Prior to this trip, I had been to the Chiricahuas three times: once for a thorough trip and the other two were for shorter trips with the latter two having the purpose of there being primary hopes of landing rare Mexican warblers. In fact, I looked for a Crescent-chested Warbler at South Fork of Cave Creek Canyon with David, Lauren, and Bobby without success during two consecutive days of the thorough trip, and I also went to the Chiricahuas to chase Fan-tailed Warbler and Slate-throated Redstart successfully with Steve and Josh, and then I missed a Slate-throated Redstart with Janet, Gordon, and Laurie. Whether or not the rarities are abound in this mountain range, birding it and exploring it is always a blast. After leaving Peoria after 5 P.M. on the 28th, I got to the end of Turkey Creek Road later at night, about 10:30 P.M. Turkey Creek could be heard when I got out of my truck, and there were birders camped out at the Morse Canyon Trailhead which represented the end of the road. Birders were also camped out along the last three miles of the road. I talked with some birders for a few minutes before calling it a day, but the trip had a fun kick-off immediately as I got to listen to several Mexican Whip-poor-wills and two Flammulated Owls throughout the night. Yes, I really didn't have many solid stretches of sleep, and it was probably because I knew I'd be attempting to get my first Crescent-chested Warbler in the morning.
The Flammulated Owl and Whip-poor-wills continued to call not long before it would be considered dawn on April 29th. My buddy Mark Ochs had finally gotten to see his first Crescent-chested Warblers at the spot on the 28th. He told me in basketball-like terms that getting them, "should be a layup". I also read on the Arizona Birding Facebook page that the warblers started vocalizing as early as 5:30 A.M. They said while a male sang and had a female with him, that at times another male could be heard singing further away while the pair was in view. The odds seemed great! Speaking of Mark, one time he, my buddy Laurence, and I chased a Crescent-chested Warbler in Miller Canyon of the Huachucas back in 2013. We heard the bird sing, but couldn't get on it before it was never reported again. A crowd of birders followed behind us as we pointed out the song, and I remember they crowded closely behind Mark. It seems as if people crowding together now is a fabled memory. Near a large mixed feeding flock of warblers was where we heard the song come from, but there were many warblers. Mark lost his footing and caught himself before he nearly tumbled backwards. If he actually fell back, so would the other birders in a domino effect with Mark landing on them. It was hilarious. Hearing the song of this bird as the only means of counting it for myself would be lame, because the Crescent-chested Warbler doesn't have much of a musical song like most warblers do. It's more of a harsh-sounding trilling rattle. I decided not to count the heard only, and with knowing how cool-looking and beautiful of a warbler the Crescent-chested is visually, a heard only would be lame. On April 29th, many birders started to come to the end of West Turkey Creek at the Morse Canyon Trailhead at about 5 A.M. At exactly 5:25, that song that was a harsh-sounding trilling rattle started to sound off. "It's singing!", some said. "It's calling!" others said. I can't say I blame anyone for thinking that the bird's song is it's call, because it really sounds like a call.
Because the lighting was poor at 5:25 A.M., the birds were hard to pick out visually for the first hour. At one point and time, a younger birder found the pair visually and pointed one of them out to me. A bright white supercillum, a yellow breast with a red "crescent" extending across the yellow breast, white belly, and a light bluish color to the bird's upper body confirmed my first look at a Crescent-chested Warbler. As the area continually got lighter, the birds got more and more active. Birders were pumped up, and besides the mega rare target that was of hot pursuit, there were many other awesome species singing too that resulted in an awesome dawn chorus. Every once-in-awhile, I'd notice a Red-faced Warbler, Greater Pewee, Painted Redstart, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Hermit Thrush, Plumbeous Vireo, or Yellow-eyed Junco to realize that "hey, there are other awesome birds out here too besides the rare prize". A flowing Turkey Creek had surrounding forest of pine, Douglas fir, and oak at the location.
