Chiricahuas: Camping and Birding

We wanted to spend more time in the Chiricahuas and hopefully see more wildlife. After our 7 mile hike, we drove the Pinery Road from west to east, ending up at Portal the next day. Since we were tent camping and losing light, we didn't want to camp too high on the mountain, and found a nice spot along a dry creek bed. The dispersed campsites along the first few miles are free and spread out about 3 per mile. We quickly opened our rooftop tent and changed into warmer clothes.  Sitting around the fire with a bowl of hot soup was a nice end to our adventurous day. 

We left early the next morning to make it to Portal for some birding. The views were gorgeous and there were a few great stops along the way. The bend along East Turkey Creek was especially good for birds. I found a handful of warblers including a Townsend's, a Yellow-eyed Junco and this striking Painted Redstart.

As we were nearing Portal, we stopped at the Visitor Information Center and I received this helpful birder's map along with directions to TURN IMMEDIATELY AROUND and try for the Trogan. We didn't have much time, but followed the advice anyway. I didn't see the Trogan, but I did see a few other nice birds. 

While I was getting the map, the kids were busy climbing trees.

 Trogan hunting while the kids played in the stream below.

Cave Creek Ranch was highly recommended to me by friends. This lodge has feeders set up in common areas with chairs in shady places so you can relax and watch the birds in comfort. This was absolutely delightful! I was also told to walk behind the office, so I was torn on how to spend my hour here. Every time I thought, ok, time for a walk, a new bird would swoop in. So I ended up at the feeders almost the whole time.

Best way to spend $5! It's hard to see in the photo, but there are about 7 feeders on this line between the tree and stump.

Again, the feeders are between the tree and stump, so pretty close to the chairs.

Black-headed Grosbeak  (above)      Acorn Woodpecker  (below)

Chiricahuas {The Heart of Rocks}

The Chiricahuas. 

I've seen friends post from this "sky island" finding birds, snakes and amazing views, so this was high on my list to explore. The Chiricahua Mountains are just east of Tucson and reaching an elevation nearing 10,000ft, a place where four ecosystems meet: the Rocky Mountains, and Mexico's Sierra Madres, Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts. For this reason an abundant diversity of plants and wildlife can be found here, including Mexican species you may not find elsewhere in the US. We began our visit at the Chiricahua National Monument Visitor Center where we were greeted by bold Mexican Jays.

We decided along with our Israeli friends to hike to the Heart of Rocks Loop, arriving via the Lower Rhyolite Canyon Trail, a 7 mile round-trip. Pretty ambitious for our first big hike in a long while. 

We had hardly been walking for 10 minutes when we heard a rattle... A Banded Rock Rattlesnake was just off trail a few feet from us. No worries, it was just telling us he was there as he tried to escape all the scary people! Asher found 2 others during the hike but was unable to identify them.

Pretty soon the trail left the forest and we hiked along the side of the mountain, soon we could see the rock pinnacles standing tall above the canyon. 

 

Once we reached the Heart of Rocks Loop, the kids found some fabulous rocks to climb. The group enjoyed a few snacks and posed for some family photos.

Everyone else was ready to head back, but I was determined to complete the Heart of Rocks Loop, so I continued on alone...in the wrong direction! After about half a mile, I came across a couple, the only other people on the trail, who for some reason told me I was not on the loop trail. I don't know how this conversation got to this, because I had just stopped to take a photo of a lizard, I know it was a God thing! I returned back to my family and then found the actual beginning of the loop trail. I learned a lesson- always double check my GPS location with my phone! It was a beautiful detour, but now I needed to move even faster. 

The views were wonderful and the rock-formations quite interesting. Some have names like "Kissing Rocks", "Big Balanced Rock", and "Punch and Judy", all pictured below.

This place reminds me of Bryce Canyon and its many hoodoos.

The loop took me about 40 minutes to complete and then we began our long hike back together towards the Visitor Center.

We decided to spend the night on the mountain in our rooftop tent. See the next post for more.

Wildlife of Willcox {Arizona}

In Willcox, our friends joined us for four nights at another Boondockers Welcome host with a beautiful, wild, desert property. They were a nice family who not only invited the kids to jump on their trampoline, but their daughter even taught the kids some new gymnastics skills on it. When we arrived they warned us of many different kids of wildlife that can be found on the property. He mentioned snakes, bobcats, coyotes, and three kinds of skunk! I only knew two existed! Boy did I want to see some skunks! Oh, and once there was a mountain lion in the tree by the house! This place is perfect!

When we booked this, I had no idea that Willcox was a birding destination due to the popularity of Lake Cochise, a water treatment lake and the grasslands nearby where thousands of sandhill cranes spend the winter. The cranes had already headed north when we arrived, but I saw a good number of birds between the lake and the adjacent golf course. I birded here twice. The first day, I had not even parked yet when I saw an Upland Sandpiper drop onto the golf course! I had no idea that was the coveted bird of the day, until I ran into birder after birder asking me about it. Though it was no longer where I saw it, my sighting gave them hope to keep looking. One guy actually drove the lake loop one last time just to tell me he finally saw it and to thank me. He said without my info, he would have left for the day. 

May not look like much from the photo, but I identified 65 species between here and the adjacent golf course. A great variety of birds and I love the mountains in the distance. I noticed this heart-shaped tree on the golf course.

One birder stopped to make sure I saw the celebrity couple, a pair of Bendire's Thrashers, unusual for the area, that had nested in a bush. I was able to watch for them as they brought food back to their young.

White-faced Ibis (above)      American Avocet (below)

Back at the ranch... Our host had a third RV staying with them. The other RVers had an archery set and let Daddy and Asher borrow it. Nice! Target practice in the yard. Check out the shadow in the last photo.

One night this snake slithered past while we were eating dinner outside. We took photos and I researched it, finding out it's a Desert Kingsnake, a snake known for a mild temperment. I decided if I saw it again, we were going to get a closer look. The day we were leaving, Asher spotted him just outside our door. I ran out and picked him up as gently as possible. He did not try to bite or musk. We held him for a bit then returned him to where he was headed. Such a cool opportunity for my kids to learn more about snakes and interact with a wild one.

This was a great base to explore the Chiricahuas, Portal, and visit a hummingbird banding station near Sierra Vista!