New Mexico - January 2026 - Day 3 - Lordsburg back to Arizona, Portal and the Chiricahua Mountains

I was now in New Mexico - very exciting. It was freezing, the name suggests it would be really hot! But it felt like I'd been steadily climbing ever since leaving Patagonia, and that I was now in the high desert. I headed out to Lordsburg Sewage Ponds shortly after dawn, arriving to realise that like the place at Sierra Vista I couldn't get in. Great. Instead I spent a little while working the perimeter, using the car as a viewing platform to try and see at least some of the water. This was partially successful, with a few Northern Shovelers, Gadwall and Ring‑necked Ducks, as well as a single Bufflehead. Sandhill Cranes called from the fields to the north, and Mourning Dove, House Finch, White-crowned Sparrow and Say's Phoebe were on and around the chain fence, but this was rather dispiriting birding, and really really cold. I warmed myself up at the local MacDonalds, the only building that seemed not to be falling to bits. Grackle in the car park.

Lordsburg Playa

I needed a plan. I had assumed I'd clean up at the sewage ponds and get a decent start to my NM list but in fact I was on just 14. I mean it's around the same as Connecticut (12), Wyoming (15), and Michigan (20), all States visited in a similar side-show manner, but still really poor given the effort and distance taken to get here. I decided to cut my losses and drive slowly back to Arizona, stopping as and when. The first of these stops was Lordsburg Playa (aka South Alkali Flats Duckpond), a peculiar shallow lake in the middle of the desert. Amazingly this had a group of American Avocets on it, as well as a single California Gull. I had thought little of it but this bird later came to the attention of the eBird police. However a bit like the Cassin's Kingbird in Sierra Vista my report had generated some local interest and someone had come along and verified the record, helpfully taking a photo and pinning to the list just after mine. I pointed the officer in this direction, and now several months later have uploaded my own photo.

American Avocet

    

California Gull. Not convinced it's the cutest Gull in the world.

The road I was now on, just off the I10, looked quite interesting and so I continued on down it for a few miles. I stopped a few times at completely random places and had some amazing views of a Sagebrush Sparrow, a bird that I had found impossible for years and years, and only finally ticked in 2021. There were also Black-throated Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, and a large flock of Lark Bunting out in the desert scrub, identifiable by the obvious white wing bars. Things were looking up, but at the same time the clock was ticking. I got back in the car.

Sagebrush Sparrow

Sagebrush Sparrow

Lark Bunting

Lots of Lark Bunting

My final stop before crossing back into Arizona was at a place called Granite Gap. I hadn't intended to stop but I noticed a sign saying something about birding and so swung the car around and pulled over. Turns out this was part of the New Mexico Birding Trail, and it too was pretty decent. Not only did I easily find only my second Brewer's Sparrows, but there were some amazing cooperative Cactus Wrens here. Cooperative enough for photography and so what should have been a five minute stop turned into 20 minutes. I think it was worth it.

Cactus Wren

Brewer's Sparrow

Black-throated Sparrow

Granite Gap, NM

So it wasn't until late morning that I finally reached Portal. This is the start of Cave Creek Canyon, another legendary southern birding spot. My first port of call was at the Cave Creek Ranch which I had earmarked for Blue-throated Mountain-gem. I paid my $5 fee and sat down on the porch, joining an American couple. I forget where they were from but unlike most birders I had encountered these people really knew their stuff. They had even been on a Sparrow course! Fair play! The feeders here were really good, and it couldn't have been more than about five minnutes before the main target came in, literally just above our heads. I had to move to get a photo. Had I known it was this reliable and easy I probably would have spent longer in New Mexico, and as you will come to find out from the rest of my day, that would have been the sensible option. The Blue-throated Mountain-gem came in several times as it happens, giving good views each time, but just by sitting quietly on the bench I added Steller's Jay, Lincoln's Sparrow, Townsend's Warbler, Pyrrhuloxia, Bushtit, Verdin, and Curve-billed Thrasher amongst others.

