Madera Canyon - second day

After a siesta and a cup of tea on Saturday May 24th, I drove Fanta down to the Proctor Road Parking area and hiked back up the canyon. I detoured en route back to check out Proctor Road, walking as far as campsite six where Buff-collared Nightjar had been reported. The road was a bit too rocky for us to drive after dark but campsite six was only half an hours walk. Arriving back at Santa Rita my wife and I then headed back down, stopping to see a Gray Hawk in the nest over the road by the picnic area. We got to Proctor Road at 7:30 where we ran into someone who said the bird had been at campsite one the night before, and within minutes the Buff-collared Nightjar began singing. this was a life bird for me. We drove back to Santa Rita in Fanta soon afterwards.

An hour later we drove to the end of the road hoping for Whiskered Screech Owl and Mexican Whip-poor-will and found both birds. The latter was another life bird for me!

I began Sunday May 25th with a walk up to the Kubo and back finding Greater Pewee, Dusky-capped Flycatcher and bird-of-the-day Sulfur-bellied Flycatcher. I saw a pair of these birds across the road from the Kubo - the same spot where David and I had seen them years earlier when this bird was a lifer for me. A Scott's Oriole was at the cut oranges back at Santa Rita Lodge.After breakfast we took one last hike along the creek where we saw a large group of Blue Grosbeaks and a couple of White-tailed Deer.

White-tailed Deer

 We made one stop in Tucson after leaving Madera Canyon - a short visit to Sweetewater where I added Common Gallinule for the year but failed to find Harris's Hawk.

 

Yellow Warbler