Follow The Sykes Birds: Rodeo Drive

Rusty’s RV Ranch near Rodeo, NM has been a regular stop ever since we began RVing in 2009. The sites are huge, the park is never crowded, the manager always friendly, the views of surrounding Chiricahua Mountains stunning, and the daily rate for parking is cut in half by using our Passport America card (with no limits on the length of stay). However, the biggest draw is that Rusty’s positions us along the New Mexico/Arizona border between Rodeo, NM and Portal, AZ with some of the best birding in the southwest within easy reach.

our site and Rusty's and views of the Chiricahuas - rain and shine

Our week long stay began with some Fall birding in Cave Creek Canyon at the South Fork Zoological and Botanical Area. Enroute we stopped in Portal to check on the property and home that southern California birding friend Lori Conrad and her husband had recently purchased. Within the next year they intend to retire and make Portal their home. Lori had given us directions on how to find the house and while they would not be there (they had visited the week before) we were welcome to take a look. The house and grounds looked ideal and outstanding for the possibility of having Montezuma quail as yard birds. And the view of the entrance to Cave Creek Canyon entrance from an upper deck was stunning.

view from Conrad's deck and approach to Cave Creek Canyon

We’d heard that heavy rain storms had significantly altered the creek bed in South Fork. That was still in evidence when we arrived at South Fork entrance to find the road gated and closed to vehicular traffic. No big deal to us as we easily hiked the 1.3 mile up to the parking lot/picnic ground. In fact, the lack of traffic made our walk all the quieter. So much so that we found a bobcat casually meandering the road near the bridge below the cabins (good to see the cabins and bridge was still intact).

gated entrance and water running high in the creek

A few birds we expected to see were found. Mexican jay, acorn and Arizona woodpeckers, and painted redtstart. What was impressive was the amount of water still running in the creek. Usually at this time of year water, if present, was just a trickle. A lot of debris - large boulders and downed trees - had required sections of the road to be graded. The work appeared to be complete and a chat with the volunteer on hand at the visitor center confirmed that the road would be open soon. Perhaps the next day?

blue-throated (top) and magnificent hummingbird

Southwest Research Station was next on our list to visit, a stop always sure to net us blue-throated hummingbird and magnificent hummingbird. We were not disappointed.
We’d be at Rusty’s for a week so we didn’t feel pressured with our time but still, the next morning we were anxious to get out to State Line Road, a gravel road that as the name implies, is a dividing line between New Mexico and Arizona. We were a bit late getting out to the road so the birding wasn’t as robust as we had hoped. We were even more disappointed to discover the “Willow Tank” wetland located along Sulphur Canyon Road had been completely dredged and graded. No indication of what the fate of the property will be going forward but hopefully, its simply a major project to rework the wetland.

Ste Line Road and what's left of the tank wetlands

Back at South Fork we found the road to South Fork had been reopened. While hiking along the stream we encountered a small flock of migrating sulphur-bellied flycatchers. Typically we’d expect to see these birds in Arizona in mid-summer so these late migrants were a welcome sighting. The last time we’d seen them in Arizona was 1999!
While it remained dry at Rusty’s, we’d witnessed a few rain squalls sweep across the top of the Chiricahuas but on Wednesday, the weather looked promising so we took advantage of the clear skies with a drive up to Rustler Park Campground. The last time we were at Rustler, the campground was still closed due to the 2011 Horseshoe II fire we had witnessed. The campground had been devastated requiring many months to rebuild and while there still remained a lot of work to be done, the road to the campground was at least now open to hiking.

view going up to Rustler and then the campground

We barely recognized the place. Most of the pines had burned and those that remained standing had been removed. It will take years for trees to reestablish themselves. The altered landscape would recover but the bird life we’ve associated with the park had all but disappeared. Still, we found yellow-eyed junco and Mexican chickadees which were a couple of species we’d hoped would still be around.

yelloe-eyed junco and gila monster

Leaving Rustler we back-tracked to the high meadow Barfoot Park section which for the most part had been spared from the fire…but being so late in the year, any hope of finding warblers vanished. We did manage a few late Olive warblers and a Hutton’s vireo but that was it.
Instead of retracing our descent we took the longer way around through the town of Paradise and then Paradise Road back to Portal. By that time of day it had warmed considerably and the birding was slow. But a chance encounter with a Gila monster crossing the road more than made up for the lack of bird life. This was the first time we had found one in the wild! As for the birds, another visit to Paradise Road from the Portal side would be in order on another day. But since we were so close to Rodeo we swung by the Chiricahua Desert Museum and Gift Store (a must see if you're anywhere near Rodeo) and then nipped in for an early evening of beer and burgers at the Rodeo Tavern.

scaled quail and Scott's oriole

An earlier start the next morning on State Line Road met with far more success. Scaled quail, Bendire’s and crissal thrashers, and Scott’s oriole were our reward.
Along the road to Herb Martyr Campground above the Southwest Research Station we came across Montezuma quail, a bird we rarely see. In fact, a bird most birders rarely see. It was turning out to be a pretty good day. We ate our packed lunch at the research station (although the gift shop was closed for the season).

Rodriguez feeders and Anna's hummingbird

A second visit to Paradise Road and we finally caught up with rufous-winged, black-chinned, Cassin’s, and Vesper sparrows. Then a stop at the feeders at Bob Rodriguez’s (the former Dave Jasper property) for Inca dove, Cassin’s vireo, Gila woodpecker, pyrrhuloxia, and verdin. We’d learned that Dave had purchased another piece property just up from the Portal Cafe which he intends to stock with feeders. But in spite of stopping a few times, we never connected with Dave on this trip. But we did connect with the Portal cafe for breakfast.
The hummingbird feeder at our RV netted us Anna’s and broad-billed hummingbirds. Along Hwy 80, the road that connected us with Rusty’s and Portal, we stumbled upon a common black-hawk sitting atop a fencepost. Another at South Fork added MacGillivray’s warbler, hermit warbler, and black-throated gray warbler…and another stop at the Portal Cafe at the Portal peak Lodge for breakfast.

black-chinned hummingbird and acorn woodpecker

All in all we managed 34 FOY bird while at Rusty’s. Our annual list was looking pretty meager and we wondered if we would hit 350 let alone have any chance at 400 species for the year. But there was still some time left before we were due at Kartchner Caverns SP and we still had some time to spend outside Tucson where we were headed next.