GoGeezGo : For the birds

Nighthawk watch

When Marisol and I birdwatch near our northern Virginia home, we consider ourselves lucky if we see a single new bird species during an outing.

During a recent weeklong visit to Arizona, we added more than 100 new bird species to our first-time-viewed lists, including such area trophies as the Elegant Trogon, the Red Phalarope and the Mexican Spotted Owl.

Our success was partly due to timing: The early-May visit caught many species just as they were migrating to the north from their winter homes in Mexico and other points to the south.

We also benefited tremendously by participating in a guided trip sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History at its Southwestern Research Station near Portal, Arizona. The week-long birding tour in the Chiricahua Mountains was a fun learning experience for us that brought together ten enthusiastic birders from different states.

The station reminded me of a summer camp I attended as a child. Like the summer camp, the station has dormitories and a cafeteria. But unlike the summer camp, the station includes facilities for visiting research scientists and a feeding station that attracts a variety of hummingbirds.

The station’s accommodations were comfortable and the cooks provided great meals in a family setting. The station’s staffers were friendly and helpful. “I also enjoyed the camaraderie of our group, and I appreciated their willingness to share their knowledge,” Marisol said.

Feeding station

PD Hulce, the amiable veteran birder who led our group, not only was able to identify the birds we saw but also knew where to look for them. He led our group on numerous trips through various habitats in the area, including to a lake adjacent to a golf course in Willcox, AZ.

Among the trip highlights for me were the early-morning hunts for warblers near their natural water sources in the mountain forests and an evening visit to observe nighthawks swooping over a pond seeking insects.

During our stay, we also visited several nearby feeding stations. At these sites, hosts attract birds with a variety of seeds, sections of oranges, peanut butter and grape jelly. Hummingbirds are fed a syrupy solution of sugar water.

At the stations, Marisol and I saw many new-for-us birds, including the colorful summer tanager, the black-headed bunting and the ladder-backed woodpecker. We loved being able to see so many new birds so quickly in this relaxed setting, but we both preferred the thrill and challenge of finding birds in their natural habitats along the forested mountainside roads and trails.

We saw a lot. We learned a lot. And we had a lot of fun. Five stars.