Catbird, Lewis’s Woodpecker, and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in Tucson, AZ, January 2015

In January the family took a short vacation to Tucson, AZ – likely my favorite birding area in the entire country.  And with that reputation, my family gave me a ½ day off for birding in and around the city.  First I did a quick review of the eBird Rarities list to see if there might be any lifers nearby.  There was a tantalizing semi-reliable Rufous-capped Warbler at Pena Blanca Lake.  I’ve tried for that bird in AZ three times, and it is on my lifelist, but just as a heard-only bird.  So I’ve always wanted to actually see this species.  But the site was at least 90 minutes away, and with my limited time, I would only have an hour or two to look for it.  So despite more than just a few misgivings, I decided to turn my interests to possible statebirds instead.

My AZ statelist was at 292, so statebird possibilities were likely to be rarities.  And in southern AZ in winter, many of those rarities will typically be eastern vagrants.  So not surprisingly, the eBird AZ Rarities list revealed a few possible statebird targets in the region, including two eastern species – Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Lewis’s Woodpecker, Catbird, and Clay-colored Sparrow.  All but the Catbird were within the city, and the Catbird was less than an hour away, so all were feasible even in just a half day.

My first stop was McCormick Park where there were reports of a Sapsucker trifecta - Yellow-bellied, Red-breasted, and Red-naped.  This was a small town park just 10 minutes from the hotel.  I’ve had lots of success looking for wintering rarities in small parks like this one in a number of southwestern locations, so I was quite optimistic I could find the Yellow-bellied with just a short trip before breakfast.  I arrived a bit before dawn and scouted the park – just 15 or so large trees, and many with recent sapsucker holes.  Soon after I arrived I had a Sapsucker of unknown species fly over my head and leave the park.  But despite the promising conditions, that was my only Sapsucker sighting during my short 45-minute window of opportunity.  After going back to the hotel for breakfast with the family, I decided to head back to the park for another try.  But despite another 45-minute search, I had no Sapsuckers at all.  Though 5 very cooperative Vermillion Flycatchers were a nice consolation.

Next stop was Fort Lowell Park a short distance to the east where a Clay-colored Sparrow had been reported just the day before.  But no location within the park was given in the eBird report, so I was not as optimistic about this target.  Shortly after I arrived I ran into a pair of birders who had just spent the last couple hours looking for the Sparrow with no luck.  So I decided to not commit any more of my limited time on this one, and instead try for my other targets.  I was certainly more than just a bit disappointed since I had missed my first 2 targets.

The next possible statebird was a Gray Catbird continuing at Avra Valley Road a short drive to the north.  The good news was that directions for this bird were quite good – in brush along the river right near the bridge.  The bad news was that most birders reported only fleeting glimpses of the bird.  And since you won’t see negative reports on eBird, I wondered how reliable this bird might actually be.  I arrived at the area late morning and quickly realized the key complication – the vegetation where the Catbird was likely residing was extremely thick, extended along the entire length of the streambed, and was inaccessible on the other side of a chain-link fence.  I got to the bridge and found a local birder who had been there since dawn.  He said he might have had a brief glimpse of the bird earlier, but that was all.  Within a couple minutes of arriving I heard one characteristic “mew” call note of the Catbird.  The local birder was not familiar with its call, so perhaps it had been calling earlier.  Over the next few minutes we both heard six or eight more call notes, and the other birder might have seen the bird briefly again.  I never did see it - luckily I count heard-only birds.

I’ve now seen Gray Catbird in 46 of the Lower 48 states plus DC (see my statebird map below).  That includes seeing it at the very edge of its range in UT and NM, and now as a rarity in AZ.

 

The next target was a Lewis’s Woodpecker which was reported on eBird as continuing at an alley behind Mohave Rd. back in Tucson.  Although this species is a resident of northern AZ, where I haven’t done too much birding, it is a rarity this far south in AZ.  Before I left the Catbird spot, I asked the local birder if he was familiar with this bird.  Luckily, he had seen it a couple times this winter, and said it spent most of the time in one single tall eucalyptus tree that was along this alley.  After a quick drive I arrived at the block-long alley and was happy I had his micro-directions – it wasn’t in the best of neighborhoods and there were many barking dogs.  At least all the dogs were chained up or in small fenced yards.  I quickly found the single large eucalyptus tree and started to scan, but with no luck, even though I searched from multiple directions.  After about 20 minutes I noticed a Golden-fronted Woodpecker fly into the eucalyptus, and instantly the Lewis’s Woodpecker flew out of another part of the tree to chase it away.  Amazing the Lewis’s was probably there the entire time.  I’ve now only seen this species in 7 western states – it’s regular in large portions of at least 4 others.

 

I had just a little more time before having to get back to the family, so I decided to swing by McCormick Park for one more quick try for the Sapsucker.  By now I knew the park well, and had just enough time to make one circuit around the park to visit each of the trees with sapsucker holes.  I walked to the middle of the park, and as I approached the second tree, amazingly, there was the immature Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – right at eye level.  Where was it during my previous 2 visits?  As I was about to leave, two birders arrived looking for the Sapsucker.  I mentioned that I last saw it in a tree at the edge of the parking lot close to their car, and within seconds we all had the bird.  They were very happy birders.  I’ve now seen Yellow-bellied Sapsucker as a rarity in 3 states – CA, MT, and now AZ – along with most of the states in its regular range.

That gave me 3 new AZ statebirds for this short trip, which was more than I would have expected given my very slow start.  And now with a statelist of 295, can 300 in AZ be far behind?  Maybe I’ll reach the 300 milestone on a future trip in a quest to finally see a Rufous-capped Warbler.