Bird Sightings

Madera Canyon Birds – Spring 2010 – March 1 to May 31

All the designated trails in the Canyon are open. DO NOT ENTER any trails that are marked with a CLOSED sign or you may be liable for arrest and a fine. Please do not smoke - or light any fires anywhere in the canyon except in designated grills at picnic areas. Also, make sure that you pay for and display your Senior or Annual Access pass, paid for parking permit, America the Beautiful pass, or Golden Age Pass on your dashboard before leaving your vehicle. Park ONLY in designated parking spaces. A parking ticket can be expensive.
A complete list of birds found in Madera Canyon (aka a checklist) can be found in some of the brochure boxes at various trailheads and parking areas in the canyon, at the Visitor Information Station at the canyon entrance, and available for download in pdf format (Adobe Acrobat Reader) on this web site and in print at the Visitor Information Station as you enter the canyon and in some brochure boxes attached to trail map panels in the canyon. To learn what unusual species are being seen in the canyon and in southeast Arizona generally, go to the local birding hotline on the web at: www.listserv.arizona.edu/archives/birdwg05.html.
Red-tailed Hawks may be found on power poles all along roads in the Santa Cruz River valley and in smaller numbers up towards Madera Canyon. Their numbers drop rapidly throughout the spring as the bulk of the wintering population migrates north, leaving a few nesting pairs to remain through summer. Cooper’s Hawks, year-round canyon residents, will be setting up territories to nest in the canyon. A few Northern Goshawks remain all year in the Canyon at higher elevations. Sharp-shinned Hawks are rare in the canyon in spring. Swainson's and Zone-tailed Hawks may be found over the grasslands in spring, but they are uncommon. Golden Eagles may occasionally be seen soaring high over the Canyon; more likely to be found in nearby more remote canyons.  Northern Harriers may be seen over the grasslands at the base of the canyon. Harris’s Hawks are rare in the Canyon; more likely to be found in Green Valley. Rarely all four of the local falcons may be found on the road up to the Canyon including American Kestrel, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon and Prairie Falcon.        
Three species of quail can be found around the canyon.  Gambel’s Quail are common (if not abundant) in the desert scrub at lower elevations. Scaled Quail also inhabit the lower elevations, though very uncommon, a few utilize the grasslands at the base of the Santa Ritas.  Within the canyon, the only quail to be encountered is the much sought after Montezuma Quail.  If you know their calls, they can often be heard from the trails traversing the oak-savannah habitat.  If seen, it is most often as they flush from under foot.  Wild Turkeys can be found throughout, from the canyon bottom to the higher elevation oak covered slopes and occasionally out on the grasslands.  This re-introduced population is flourishing.
Mourning Doves are common all year in the canyon frequenting feeding stations. White-winged Doves will return and may be in the canyon from now through the summer. You might find singles or flocks of Band-tailed Pigeons higher on the mountain as the snow recedes. Inca Doves and Common Ground-Doves are rare in the canyon at any season.  Greater Roadrunners are common all year around Proctor and down into the desert; may be encountered at higher elevations. Yellow-billed Cuckoos do not arrive in the canyon until June.
Now is a good time to listen for Great Horned, Western and Whiskered Screech-Owls, and Northern Pygmy-Owls. They are in the canyon but are very hard to find except when they are calling. Elf Owls will arrive in late March and several pairs usually nest from Whitehouse up to the Santa Rita Lodge. A few Spotted and Flammulated Owls are in the forests in the upper canyon but are very hard to locate. Barn Owls may be encountered at dusk and dawn along less traveled roads in the desert below the Canyon.
By April, Lesser Nighthawks may be seen between dusk and dawn along Whitehouse Canyon and Madera Canyon Roads; easily seen around the lights along the entrance road to La Posada. Common Nighthawks are rare here. Common Poorwills can be heard in the evenings below Proctor and in the lower portions of the canyon. Whip-poor-wills can be heard from the Mt. Wrightson parking area and up the canyon. Vaux’s Swift is an uncommon migrant over Madera Canyon, while White-throated Swifts are often seen high over ridgelines but more commonly in Box Canyon.
The spring hummingbird migration is from March through April. Broad-billed and Black-chinned Hummingbirds return to breed. Most of the Broad-tailed and all of the Rufous, and Calliope Hummingbirds will move through to more northern mountains. The few Anna's, Magnificent, and Blue-throated Hummingbirds, that overwinter, become more numerous. Our hummingbird monitoring research program begins in March with trapping and banding every other Monday through October. For details and the 2010 schedule, consult www.birchsidestudios.com.        
One male Elegant Trogon that may have overwintered has not been seen since late December, so we look forward to the return of trogons in late March and early April followed by nesting in May. They can be heard along the stream beds from the Amphitheater Parking Area up canyon on the Carrie Nation & Super Trails and at Bog and Kent Springs.
Ladder-backed, Arizona, and Acorn Woodpeckers, and Northern Flickers are common. Hairy Woodpeckers are in the forested area high on the mountain. The wintering population of Red-naped and any Williamson’s Sapsuckers will soon move north. Gila Woodpeckers and Gilded Flickers are common around Green Valley but not in the canyon.
Eighteen species of flycatchers have been recorded for the canyon and all are here in spring. Some come early and others, like the Sulphur-bellied will not arrive until late May. Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet may be found around Proctor. Olive-sided Flycatcher is usually at higher elevations but passes through quickly in spring. The most common species in spring are Greater Pewee, Western Wood-Pewee, Hammond's, Dusky, Gray, Cordilleran, Pacific Slope, Dusky-capped, Ash-throated, and Brown-Crested Flycatchers, Black and Say's Phoebe, and Cassin's and Western Kingbirds.