Cave Creek Ranch

Blue-throated Mountain-gem

Blue-throated Mountain-gem

The other targets in this area were Mexican Chickadee and Montezuma Quail, and this is where the day started to go wrong. Both had been seen relatively recently at the Southwestern Research Station a little higher up the canyon, so once I felt I'd exhausted the feeders at the Ranch I headed up there. I gave the site a good go, and I found the specific areas as described in previous eBird lists, but it was really quiet. Cedar Waxwings were probably the best bird, and there were some Western Bluebird as well, but no sign of any Chickadees despite many good looking pines. This species is really only found in these mountains, so I decided to carry on up the 42 Forest Road and see if I got lucky. I did not. Over the next couple of hours I drove very carefully along a mixture of muddy, snowy, icy and rutted tracks, stopping all the time to listen for birds. Nothing. I ended up doing a loop through the mountains to Paradise and then back down into the top of Portal. The 4x4 was essential.

One of the lower elevation roads near Paradise

Back in the canyon I drove up to South Fork in case the Chickadees were hanging out here - they did feature on some eBird reports a bit further back. Here I met a guy watching a Williamson's Sapsucker, a decent bird, but not what I needed at this precise moment. He thought I was far too low, and suggested driving back the way I had came, and instead of turning off to Paradise to carry on and up, through Onion Saddle to Rustler Park and Pinery Canyon, essentially driving all the way through the Chiricahuas and out the other side. This felt like quite an undertaking but I felt I still had time, and in any event it was in the right direction - I needed to back in Patagonia the next day. I took it extremely carefully and extremely slowly, this was serious driving in the middle of nowhere and no help was coming if I messed up. Needless to say I made it across, but it was treacherous to say the least and with the benefit of hindsight I am not sure I would do it again. Especially as it took the whole rest of the day and I didn't find any Mexican Chickadees. 

I descended via Pinery Canyon to Bonita Creek. The light was fading but I did a quick circuit of the area, adding my first Green-tailed Towhee but little else of note. To add insult to injury when presented with a great photo opportunity of a Spotted Towhee actually out in the open the battery on my camera died. I dashed back to the car to get the spare but when I returned the bird had vanished. The day was over, I was still miles from where I needed to be, and I'd wasted hours in the mountains looking for a single bird. At least I survived I suppose. Anyway, that is just the way it goes sometimes. I set the satnav for Nogales, two and a half hours and 130 miles distant but still the nearest place to Patagonia that had a reasonably priced bed, and got on the road.

Arizona - January 2026 - Day 2 - Ramsey Canyon, Sierra Vista, Ash Canyon and Whitewater Draw

Ramsey Canyon Cabins & Bird Sanctuary

I drove out of Sierra Vista as the sun was coming up. The town is adjacent to a vast military base, Fort Huachuca, and I remembered seeing the big Buffalo Soldiers sign at one of the junctions. On my first visit to Arizona in 2016 I'd used my US passport to get into the area so that I could twitch a Sinaloa Wren, but this time I drove right past. I was headed for Ramsey Canyon, another site found during my extensive eBird research and where I hoped to find Broad-talled Hummingbird, and if I was supremely lucky, one of the rare Quails. There are two sites here, the official Preserve at the end of the road, but also a hotel of sorts called Ramsey Canyon Cabins & Bird Sanctuary. The owners here have rather gazumped the actual Canyon itself by a) being before it on the road, b) being open all the time, and c) creating an extremely bird-friendly environment, with feeders everywhere, seats from which to observe, and a good network of trails. Access to non-residents is allowed, you just have to put $10 parking money in a (filmed) honesty box and off you go. I had wanted to stay here but the price of a cabin was outlandishly high so I'd opted for Motel Crapo in Sierra Vista instead. This was common to a number of prime birding spots in and around the sky islands where hotels are not frequently encountered - you can find places to stay but the enterprising operators have seen birders coming from a million miles away and the prices run into the hundreds of dollars per night. It is all very nice, and you are right where you want to be, but it is ruiniously expensive. When I travel I tend to do so on the cheap.

