Stellar's Jay
Photo by George Wall

I was hoping that since it was still so hot that a lot of the birds in the Sedona area would decide to hang around for a while in cooler country rather than migrate just yet. We stopped first at the parking area for the Huckleby Trailhead on Schnebly Hill Road because we had picked up about 25 species here on the last trip. We met Stan and Darnelle Dunn there and they told us that they came one hour and a half before we did and had seen almost nothing. They had been at Sedona for two days looking for the usual great variety of birds that are usually there and also saw very few. We should have realized that something was not quite right when we were approaching the turn off for Sedona and we were talking about the Vortex’s in the Sedona area(kidding about being sucked up by one) when we realized that we had a Vortex of Turkey Vultures (also known as a kettle) following us. We sped up and whipped through eight or nine traffic circles between the Village of Oak Creek and Sedona leaving behind a bunch of dizzy buzzards. 

When we arrived at the Huckleby Trail parking lot we searched through every tree and under every rock and found only the Canyon Towhee and House Finches that Stan and Darnelle had already found. We decided to switch from counting birds to butterflies and dragonflies, since there was lots more of them. We then moved on to the Grasshopper Point Picnic and Swimming Area where the Narrows of Oak Creek Canyon exists. There is a separate fee of $8 to use this area which is not included when you buy the Red Rock Parking Fee of $5 for parking in Oak Creek Canyon. However, now if you have the U.S. Parks Golden Age Passport you can park there for half price of $4 per car. The Sedona Fee Rangers have recently been talking to the airlines about new fee sources of revenue, so the use of the outhouse will be an additional $5 and in case you would like to breath some fresh air again after stepping outside that will be $4 per inhalation. 

If you go south from the parking lot along Oak Creek you will run into large pools filled with screaming and splashing kids. There are definitely no birds anywhere around for some strange reason. But if you head north on the Allen’s Bend Trail you will find a tranquil section of the creek shaded by Sycamores and Cottonwood trees and normally lots of birds. But there must have been a “Migration Seminar for Feathered Friends” in Sedona offering free flights to South America as a prize, because the birds were missing in Oak Creek Canyon. We did finally see a Scrub Jay and then surprisingly a Stellar’s Jay which usually doesn’t show up at such a low altitude(4500ft). After hiking ½ mile and seeing the beauty of the canyon but not even hearing or seeing much of anything in all those trees, we decided to turn around and go back and have an early lunch and get our money’s worth of picnic tables. As we were getting our lunches out of the cars we looked up and saw another Vulture eyeing our lunches. Then we realized that this Vulture had alternating black and white stripes on its tail -> Zone-Tailed Hawk, the find of the day! We decided to proceed further up Oak Creek Canyon to Indian Gardens where we had found about 10 new birds the last trip. Once again no one was home. Lots of trees and water and no birds. In panic and desperation I pointed out the Historical Marker to the group which talks about the first settler in Oak Creek Canyon, Jim Thompson who took over the gardens from the Indians and planted his own in 1872. Also I told them about several other historical events that took place in 1965 and 1992 in this same spot, just to keep their minds off the missing birds. We then decided to try one last spot that has never failed me in the past – Red Rock Crossing near Cathedral Rock on the Red Rock Loop Road. We drove through West Sedona on the way there and scanned desperately every parking lot for trash birds. We found Ravens, a flock of Rock Doves , Mourning Doves, a Great-tailed Grackle, House Sparrows and a Cessna 150 landing at the Sedona Airport. 

At Red Rock Crossing we paid another $4 fee per car to get in and hiked East along Oak Creek. We found another Historical Landmark when we came to a large grassy field that was part of an early ranch homestead – a rock mill building with an attached waterwheel that was powered by water pumped out of Oak Creek. It was built sometime in the late 1890’s. We then followed a creekside trail that was very shady and peaceful as we hiked alongside the gurgling creek. Finally a Summer Tanager took pity on us and posed for a long time over our heads in a tree giving us all great close up views of his brilliant color. We went a little further past a green field with a few bird calls that none of us could identify or see. We arrived at what appeared to be the end of the trail and we chased a bird that sounded like a Cardinal chirping in the streamside bushes but we never could spot it. Near the same spot was a Chickadee up in the trees but we couldn’t find it either. So it appears that an all time record for the least number of species has been tallied in an area that usually has tons of birds in every bush and tree. At least we can say it was a beautiful day in gorgeous country with great company and it definitely wasn’t for the birds. 

Species: Turkey Vulture, Canyon Towhee, House Finch, Scrub Jay, Stellar’s Jay, Zone-tailed Hawk, Rock Dove, Raven, Mourning Dove, Great-tailed Grackle, House Sparrow, Summer Tanager, Chickadee(H), Cardinal(H). Attendees: Vera Markham, Fran Baughman, Kathy Wheeler, Sandy Kehs, Joy Dolhanczyk, Tom Lazzelle, Stan & Darnelle Dunn, Dan Bohlmann