WHAT A TRIP! It was one of the most successful trips in recent years and it’s a shame only four of us (Dan Bohlmann, Vera Markham, Donna Smith and George Wall) participated.

We left for Tucson on Tuesday morning and spent the first part of the day visiting the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum since two of us had never been there. We only saw 12 birds outside of the aviaries, but that wasn’t our main purpose. We did find out that it was the wrong time of the year to visit – TOO HOT!

We checked into our motel in Tucson (top-notch motel with all the amenities including full breakfast for $59) and then headed for Madera Canyon to do a little late afternoon birding and it was worth while as we saw 26 different species including the find of the day – a Varied Bunting right out in the open for all of us to see.

The next morning we left very early and met up with our guide Melody Kehl. We piled into her vehicle and headed to Mount Lemmon. At the first camp site, we stopped to do our first birding. We saw several orioles, but that was small potatoes. As we walked along a narrow dirt trail, we almost stepped on a pair of Montezuma Quail which scared us as much as them.

On top of that, coming down the mountain, we also had supper as we had to swerve in order to miss a Wild Turkey that crossed in front of us. By 11 a.m., our total bird count for the trip had reached 77. We said our goodbyes to Melody when she dropped us off where our car was parked.

After a lunch and a short nap,the four of us decided to head back to Madera Canyon; however the thunderclouds and a light sprinkle kept most of the birds away. We did manage to see a few more like the Summer Tanager and Botteri’s Sparrow.

Early the next morning, we headed for Patagonia to see if we could find the Sinoloa Wren that was supposed to be in a specific area for the past year and we found it. After observing it, we decided to try Patton’s back yard which was only a few blocks away. For those of you who don’t know, this is a backyard where there are several hummingbird and seed feeders to draw in birds. We saw several types of hummingbirds, but the prize was the bird we saw on our way out – a Yellow-billed Cuckoo.

We decided to stop at one more place before heading home – the Rest Stop just outside of Patagonia. It was there that we saw our 91st and last bird – the Thick-billed Kingbird.

Here are the 91 species we saw or heard (note: not a single water bird): Wild Turkey, Gambel’s Quail, Montezuma Quail, Turkey Vulture, Zone-tailed Hawk (h), Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Rock Pigeon, White-winged Dove, Mourning Dove, Inca Dove, Yellowbilled Cuckoo, Greater Roadrunner, Barn Owl, Broad-billed Hummingbird, Violet-crowned Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Acorn Woodpecker, Gila Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Arizona Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Greater Pewee (h), Cordilleran Flycatcher, Vermilion Flycatcher, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Cassin’s Kingbird, Thick-billed Kingbird, Western Kingbird, Loggerhead Shrike, Bell’s Vireo (h), Plumbeous Vireo, Stellar’s Jay, Mexican Jay, Common Raven, Violet-green Swallow, Barn Swallow, Mountain Chickadee, Bridled Titmouse, Verdin, Red-breasted Nuthatch, White-breasted Nuthatch, Pygmy Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Rock Wren (h), Canyon Wren (h), Bewick’s Wren, House Wren, Sinaloa Wren, Western Bluebird, Hermit Thrush (h), American Robin, Northern Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Phainopepla, Olive Warbler (h), Yellow Warbler, Blackthroated Gray Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Red-faced Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Hepatic Tanager, Summer Tanager, Western Tanager, Canyon Towhee, Abert’s Towhee, Botteri’s Sparrow, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, Black-throated Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Yellow-eyed Junco, Northern Cardinal, Black-headed Grosbeak, Blue Grosbeak, Varied Bunting, Great-tailed Grackle, Bronzed Cowbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Hooded Oriole, Bullock’s Oriole, Scott’s Oriole, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch and House Sparrow.