Hooded Oriole
Photo by Earle Robinson

Fifteen birders (Helayn Aranguena, Fran Baughman, Betty Baugus, Marge Eckman, Doris Hill, Lisa Jokimaki, Marilyn Lauterbach, Jane McNeill, D.J. Mikolajczyk, Carolyn Modeen, Nancy Reed, Betty Roberts, Donna Smith and George and Maria Wall) headed for Muleshoe Ranch, an Arizona Preserve of the Nature Conservancy located 30 miles from Wilcox for one of Birders’ Anonymous’s annual “Get-Aways”.

We gathered at Sweetwater just outside of Tucson, ate lunch and birded for an hour where we saw Ruddy Ducks, Cinnamon Teal, Sora, Great-tailed Grackle, Mourning Dove, White-winged Dove, Inca Dove, Red-winged Blackbird, Chipping Sparrow, Common Yellowthroat, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Killdeer, Cactus Wren, American Coot and House Sparrow.

We then drove on to Wilcox where we left the pavement and drove for 30 miles on a dirt road and arrived at Muleshoe Ranch in the late afternoon. Our quarters were casitas where we had to share beds and rooms. Maria and I (being the only male among 14 women) had the stone house down the hill away from everyone else. We gathered at 6pm where we ate supper and played cards that evening.

In the morning, we started birding. This was a place where you needed no guides – you just went in small groups and did your thing. The birds seen at Muleshoe (not necessarily by all) were the Turley Vulture, Cooper’s Hawk, Gray Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Gambel’s Quail, White-winged Dove, Mourning Dove, Lesser Nighthawk, Broad-billed Hummingbird, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Hairy Woodpecker, Black Phoebe, Say’s Phoebe, Vermilion Flycatcher, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Cassin’s Kingbird, Western Kingbird, Greater Pewee, Violet-green Swallow, Barn Swallow, Common Raven, Plain Titmouse, Bushtit, Brown Creeper, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Western Bluebird, Mountain Bluebird, American Robin, Bohemian Waxwing (unusual), Phainopepla, European Starling, Bell’s Vireo, Hutton’s Vireo, Plumbeous Vireo, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Wilson’s Warbler, Hermit Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Summer Tanager, Northern Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Black-headed Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, Indigo Bunting, Red Crossbill, Green-tailed Towhee, Abert’s Towhee, Shipping Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, Lincoln’s Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, House Sparrow, Brewer’s Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Hooded Oriole, Bullock’s Oriole, House Finch, Cassin’s Finch and Pine Siskin – 65 different species.

Some of the other things seen were Mule Deer, Gray Squirrel, Coatimundi, and an Arizona Black Rattlesnake. The many wildflowers seen like the Penstemon, California Poppy, Prickly Poppy, Mexican Poppy, Sago Lily and all the flowering cacti were especially beautiful.

Between birding, we played cards, tried to stay a few minutes in the hot springs tub (the spring water running into the tub had to be a 105 or more degrees), and just relaxed. The Wednesday night supper was taken care of by Carolyn Modeen and Betty Roberts and it was stew, salad, rolls and desert. Carolyn and Betty are really the ones who suggested this trip and helped put it together.

The next morning, we birded some more at Muleshoe before heading out as checkout time was 11am. Many of us headed for the Wilcox pond where we saw Eared Grebe, Great Blue Heron, Cinnamon Teal, Northern Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Ruddy Duck, American Avocet, Black-necked Stilt, Long-billed Dowitcher, Wilson’s Phalarope, American Coot, Killdeer, Least Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, Western Kingbird, Curved-billed Thrasher, Great-tailed Grackle, and probably a few I missed. One carload – Helayn Aranguena, Donna Smith and Maria and I – went to St. David’s Monastery where they had a birding trail that we walked.

(This trip was not included in the newsletter because it was filled before the newsletter deadline)