted Angels

The Tufted Angels come together and discover new territory and birds!

The last two weeks in Southeastern Arizona have been awesome thanks to TWO rare visiting bird species.  Birders from all over the US quickly assembled and are currently hiking a major trail to find a tiny little bird.  With all the birders involved, I knew it was going to be difficult to actually get a good pic of the bird.  However, it didn't stop me from the photo shoot of our trek down.  The Band of Birders once again united for this very special day as we hiked over 8.2 miles for a code 5 bird.  The Tufted Flycatcher. 

We began our journey at the top of Carr Canyon which is located in the Huachuca Mountains. There we began our descent through rock, forest and mountain stream. 

As we made our way down, we faced rocky slopes and several steep climbs.  At one point, Magill took a spill and landed on her knee.  

Along the way, we had absolutely beautiful vistas of both the canyons.  There were several places where cliff and trail met up.  

At several places, we encountered poison ivy.  There wasn't any avoiding the plant as it spilled from both sides onto the trail.  When I got home, I took a shower!

As we got closer to the area where the Tufted Flycatcher was seen, we encountered the running mountain stream.  On several occasions, we had to figure out how we'd cross without getting the shoes wet. Wet shoes on a slope can be a bad thing. 

Gordon weighs in on the rickety looking bridge.  It is decided we'd chance it on the rocks instead:)  As we approached our coordinates, we found our secret society of birders all standing in the "spot". 

It was a beautiful moment.  I love it when a special bird makes its way into a sacred part of the world that not many people see.  We all stood and patiently waited for the bird to fly near its "possible" nesting location. I saw one bird.  But from other photographers and reliable sources, I saw pictures of a nest and a different looking TUFL.  So......

As the bird flew in, the crowd became extremely happy. Several photographers snapped off lots and lots of camera shots.  I was one of them:)  Well I tried!  The bird reminded me of a Tyrannulet in the way it flew.  It perched like a Pewee.  Physically, it was buffy like a Buff-breasted Flycatcher but with the tuft of a Juniper Titmouse!  

This is only the 8th recorded sighting of the bird in the US. As mentioned previously, two birds and a nest were reported.  If this is the case, it would be the first time that this Mexican species has ever nested in Arizona.  And that is a big deal. 

My pic of this bird is terrible, but like the Flame-colored Tanager, I know I'll have more opportunities to see this bird again when I'm in its expected habitat.  For now, I just thoroughly enjoyed the experience of the hike, being with friends and finding the bird. For many birders, it will be a story shared with people for many years to come.   

After about an hour with the Tufted Flycatcher, we continued on down to Ramsey Canyon so that the crew could get their Flame-colored Tanager for the year.  Again, the birds weren't too cooperative, but they did show.  

Our team member, Tommy D, took one for the team by heading back up to Carr Canyon so that he could bring Gordon's vehicle back down to Ramsey.  The group members were thankful.  Several birders hiked back with him and I know it made the time pass by quickly. 

Birding in Arizona is epic.  We have been enjoying wonderful weather here.  During several parts of our hike, we were actually cold!  Cold in May is something of a gift to us.   If anyone decides to chase this bird, remember to bring enough water for the trek.  Several of us brought our camelpacks.  I'm glad I did!  I drank the whole thing!

The day wouldn't have been the day without the group.  It's always special when we all can set aside a day together and go find an amazing bird.  We can be intense.  But we also laugh a lot. As we finished our day at a Mexican restaurant, I saw a real bond.  One that is caring and one of mutual respect.  I was so grateful to share that moment together. What a way to start the summer vacation!  Until next time everyone..... 

PS.  And for the poor photos of birds this week, I give you a random Wood Duck I found in one of our local parks this week.  This is a drake(or male) and it made my evening.