Finally, we were off to far southern Arizona for two nights at Battiste's Bed Breakfast & Birds, a bed and breakfast in Hereford, Arizona (right next to Sierra Vista, Arizona), that is set up specifically for bird watching.
It has a great viewing area and the very first birds we saw were among my favorite southwestern birds, Acorn Woodpeckers.
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| Cute little "clown birds" |
This pair nests in the yard and puts on a show all day as they collect and store acorns in a tree branch while defending their territory from some resident Curved-bill Thrashers, which are nesting in a cactus in the side yard.
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| Curved-bill Thrasher |
We arrived in the early afternoon and got settled in our room, which was a bed and bath with a small sitting area and kitchenette attached to the Battiste's home.
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| Home sweet home (for a night) |
There is another room in that area for groups that require two. And, there is also a separate casita.
Expecting the bed and breakfast to be way back in the canyon, I was surprised to find that it was in a slightly rural neighborhood.
However, the somewhat suburban setting didn't seem to interfere with the bird traffic.
It did, however, present some unusual wildlife, like this neighborhood cat ...
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| Wild animals! |
Breakfast isn't a sit down with the family. Rather, it's a coffee-maker, basket of fruit and a small refrigerator stocked with juice and yogurt. Every day, Julie Battiste also leaves a small basket of fresh-baked muffins or bread. It was nice because we weren't tied to a breakfast time, which is always my beef with a bed and breakfast. Since Scott likes a hearty breakfast, he went into town each morning while I got dressed (and ate the yummy banana bread).
A cold front had come through as we were driving south, so the temperatures were a surprise -- and a relief -- after Phoenix. We even had to wear jackets at night. The downside was wind, which interfered with some of the birdwatching.
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| Nice set-up |
The backyard has a lovely area with feeders, a water feature, a blind, comfy chairs and concrete and paver surfaces that make setting up a tripod easy. The blind is difficult in the afternoon because you face the sun. But, I found that most of the birds didn't seem disturbed by human presence unless you move suddenly.
I did use it in the morning and it allowed me to get a little closer.
Every morning, Tony Battiste stocks the feeders and branches with bird seed, suet and oranges. The place is full of birds flitting back and forth.
I am not going to give a chronology of the birds I saw. Rather, I'll just show you some ...
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| Acorn Woodpecker |
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| House Finch |
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| Northern Cardinal (Arizona Subspecies) |
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| Male Anna's Hummingbird (lifer) |
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| Female Anna's Hummingbird (lifer) |
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| Cactus Wren (lifer) |
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| House Sparrow |
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| Male Broad-billed Hummingbird |
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| Female Broad-billed Hummingbird |
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| White-Winged Doves |
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| Male Black-headed Grosbeak |
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| Pyrrholuxia |
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| Audubon's Yellow-rumped Warbler |
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| Mexican Jay |
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| Male Broad-tailed Hummingbird |
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| Female Broad-tailed Hummingbird |
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| Mourning Dove |
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| White-breasted Nuthatch |
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| Northern Mockingbird (I have been trying for ages to photograph one) |
I also saw a Cooper's Hawk that landed right above me for approximately four seconds, a Spotted Towhee and probably a few other birds that made brief appearances. While we were out one day, other guests saw a Zone-tailed Hawk, a Lazuli Bunting and a Magnificent Hummingbird. Sorry I missed them.
They also have a small beehive with African Honeybees ...
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| They seemed calm |
Elf OwlThe Battiste's big claim to fame is a pair of Elf Owls that return every year in late March to nest in a pole in the yard. Elf Owls migrate to Arizona and New Mexico in the spring and summer. In the winter, they are found in central and southern Mexico.The babies fledge in July, so the pair in the backyard were sitting on eggs or, more likely, owlets, when we were there. Because they nest in the pole, the babies remain hidden until they fledge.
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| Lookin' at me |
The world's lightest owl, an Elf Owl weighs about 1.4 ounces and is only about 5-6 inches tall. Elf owls usually choose abandoned, north-facing woodpecker cavities in saguaro cacti, sycamores, cottonwoods and other hardwood trees, to raise their young. Of course, these owls chose a wooden pole, which they share with the Acorn Woodpeckers.
