Southeastern Arizona certainly upheld its reputation as a premier birding area last week.  Nine eager birders hit the well-known spots where many not-so-common birds seemed to be waiting for them.

A White-tailed Kite did its distinctive hovering against the blue sky at Las Cienagas National Conservation Area north of Sonoita.  Western Kingbirds were dominant there while Lark Sparrows and Brewer's Sparrows
continually flew away.

An Olive-sided Flycatcher sporting its dark vest sat in a snag in the sunlight along Harshaw Creek Road near Patagonia.  Here a Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, also in a sunlit snag, offered good viewing and a mature Gray
Hawk sat still in a tree on a nearby cliff so its field marks were easily identifiable.

Blue Grosbeaks and Black-headed Grosbeaks festooned the trees along Lower Gardner Canyon Road while a Nashville Warbler foraged low enough in a cottonwood for a long look at the Patagonia Roadside Rest Area.

The group stayed at the Stage Stop Inn in Patagonia where numerous Barn Swallows nested.  A Eurasian Collared-Dove and Cassin's Kingbird showed up there one morning.

On the morning spent at the Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve an immature Gray Hawk with its streaked breast cried plaintively;  a Yellow-billed Cuckoo flitted near the trail; Summer Tanagers, Lazuli Buntings and
Vermilion Flycatchers added their colors to the bird list. 

Patons' backyard was full of hummingbirds: Black-chinned, Rufous, Broad-billed, Anna's, and Violet-crowned-the male arrived several times for a satisfying look at its striking head and bill.

Stops at Kino Springs north of Nogales and Arivaca Cienega added Western Tanager and Canyon Towhee to the count. The trip began at Sweetwater Reclamation Area north of Tucson where Black-necked Stilt, an American Avocet,  lots of brown ducks, vociferous Song Sparrows and MacGillivray's Warbler hung out.

Although the ranger at Patagonia-Sonoita Preserve indicated that the height of migration would occur later in the month, 88 species were seen or heard. They were: Mallard, Blue-winged Teal, Cinnamon Teal, Northern Shoveler, Gambel's Quail, Pied-billed Grebe, Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, White-faced Ibis, Turkey Vulture, White-tailed Kite, Northern Harrier, Cooper's Hawk, Gray Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, American Coot, Common Moorhen, Killdeer, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Wilson's Phalarope, Harris's Hawk, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, White-winged Dove, Mourning Dove, Inca Dove, Yellowbilled Cuckoo, Greater Roadrunner; Broad-billed, Violet-crowned, Anna's, Black-chinned and Rufous Hummingbirds; Belted Kingfisher, Acorn Woodpecker, Gila Woodpecker, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Western Wood-Pewee, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Black Phoebe, Vermilion Flycatcher, Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, Cassin's and Western Kingbird, Loggerhead Shrike, Bell's Vireo, Common Raven, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Barn Swallow, Bridled Titmouse, Verdin, Canyon and Bewick's Wren, White-breasted Nuthatch, Say's Phoebe, Northern Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, European Starling; Nashville, Yellow, MacGillivray's, and Wilson's Warbler; Yellow-breasted Chat, Summer Tanager, Western Tanager; Spotted, Canyon and Abert's Towhee; Botteri's, Brewer's, Song and Lark Sparrow; Northern Cardinal, Black-headed Grosbeak, Blue Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, Indigo Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle, Scott's Oriole, House Finch, House Sparrow, Common Yellowthroat.

Participants were: Chuck Richards and Eleanor Campbell, leaders; Loretta Richards, Dan Bohlmann, Carol Schooler, Rich Schooler, Gerry Horton, Vera Markham, and Chuck Richard.