You might find a Loggerhead Shrike on your drive up to the canyon but they are not common. The resident Hutton’s Vireos will be joined by migrating Cassin's Vireo and nesting Plumbeous and Warbling Vireos.  Bell’s Vireos, are easily heard, not so easily seen, from Proctor down through the brushy grasslands.
Mexican Jays are a standard feature throughout the Canyon. Steller's Jays are uncommon in the fir forest higher on the mountains. The Common Ravens are the more common of the two ravens in the canyon with some flocks of Chihuahuan Ravens in the mesquite grasslands and pecan groves along the Santa Cruz River. Western Scrub-Jays are very rare.
White-breasted Nuthatches, Bridled Titmice, and Ruby-crowned Kinglets are common in the juniper-oak woodlands. The numbers of kinglets diminish as they migrate to breeding grounds to north. There may be a few Red-breasted and Pygmy Nuthatches high in the canyon near Josephine Saddle. Flocks of Bushtits are common in the juniper-oak habitats. Brown Creepers may be anywhere in above 5,000 feet. Verdins are permanent residents but are found in the mesquite grassland around Proctor.
You can find five wrens along the roads to the canyon and in the canyon any time of year: Cactus at lower elevations, and House, Bewick's, Canyon, and rarely Rock in the Canyon.  Blue-gray Gnatcatchers migrate through the mesquite-grasslands near Proctor and breed in the juniper-oak habitats along the Four Springs Trail. Black-tailed Gnatcatchers might be found in the mesquite grassland (below Proctor) while the rarer Black-capped Gnatcatchers may attempt to nest again along the trail from the Proctor parking lot to the bridge leading to the Whitehouse Picnic area.
American Robins are common migrants in the canyon.  Bluebirds of any type are usually uncommon in the Canyon. Eastern Bluebirds are residents in the juniper-oak habitats and breed near the Bog Springs Campground.  Western Bluebirds were particularly common in the Canyon this winter but numbers should diminish quickly in March as they migrate northward.  Townsend’s Solitaire is a rare find in the canyon. Hermit Thrushes are common all year; their beautiful songs can be heard in the upper reaches of the canyon in the spring. Swainson's Thrush is an uncommon spring migrant.
Northern Mockingbirds and Curve-billed Thrashers can be found along Whitehouse Canyon Rd. Resident Crissal Thrashers can sometimes be found on the Proctor trail where it crosses the road and stream and further along Proctor Rd. Phainopeplas are common in the mesquite grassland all year where the feed on mistletoe berries. Flocks of migrating Cedar Waxwings may be found in the canyon.
Migrating wood warblers will increase in number through May and some will remain to nest. Migrants include Orange-crowned, Nashville, Townsend’s, Hermit, Wilson's, Black-and-white, and Northern Waterthrush, while breeding species include Virginia's (uncommon), Lucy's, Yellow (rare), Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray, Grace's, MacGillivray's (uncommon), Red-faced, and Olive Warbler along with Painted Redstart. Yellow-breasted Chat is rare in the canyon. Thirty-four species of warblers have been documented in Madera Canyon.  In spring, other species that have been seen and not mentioned above include: Crescent-chested, Northern Parula, Black-throated Blue, Blackburnian, Yellow-throated, Prairie, Cerulean, Hooded, and Slate-throated Redstart. Two Rufous-capped Warblers have been reported recently on the lower Florida Canyon trail that runs up the creek next to the Santa Rita Experimental Station headquarters (not in Madera Canyon).
A few Hepatic Tanagers overwintered in the canyon and will be joined by Western and Summer Tanagers in April. Hopefully the Flame-colored Tanager will once again return this spring to the area around the Madera Kubo Cabins.  A few Northern Cardinals and Pyrrhuloxias can be found in the mesquite grasslands on the way up to the canyon. Black-headed Grosbeak is an abundant migrant throughout the canyon and remains through the summer. Rose-breasted Grosbeak is a rare spring visitor, most often seen around one of the feeding stations. Blue Grosbeak and Varied Bunting are found in the mesquite grasslands below Madera Canyon up to Proctor. Lazuli Buntings will compete for feeder space as they migrate through to more northern breeding areas.  
The few wintering Green-tailed Towhees will soon depart while Canyon Towhees will become more evident around Proctor. Spotted Towhees move up to the pine-fir and scrub oak habitats high in the canyon.  This has been a slow year for wintering sparrows as the summer monsoon rains did not provide enough moisture for the grasses to produce seeds. So numbers of sparrows in spring may be far below normal. The following species are possible in the grasslands in early spring but most will be gone by early May. You might be able to find: Botteri's, Cassin's, Rufous-winged, Rufous-crowned, Chipping, Brewer's, Black-chinned (rare), Vesper, Lark, Black-throated, Savannah, Lincoln's, Fox (rare), White-crowned, and Song Sparrows (rare)and Lark Bunting from Proctor to the Santa Cruz River. Dark-eyed Juncos and Yellow-eyed Juncos are still at feeders from Santa Rita Lodge to the Chuparosa Inn. The Dark-eyes will migrate north and the Yellow-eyes will go up the mountain to nest.
Eastern (Lilian’s) Meadowlark is common in the grasslands. Sometimes Western Meadowlarks may be heard in the grasslands. Scott's Orioles will be common in the canyon by May and Hooded and Bullock's Orioles, while more common in Green Valley, may also be found in the canyon.
Lesser Goldfinches, House Finches, and Pine Siskins dominate the feeders in the canyon in early spring but the Siskins will soon depart for the north.
If you see an unusual bird - or one not on this or the canyon check list – please let us know by writing an email to: info@friendsofmaderacanyon.org.

Laurens Halsey and George West
For the Friends of MaderaCanyon