Ramsey Canyon Cabins & Bird Sanctuary

At 7.30am I was the only person here and had my pick of the three or four parking spots. I can imagine that in high season, whenever that is, that it would be extremely busy. There is no parking along the road whatsoever - you can only park here, the similarly priced Ramsey Canyon Inn, and the Preserve itself which opens much later and was closed when I arrived. Locking up car in the chilly morning air (the sun takes a while to hit at this time of year) I followed the signs to the first set of feeders and took a seat. Resident Wild Turkeys ruled the roost here, wandering around without in any way being put off by a human. Acorn Woodpeckers were numerous along with Mexican Jays, and I added my first Dark-eyed Juncos in the brush piles. A Violet-crowned Hummingbird came in briefly, and there were several White-breasted Nuthatch, but it was all rather cold and quiet and after 40 minutes I decided I would be better served by walking higher up the Canyon and perhaps finding some sunshine.

Wild Turkey

Acorn Woodpecker

I left my car where it was and walked up to the Ramsey Canyon Inn which is right next to the Preserve. They have feeders too, right in the car park, and a Rivoli's Hummingbird was already visiting. Although I had already seen this species in Madera Canyon the previous day, Ramsey Canyon had been another place to find it on my list in case Madera had not delivered, so if I sound rather blazé about what is a fantastic bird I apologise, I don't mean it. It is just the nature of life lists, you move on quickly. Which is what I did, as this place too was super quiet.

Violet-crowned Hummingbird

I birded back down the road to the Cabins, noting Pine Siskin, Bridled Titmouse, House Finch and Lesser Goldfinch in the roadside trees. Once back in the Bird Sanctuary I skipped over the first feeders and went to what they call the top garden. Now in sunshine this was much more productive, and I think that as the feeders here are closer to the canyon the birds perhaps prefer it. Or maybe it is that there are fewer of them which means they're easier to monitor. Male and female Rivoli’s Hummingbirds were visiting, along with another female Violet-crowned Hummingbird and three Anna's Hummingbird, but no sign of my target that I could see. I put Merlin on speculatively and was astounded when it very quickly picked up the bird I was looking for - Broad‑tailed Hummingbird. Frustratingly I couldn't see it, but using Merlin I began to be aware of the particular call and was able to work out broadly (!) where it seemed to be coming from. It was still intensely difficult, but after what seemed like an age I worked out the routine and managed to track the bird down to an isolated feeder and take a record shot at considerable range to confirm the ID. With patience I managed to get a lot closer, and whilst the bird is on a lump of red plastic and the image won't win any prizes, I'm still pleased to have got a decent photo of a lifer - #602. Plenty of other birds here too, the best of which was a Sharp-shinned Hawk that zoomed by when I exited the Cabins via a side road. Great to get the Hummer but absolutely no sign of any Montezuma Quail. I decided to give the actual Canyon Preserve a chance, paid my dues at the now open front desk and made a rapid ascent up the easy path, but there were far fewer birds here than at the Cabins so I was up, down and out in under an hour with nothing to show for it. Part of the reason for my hurry was that it was now gone 11am and I had a couple of other places to visit around Sierra Vista.

Broad-tailed Hummingbird

Broad-tailed Hummingbird

The first of these was San Pedro House, on the east side of town, and so it took a fair amount of time to actually get there from where I was. I started birding at 11.44 and had seen the Western Screech Owl by 11.45. This bird had been reported virtually daily from this site, clearly resident, and with plenty of photos of it peeking out of an obvious hole in an obvious tree. I had no idea where said tree was but I enquired in the small bookshop and the very helpful docent led me out of the opposite door, walked me about 20 feet to the single massive Cottonwood tree that dominated the entire area and said to look up! Yay! There was another target here too, a Greater Pewee that had been seen and heard the last few days by the river. I headed over, found the right marker, and worked up and down for a bit but the bird wasn't present. I did find a pair of Mexican Duck near the 90 bridge, as well as Vermilion Flycatcher, several Black Phoebe and a single Say’s Phoebe. I ended up walking a pretty lengthy loop that took me past some ponds and back out into the scrub. Of note here were some splendid Yucca plants, no doubt decades old, and once back at the carpark, some fabulous Agaves dotted around, all looking far healthier than the ones I attempt to grow in pots in Wanstead. I really like desert succulents. Well, plants in general actually, and as regular readers will know birding trips are very often botanical ones at the same time.