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| They love poles |
The female usually lays three eggs, which are incubated for about three weeks before the chicks hatch. The young owlets fledge at about 10 weeks. According to Julie, once they leave the nest, the babies don't return.
Elf Owls feed mainly on insects and therefore occupy habitats with a ready supply of these. Agaves and ocotillos are ideal places for foraging as moths and other insects may sleep in their flowers. They are often seen chasing after flying insects, with a flight similar to a tyrant flycatcher's. They also feed on scorpions and do not seem to be bothered by the scorpion's stings.
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| Angry? |
Elf Owls are nocturnal. At Battiste's, the female normally pops her head out of the tree every night just after it gets dark. Tony comes out with a high-beam flashlight to illuminate the owl for photos. Normally, the male arrives and sits on a facing branch. They talk to each other and then he brings food to the nest. Then she flies out to hunt.
The Battiste's charge $5.00 for non-guest who want to come and see the owls.
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| Surprised? |
While we were there, the female was right on schedule. But, it was quite windy. So, the male never showed up on the branch. The female looked around a bit and then was out of the hole in a flash. It was dark, so getting a picture on a branch (and not the branch we had prepared to get the male on) was difficult.
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| Blurry! |
After doing this or two nights, I came up with a better photography strategy if I ever go back. Just set up the camera on a tripod with a card with lots of capacity. Then, shoot continuously until she flies out. Reflexes just aren't fast enough to catch it spontaneously.
It wasn't ideal, but we did get to see her -- and she was adorable.
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| Amused? |
My sources said that Elf Owls live three to six years, so, I wonder if some of Battiste's returning owls have been offspring.
Mexican Spotted OwlsTony also told us about two Mexican Spotted Owls that live year-round in nearby Miller Canyon. He told us that we could hike up to see them ourselves or hire a local guide (about $20). Since we were going on a Sunday morning and our phone reception was too poor to call the guide, we decided to go by ourselves.
Tony told us to drive up Miller Canyon Road, "pay our $5," and hike about three quarters of a mile up the trail until we reached a large shed-sized rock with a split in the middle. He said the owls normally sit in a Madrone tree. Some other guests told us that they had hiked up that day and seen the owls sitting on nearby rocks. Tony made the hike sound easy.
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| A cute pair |
We drove up and found what we assumed was the right trailhead. We were a bit confused because we never saw a place to pay $5.00. Anyway, we started up the mountain. It was very sunny and warm, but not hot. Scott doesn't really like hiking and was recovering from a knee injury. The trail was not difficult, but it was steeper and rockier than we anticipated. I had my big heavy camera and didn't take my walking stick. Next time, I would take a stick.
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| Scott didn't like the trail |
Anyway, we felt that we had hiked far enough, but didn't see the rock. I was becoming worried that we were not on the right trail, although we had passed a few landmarks that matched Tony's description (a green house, a split off to another, lesser trail). Scott's ankle was bothering him, so he decided to go back. I almost went back with him, but then decided that I would always regret not finding those owls.
So, I continued on for about 20 more yards around a few bends.
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| Hard to find |
There was the rock!
Now, where were the owls?
I looked and looked and looked and almost gave up.
Then, I saw them.
Right there in front of me.
The pair were huddled next to each other in the shade of branches above them, facing the opposite direction. The camouflage was great. But, once I saw them, wow!
Unfortunately, their orientation and the canopy of leaves made them tricky to photograph.
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| There they are! |
I ended up scrambling through a dry, rocky creek bed and up the bank on the opposite side to get better pictures.
Spotted Owls have three subspecies -- Northern, California and Mexican -- ranging in distribution from British Columbia to Mexico.
The Mexican Spotted Owl occurs in mountain ranges and canyons of Utah, Colorado, Arizona New Mexico and extreme western Texas in the U.S. and in Sonora, Chihuahua, Nuevo León and eastern Coahuila through the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre Oriental mountains in Mexico.