Once it got light out, the Crescent-chested Warblers gave everyone good views, but most of the time they did stay high up in trees and were pretty difficult to photograph. The first time I got to see the male well as epic. I walked to a point where the crowd wasn't at first, and he flew to a perch close by to sing. For awhile, I watched the bird through my binoculars before getting my camera out for pictures.
Crescent-chested Warblers are well-named after the adult male, who has a bright red crescent across his chest. Female birds look very similar, but lack the red on the chest. In Arizona, this bird has had 15 accepted records by the Arizona Bird Committee. All but one of these records have come from southeastern Arizona, which the oddball was a remarkable overshoot into Yavapai County. There is also an accepted sight record from the Chisos Mountains in Texas, where I got to see Colima Warblers last year. The usual range of Crescent-chested Warbler goes from northern Mexico south to northern Nicaragua, where it inhabits montane pine and oak forests as well as cloud forests that have pine, fir, and cypress. While I watched my latest life bird, I wasn't able to get the killer photograph, but I'm thankful as long as some of the pictures are decent and are identifiable. I spent about four hours at the spot to enjoy the warblers. It was also fun visiting with many others. My friend Tracy McCarthey noted and pointed out that the birds were carrying nesting material, which is really awesome, and hopefully these birds will successfully raise young. Here is a selection of photographs I obtained of the bird!
I love Wood Warblers, they are one of my favorite bird families. The Crescent-chested Warbler was my 52nd Wood Warbler species that I have for the ABA. I need three more: Cape May Warbler, Connecticut Warbler, and the Texas-vagrant Golden-crowned Warbler. There is also a super cool one I didn't see visually but spent four freaking hours listening to on the side of a road once in Kirtland's Warbler. I've gotta get a visual on that one as well. After getting the Crescent-chested Warblers, I would go and explore other locations within the Chiricahuas further.
From West Turkey Creek, I decided to take Forest Road 42, which is near the entrance to the Chiricahua National Monument, up and through Pinery Canyon up to Union Saddle, and then up to start exploring both Barfoot and Rustler Parks. This area has some of the highest of elevations in the Chiricahuas, especially Barfoot Park. In elevations above 8,000', Barfoot Park is composed of pine, Douglas Fir, and some Engelmann spruce. It is one of my favorite spots in southeastern Arizona. Barfoot holds a reputation in Arizona for being the most likely place to see a Short-tailed Hawk. It also gives the birder a strong bet to see the Mexican Chickadee. In the United States, the Chiricahuas are the only place to see Mexican Chickadees. A mountain range in nearby New Mexico has the bird but it is closed to the public. In the Chiricahuas, Mexican Chickadees are found in many places where there are conifers, including West Turkey Creek where the Crescent-chested Warblers are. Although they are found in lower elevations that have pines around 6,000', Barfoot and Rustler Park hold the best chances for observation. When I walked into Barfoot I heard a chickadee immediately, and after some patience an hour later, I had one foraging along a path. Not only did it give good views, but for me it was notable to see it gathering nesting material while sitting on and right near the ground for a few minutes.
At Barfoot Park, Yellow-eyed Juncos were abundant. Out of the many birds that were present, there were a few that were camera friendly.
A few other birds that I photographed included a Steller's Jay in flight, as well as a House Wren of the "Brown-throated" subspecies.
Other birds included Greater Pewee, Olive Warbler, Red Crossbill, and Western Tanager, and a few scenes from Barfoot had to be documented.
I then moved down from Barfoot Park to Rustler Park. The habitat was similar, and I birded along the road before the Rustler day use area is reached. Warblers were everywhere here. Townsend's and the always impressive Red-faced Warbler were what I was able to photograph, as well as a Hairy Woodpecker.
