Chiricahua Mountains

Joe Corcoran and I spent the night in the Chiricahuas, at Cave Creek Ranch in Portal. Around the accommodation this morning we saw a showy PAINTED REDSTART, several BLUE-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS, 30+ CEDAR WAXWINGS and 8 WHITE-WINGED DOVES. Many thanks to Reed for his usual kind hospitality.

We braved the snow and mud and made it to the George Walker House in Paradise, where we saw one of Joe’s main targets, JUNIPER TITMOUSE, plus 7 YELLOW-EYED JUNCOS, the wintering TOWNSEND’S WARBLER and a host of other goodies. Best of all was the sight of Jackie bringing a cup of cocoa – awesome! 🙂

Try as we might, we couldn’t find a Mexican Chickadee anywhere, although the driving rain and snow didn’t help…

After searching all morning and part of the afternoon, we finally left the mountins and headed back to Tucson. We had another early morning to prepare for.