Western Screech-Owl

The Pewee-free San Pedro River

Yucca elata (I think)

Agave parryi (I know)

I had one final stop here before heading south, Sierra Vista EOP, a water treatment area. I thought this would be amazing but access proved impossible, I think it is one of those places where local birders can get in but casual visitors are forbidden because it is a working site, but I didn't know that at the time. Instead I skirted around the edge and eventually found a viewing platform. The views were extremely limited so I didn't linger. Just long enough to hear Marsh Wren from somewhere over the fence, but better than that I lucked in on a Cassin’s Kingbird on the fence itself which I noted caused at least one local birder to scurry on down. Probably to check I wasn't making it up.

Cassin's Kingbird

Next stop the feeders at Ash Canyon, about an hour distant. This site had another lifer, a long-staying Scott's Oriole, seen daily for weeks. Was it there during the two hours I spent here? Of course it wasn't. But the site was truly excellent with a ton of really busy feeders. Ladder-backed Woodpeckers came in, and I'd never seen so many Yellow-rumped Warblers in one place. There were loads of Mexican Jay, many Lesser Goldfinch, and a big flock of White-winged Dove, as well as Cooper's Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, a Cactus Wren and a Curve-billed Thrasher. All very nice but no sign whatsoever of any Orioles. I had set myself a deadline for 4pm as I wanted to be at Whitewater Draw for dusk, and so reluctantly left Oriole-less. Talking to the volunteers here it sounds like I need to come back during what they called the monsoon - late spring or early summer, when there would be many more birds including Lucifer's Hummingbird. I will need to investigate that. Anyway, two ticks and two dips today, a 50% hit rate so not bad but nonetheless disappointing as today's sites were the only places these birds were that I knew of.

Lesser Goldfinch

Lesser Goldfinch

Lesser Goldfinch

White-crowned Sparrow

Mexican Jay

Inca Dove (Columba badhairdayii)

White-winged Dove

Northern Flicker

From Ash Canyon I took a brief detour to Naco for one of my stupid "tick another country" shenanigans. Naco is right on the border, with the big beautiful fence running right through the middle of it, and thus an ideal spot from which to tick birds in Sonora whilst remaining in the United States. Like all border towns it was a bit of a dump - apologies citizens of Naco - and so I didn't stay long. Just long enough to tick Starling, White-winged Dove, and of course Feral Pigeon. 

Naco

Whitewater Draw

My last stop of the day was at the peerless Whitewater Draw, about 45 minutes further east. This had been a sensation back in 2016, I remember getting up incredibly early for a dawn visit and being blown away by the number of birds. This time I was targeting a dusk visit where I hoped that I would be stunned by the incredible numbers of Sandhill Cranes all coming in to roost. I was not wrong. I was also not the only person with this thought. The place was heaving with people. Birders, photographers, and even general tourists formed a loose human chain along the berms. Some people had clearly been here all day, camping out virtually, with huge amounts of kit, trolleys, chairs, tables, along with next level optical gear. Quite extraordinary. I joined the throng and spent the remainder of the day here until it was almost dark. Snow Geese performed constant blast offs, flying around in circles before coming back to land in the same place they had just left. Other waterfowl on the main lake included three White-fronted Geese, Green‑winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, and Pintail, with small numbers of Killdeer and Least Sandpiper on the edges. Quality came in the form of a Prairie Falcon, only my third record, and a Loggerhead Shrike, but it was all about the Cranes. As the light began to fade more and more arrived from the surrounding fields. Thousands upon thousands of Sandhill Cranes, long lines drifting across the sky and settling into the water, the sound and sight can't really be adequately described. Mesmerising. I was so glad I had pencilled this in, but of course it was all part of the grand plan.

White-fronted Geese

Snow Geese and Sandhill Cranes

Snow Geese

Prairie Falcon

Snow Geese

That plan meant New Mexico, a new State. McNeal is already quite far east, and so it's only an hour or so to Rodeo, just over the State line. I actually had to go further than that to find accomodation, and so I climbed steadily up to Lordsburg and another downbeat motel. The next morning I would be starting with a clean slate. Excellent.