Hunting a Rufous-Crowned Warbler in Hunter Canyon

March 9, 2015

On Sunday Leo ran a 5km race in Sierra Vista to benefit a charity that takes disabled kids horseriding.  Turnout was small, so Leo came second overall (beaten by a youngster.)

Later in the afternoon we returned to San Pedro House, where we saw the usual species, but also this native Cotton Rat:

On Monday we found another canyon to hike up.  We were seeking a reported rufous-crowned warbler. Any excuse to climb up a canyon will do.

As usual the Sierra Vista surveillance blimp was watching over us.

The area was burnt fairly recently, but the oaks are coming back.  In the canyon itself, many of the pines and Douglas fir have  survived.

We thought we must have climbed quite high up because we came across the first true firn(Abies) we’ve seen so far

 

But I’ve since read that it grows anywhere above 5000 feet, which is about the same as Douglas Fir.

We did not find the warbler, but we did see an Arizona woodpecker, and many other fine birds.

One the way back down we came across this prickly bush with

with nifty chocolate brown burrs.

Again, lovely views