With an average length of 17 inches, a wingspan of 45 inches and weight of 1.3 lb., they are fairly large owls.
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| Smile! |
Spotted Owls are nocturnal, sit-and-wait predators. They often hunt for small mammals from a perch and swoop or pounce on prey or may take prey from tree boles and limbs. Although they occasionally hunt during the day, these two were obviously resting and, no matter how close I got or how much noise I made, they barely opened an eye. I wish they had because they have dark eyes, giving them a very different look from Great Horned Owls.
Had Scott not been waiting at the trailhead, I probably would have sat them out, waiting for them to do something other than sit and sleep. But, that could have been an all-day proposition.
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| A pair of lifers! |
Spotted Owls breed from early spring to late summer or fall. They nest in tree cavities, deadwood and snags or abandoned raptor or squirrel nests. Some nest sites are used repeatedly.
Monogamous, Spotted Owls rarely re-nest after failed breeding attempts.
They do not normally breed every year, with average breeding probability being 62 percent.
Normal clutch size is two eggs, but may reach four on rare occasions. The female sits on the eggs and cares for the young, while the male provides food for them.
I have no idea whether these two had a nest, but since both were sitting in the tree, probably not.
Mexican Spotted can live up to 17 years, although they have very low fledgling survival rates ( as low as 11 percent in some area). The most common causes of mortality are predation, starvation and possibly disease.
The Spotted Owl is a "near threatened" species with a decreasing population trend. Habitat loss due to timber harvesting is generally recognized as the main threat (you may remember that the Northern Spotted Owl effectively stopped timbering in Northwest years ago).
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| Not very active (what can you expect from a nocturnal bird?) |
All subspecies of the spotted owl are often the subject of disagreement between conservationists and loggers, cattle grazers, developers and other organizations whose activities affect forest conservation. In 2008, a federal judge reinforced a USFWS decision to designate 8,600,000 acres in Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico as critical habitat for the owl. The decision had been challenged by the Arizona Cattle Growers' Association, but was upheld.
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| Talons |
Seeing these two Owls was such a treat -- I am glad I pushed on up the trail. I am sorry that Scott had to wait for me. Because there was no phone service, there was no way to let him know that I had actually found the Owls. I guess the amount of time I took to get back down the trail made that obvious.
Once again, these owls underscore the importance of really LOOKING when you are out in the woods.
It would be so easy to walk right past these two rather large birds that were less than 10 feet off the trail. I am sure it happens every day.
Apparently, my presence did little to disturb their napping.
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| So special |
I rapidly returned to the car (I didn't want to keep Scott waiting), but took a minute to photograph some yellow columbines ...
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| Yellow Columbines |
... and a Rock Squirrel ...
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| Aggressively scratching |
Scott said that he saw a snake on his way down. I saw a few lizards, but no snakes.
The Rest
While in southern Arizona, we didn't just sit around the bird area. We also explored Carr and Ramsey Canyons, where we didn't see much wildlife. We did however see some Coos White-tailed Deer, which are specific to the area and much smaller than most other White-tailed Deer.
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| Interested and then not |
The canyons are pretty -- in an Arizona kind of way. We drove around, but didn't see anything really interesting.
Scott had discovered the nearby Arizona Folklore Preserve in Ramsey Canyon and decided to go to a concert there. I went in search of Garden Canyon, where one could allegedly find an Elegant Trogon (if one were lucky).
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| Pretty scenery |
My GPS took me to two dead ends and Trip Advisor was no help. Eventually I discovered that the Canyon, while open to the public, is on the Fort Huachuca military base. By then it was too late to go. A wasted afternoon.
The weather was unseasonably cool, so it was hard to remember that we were so close to Mexico. Plus, the affluent community of Sierra Vista and nearby Fort Huachuca do not look like a typical border town.
But, actually, Mexico is only 15 miles away. One hint of the proximity was the aerostat anchored below in the valley. These blimp-like balloons fly about 3,500 feet above their tethers and have 360-degree infrared surveillance. It was windy, so this one wasn't flying.