After Rustler Park, I made a shorter visit to Pinery Canyon before heading toward the small community of Portal, where Cave Creek Canyon is accessed from. I took this time to really scout this mountain range out for myself, and after Pinery Canyon, I didn't really do much birding until later in the evening when I selected a campsite just off of FR 42, not far west of Portal. Although this was my fourth time in the Chiricahuas, I learned the most about the range on this trip because during the other trips I didn't take my vehicle. This time I really payed attention, and I can't wait till I go back to the Chiricahuas. It's always an epic sight when Cave Creek Canyon is approached...
My campsite and surroundings were situated in an oak forest with some rocky and grassy hillsides in the mix. I was really hoping to see some Montezuma Quail, but that is a species I don't have a lot of luck with. A variety of birds were present before it got dark out, and for an hour or so after dark, I decided that I would owl for Whiskered Screech and Elf Owls. As I made my way up the road toward habitat that looked good for owls, I came across this injured bat right in the road. I think it was injured because it couldn't move well and could only fly a few feet. Another case could've been rabies, which I did see cautionary signs up for in places during the trip that warned people of wildlife behaving differently. As far as what species of bat this is, I had about five guesses when looking through a mammal field guide. Bat ID is freaking tough.
The bat eventually went off of the road to do it's odd hopping around. I returned to focusing on owls, where I heard several Whiskered Screech-Owls and a few Elf Owls. A pair of Whiskered Screech-Owls called with their morse-code-like calls nearby, and I managed to track them down and enjoy them for a few minutes. One of the Elf Owls was heard right in my camping area, which was awesome.
I got a solid 6.5 hours of sleep and I had plenty of energy for April 30th. My itinerary for this day was to spend the entire morning at South Fork of Cave Creek Canyon near Portal. This is a legendary location for birding, and this location has a high reputation of being the easiest place in the United States to see the remarkable Elegant Trogon. It had been awhile since I had seen a Trogon, and the species is one that I could always go for a round on. I hoped to cover a long distance of Cave Creek Canyon in order to encounter Trogons and other birds. With the Crescent-chested Warbler numbers that were showing up elsewhere, I was hoping that I would maybe find one on this hike. A one mile road goes south of Forest Road 42 to the trailhead to the South Fork Trail at Cave Creek. This entrance road is awesome, and the end of the road gives people access to the South Fork Trail, where Cave Creek can be followed for miles. Cave Creek Canyon is one of scenic beauty. Towering cliffs rise up over the woodland habitats below, and the water of Cave Creek is clear as can be. I found myself wanting to drink the water even though they all say creek water is a no go. The beauty of this area is worthy of a trip, and the birds found here certainly are too.
Other birds that were present during the expedition included White-throated Swift, Rivoli's Hummingbird, Blue-throated Mountain-gem (formerly Blue-throated Hummingbird), Zone-tailed Hawk, Arizona Woodpecker, Peregrine Falcon, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Brown Creeper, Yellow-eyed Junco, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Scott's Oriole, Virginia's, Grace's, and Red-faced Warblers; Painted Redstart, Hepatic and Western Tanagers, and Black-headed Grosbeak. Here are some other picture highlights of birds and more from the hike.
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| American Robin |
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| Dusky-capped Flycatcher |
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| Ruby-crowned Kinglet |
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| Eastern Wood-Pewee |
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| Mexican Fox Squirrel |
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| Red-faced Warbler |
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| Tail end of a Black-tailed Rattlesnake |
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| Peregrine Falcon |
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| White-throated Swift |
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| Mexican Jay |
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| Bridled Titmouse |
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| Hermit Thrush |
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| Coues' White-tailed Deer |
After the long hike at South Fork, I started to head back home. A stop at Willcox was highlighted by a previously reported male-female pair of Surf Scoters, a rare-but-annual visitor to Arizona. In the days before I got to check Willcox, rarities in Whimbrel and American Golden-Plover were also discovered.
On my drive home I reached 300,000 miles for my truck-it was pretty awesome! This has been my biggest adventure as of late, but there have been plenty of other adventures. Stay tuned for those. And I am really looking forward to the next time I get to go back to the Chiricahuas..
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