Rufous-capped Warbler, Maybe?

August 12

Last week, I'd made arrangements with someone who knew the area, to go try for the Rufous-capped Warbler family on the 13th, in remote Ramanote Canyon, west of Rio Rico. Well, plans fell through, and he reached out today to tell me he wouldn't be able to help. 

Okay. Backup plan time. Big years are very much about having a backup plan- so far this year, weather has kept boats I was supposed to be on, off the water, with the latest challenge being the giant mudslide still present at the snowcock site. Some alternative plans work out, and some don't. 

I first thought of all the people I knew at the Southeast Arizona Birding Festival. The vast majority of them were leading field trips in the mornings, and I'd need to head for home first thing Sunday morning to spend a few days with my pup before heading to Hatteras for some pelagic birding. After checking in with a few people, I  realized I'd need to crowdsource - and posted an SOS message on my Facebook, asking if anyone I knew had four wheel drive, high clearance vehicle we could take - and - was available on Friday or Saturday morning. Simultaneously, I took a look at car rentals in Tucson. My last ditch effort would be to rent a vehicle for the day, and drag anyone I could find along with me for the hike, as the road in and hike are both remote, and sketchy in terms of vehicle damage, or a sprained ankle. Tucson had ZERO four wheel drive rental cars available, and the largest vehicle they had was a mid-size SUV. No bueno. 

I waited to see what the Facebook response would be, as that was my only hope. A Facebook friend named Josh reached out, saying he and his friend Holly would be happy to take me on Friday. Josh, being from Montana, said he was no stranger to rough roads. Clay from Swarovski wanted to join as well. The plan was set. 

August 13

We met at the hotel main entrance at 3:45 am, as we were all staying there as part of the festival. Josh had mentioned his Subaru was a little old, but I wasn't quite prepared for just how old. I got a little nervous about the idea of getting stranded out there, with no cell signal, but Subarus pretty much last forever, right? A few people had gone looking for the Rufous-capped Warblers in recent days, though they started around 10:30 am, and they'd had no success in finding them. We weren't even certain they were still around, but I was relieved to have a means to attempt. Lack of effort is something I've regretted several times already this year, including driving away from the Thrasher Spot in Buckeye, AZ, in February, prematurely. I'd been tired and frustrated, and thought, well, I'll just come back for LeConte's Thrasher in May. (I did, and got the bird, but not without driving six hours out of the way to do so!) 

The first hour of the drive was uneventful, but soon after pulling onto a gravel road, that was no longer the case. The road got rougher and rougher, until one would slightly wonder if it still qualified as a road at all. Josh drove it like a champ. Eventually, we got to a spot that a Subaru might not make it up. He pulled off the "road" and we'd walk the remaining half mile from there. This made our journey a four mile round trip hike - half a mile along the "road" and another 1.5 miles in; the route we'd take was walking the creek bed up, between cavernous mountains bordering either side. 

As the sun began to rise, I  quickly realized this place would certainly make the top 10 of the most beautiful places I'd been so far this year. 

The half mile downhill hike along the road was steep and crumbly, and the mile and a half up canyon included traversing many stream crossing, rock jumping, and thorny bush scrambling. 

We made our way to the coordinates the birds had been seen at. Nothing. We hiked another 1/8 mile upstream. Still nothing. We relaxed for about twenty minutes and just waited. 

Still nothing. We started to make our way back down, pishing a bit as we went. Then, we fell silent, and hiked. Comparing notes later, we pretty much simultaneously gave up. Right around that time, with Josh in the lead and me following, we heard a distinct call of two distinct tones immediately to our right. He turned around, we looked at one another, and I stated, overly profoundly - at the obvious call - "that was DEFINITELY a Rufous-capped Warbler!" Within seconds, the calling bird teed up on a dead branch, giving a great view for all of us to see. 

Holly had stopped just a bit back to apply sunscreen. Bad timing! But she still made it in time for a good but brief look at the bird. One of the fledglings was around, too, hopping through the thicker brush nearby. We spent about fifteen minutes with the birds, then continued on our way - we all had a birding expo to get back to! 

(Note: For anyone thinking about going for these birds, use extreme caution on the road - a Subaru was the very minimum for making it down the majority of this road and back. There is no cell reception, and it is incredibly remote and gets hot quickly. Bring plenty of water and do not go alone.)

Year List: 663