Grand Slam in Arizona

My road trip to Arizona had to be delayed a day because of the flight I missed on October 1 from Miami to Denver. So Maribel and I packed up our Honda CRV with munchies and headed south towards Phoenix, AZ, late in the day on October 2, 2023. For the past several years we have made it a family tradition to play in a father-son baseball tournament on the beautifully manicured fields and stadiums of the Cactus League, used by the Major League teams during Spring training.  This year, I would use this trip as an opportunity to add a few more bird species to my Biggest Year list!

Before leaving Fort Collins, we stopped at JJ’s Corner to fill up with fuel and fill the tires with air. One of the tires was low. Then we stopped in Frederick, CO, to see my daughter Angela and her husband Asher, who were not attending the tournament this year. They are expecting our first grandchild in April! We had not even passed Denver when we felt too tired to continue so we stopped for the night. The cheapest motel we could find was $150. A sign of the times. 


On October 3, 2023, we drove all day headed south on Interstate 25 until a flat tire forced us to stop for the night at Belen, NM, just south of Albuquerque. Fortunately, the local tire repair shop got us back on the road headed south on October 4 for just $20! We entered Arizona at Portal, home of Chiricahua National Monument. We parked at 2 PM at the trailhead for Cave Creek South Fork Trail.  I found my target a mile up the trail: a vagrant Tufted Flycatcher (USA and Territories Biggest Year-Bird number 759). It posed beautifully for photographs but as far as I know other birders who searched for it the same afternoon or later failed to find it. Returning down the canyon I was sure to check a grove of live oaks where I had seen a vagrant pair of Eared Quetzal a few years earlier. I would not be so lucky. 


The next opportunity to chase another vagrant was after the baseball tournament, on Saturday afternoon, October 7. At Glendale Recharge Ponds I relocated and photographed a female Ruddy Ground-Dove (760). There I also added an exotic species that is now free-ranging around Phoenix, Budgerigar (761) and also got photographs of Lesser Nighthawk for the first time this year. 


On Sunday, October 8, I arranged for Joe Kipper to join us, take over the driving, and return our vehicle to Fort Collins while we flew home. Before dropping us at Sky Harbor airport Monday evening we managed to chase and photograph two more Mexican strays in the Tucson area: Rufous-backed Robin (762) and Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (763). Four new species classified as ABA Code 3+ was a phenomenal outcome of this family trip!

An avian grand slam!


Back home in Fort Collins, I would have one day to prepare for my departure on October 10, 2023, to Hawaii, my home for the next two and a half weeks. The McQuades had just returned from Hawaii with 52 new species for their ABA Area Year List (an amazing 792 species). I knew I would have to have the same success in Hawaii if I hoped to achieve first place in the ABA Area competition or to reach my personal goal of 900 species for the USA and Territories. 


Comments

  1. KarenNovember 18, 2023 at 9:41 AM

    Hi Nick!! Eagerly awaiting a current blog.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ed ThomasNovember 18, 2023 at 4:50 PM

    Hello Nick. It was a pleasure meeting you and Nick Jr. last night at Sunset Lake Park. I am so happy you got the Bar-tailed Godwit. I was really pulling for you to find it after hearing your story about the big year. I was thrilled last night when I saw your eBird report. I was also impressed by the special relationship you have with your son. A lot of sons Nick's age don't spend a lot of time with their parents, so that was a joy to see. I also have a special relationship with my son Eddie. He is not a birder, but we have many other interests like fishing and we spend a lot of time together. I will be pulling for your on your big year and will follow your blog. Happy birding!

    ReplyDelete

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