Montosa Canyon

There are two good lists of rare -- or uncommon  -- bird sightings. One is the Tucson Audubon's Rare Bird list published weekly. The other is the BirdingOnTheNet Arizona-New Mexico Birding List which is updated daily. Both have been reporting sightings of the Berylline Hummingbird and the Plain Capped Starthroat Hummingbird. Although I have found and photographed both before, they are so infrequent visitors to the US that I wanted to see and photograph them again. So off to Montosa Canyon on the West side of the Santa Rita Mountains in Southern Arizona.

I have said this before, but feel compelled to say it again, "when you go looking for something specific, your chances of finding it are very bad. Because of all the things in the world, you're only looking for one of them. When you go looking for anything at all, your chances of finding it are very good. Because of all the things in the world, you're sure to find some of them."

The area where these two hummingbirds were reported was about 1/2 mile long and 200 yards wide filled with trees and other vegetation. I think if a Moose were in that area I am not sure it would have been easily found. So finding one, let alone both hummingbirds seemed a daunting task. I started at 6:00 am, and after several hours of walking up and down the canyon in 90 degree heat (and getting hotter) I decided to forego the search for the day. However, as I drove further up the mountain (toward the Whipple Observatory) I came across a pair of Montezuma Quail. Montezuma Quail are small secretive ground birds that unlike other quail do not form large groups. They are usually found in pairs or with their off-spring and that's it. Except for the Bobwhite, the Montezuma Quail is the most difficult quail to find in the US. 

My photos weren't great, but worth showing anyway:

Montezuma Quail -- Male

Montezuma Quail -- Female

 On the way back I went through Madera Canyon and found this Bullocks Oriole that looked particularly handsome:

Bullocks Oriole -- Male