My plan was to drive the 300 miles to the Patons' yard in Patagonia and hope that the Plain-capped Starthroat might show up. It would be a long shot since the bird hadn't been seen in over a week, but it was my only other chance for a life bird within driving distance. I headed east on I-8, which crosses many miles of open desert with scattered stands of the tall Saguaro cactus.
At Casa Grande, I picked up I-10, worked my way through Tucson, and headed south on Highway 83.
I was surprised to see a Black Vulture circling over Patagonia. I arrived at the Patons' in the early afternoon to mainly watch the hummingbird feeders. Unfortunately, Anna's Hummingbird was the only species seen, but I really couldn't complain considering the looks I got at one of the males.
Other birds found in and around the yard included Gambel's Quail, White-winged and Inca Dove, Ladder-backed and Gila Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch, Bewick's Wren, "Audubon's" Warbler, Lazuli Bunting, White-crowned Sparrow, and Lesser Goldfinch.
Next, I headed to the Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast, south of Sierra Vista. There, in addition to most of the birds seen at the Patons', I saw Magnificent Hummingbird, Acorn Woodpecker, Mexican Jay, Pyrrhuloxia, and 'Gray-headed' Junco.
Since I still only own a 'dumb'phone, I made a call back home to a friend who was nice enough to check the latest internet rare bird reports for me. She told me that the Nutting's Flycatcher in western Arizona had been seen a few days before. That was good and bad news. The good news was that it provided another chance for a life bird. The bad news was that it was all the way at the other end of the state within an hour of where I had been the day before. I had planned to spend the next morning looking for the Sinaloa Wren that was being seen in lower Huachuca Canyon. I decided to stick with that plan and then drive the additional 350 miles over to Lake Havasu. I spent the night at the Motel 6 in Sierra Vista.
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