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Down By The River Bed and Breakfast is located on the San Pedro River just at the northern end of the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area in Saint David, Arizona. The San Pedro River is the last free flowing river in Arizona and it does not stopped running during the year. Where the bridge in Saint David crosses the river, the river flow is underground beginning some time in late April or early May but will be back with high flood waters as soon as the monsoons have hit in July. At Down By The River B and B there is surface water usually into June but it will go underground until the monsoons start up. Birds still are seen in the area during this time because of the abundance of food and the spring fed ponds that are around the area. The humming birds also get to find a place to eat at the feeders. Click the picture to see the interaction,

I have had many birders ask me what types of birds there are to observe in the area. Since 2005 when Down By The River B and B has been opened the doors, we have had the opportunity to be able to look at the birds in the area.  Bird watching here is unlike Phoenix, where everything seemed to be a pigeon, a grackle or an LBJ (little brown job) as my birding friend Randy likes to call them. There are still the LBJs around but now we are able to determine the species names. There are many birds in the area that have great coloring such as vermillion flycatchers, gold finches and warblers to name a few. There are

always the local birds that spend the winter and summers in St. David including the roadrunner, house finches, doves, sparrows, lesser gold finches and a Say’s Phoebe that built her nest in 2008 and returns every year to raise a brood or two. This year in 2011 a Black Throated Sparrow took up residence in the breezeway to hatch her eggs. Two young were raised in the nest.  During the winter, the roadrunner keeps warm by roosting on the outdoor fireplace or on our wood lentil that we have hanging in the breezeway. Sometimes the roadrunner will sit against the bird room or prospector room window. One of the reasons we chose Saint David for our B and B was because of the San Pedro River. This river corridor is one of the best birding areas in the United States for migratory birds with approximately 400 documented species migrating through the area. The peak times for migration occur during March and April when flying north and September and October for the southern return.

Since we opened Down By The River the following list of birds has been compiled with the help from our guests and from our own observations. The birds have been spotted either on our property by guests, who are usually sitting on the porch, or are down along the San Pedro River near the property. We have established a trail from the patio to the river for our guests to use. Within 10 minutes to an hour and a half drive there are many areas that have birds not on this list. Sheri Williamson, a Director and founder of  Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory, has stated in the National Wildlife Magazine that the Sky Islands in this part of Arizona is unique specifically saying  “Here you can see birds that occur nowhere else in the United States.” When planning your next trip for birding lodging on the San Pedro River consider us.

I just recently came across a website that has different bird sound recordings. I has them from all over the world and you can also have them from a state. People can contribute sounds when they sign up.  The site is http://www.xeno-canto.org/

The list of birds at the property and the nearby San Pedro River area includes:

Albert’s Towhee

American Goldfinch

American Kestrel

Anna’s Hummingbird

Ash Throated Flycatcher

Aztec Thrush

Black Chinned Hummingbird

Black Phoebe

Black Throated Sparrow

Brewers Sparrow

Bronzed Cow Bird

Bullock’s Oriole

Calliope Hummingbird

Cassin’s King Bird

Cassin’s Finch

Chihuahuan Raven

Cliff Swallow

Common Raven

Common Yellow Throat

Cooper’s Hawk

Curved Beak Thrasher

Dusky Flycatcher

Five Striped Sparrow

Gambrel’s Quail

Gila Woodpecker

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Great Horned Owl

Great Tailed Grackle

Greater Roadrunner

Grey Flycatcher

Grey Hawk

Harris Hawk

Hepatic Tanager

Hooded Oriole

House Finch

House Sparrow

House Wren

Ladderback Woodpecker

Lazuli Bunting

Lesser Goldfinch

Lesser Nighthawk

Magnificent Hummingbird

Mallard Duck

Mockingbird

Morning Dove

Northern Cardinal

Northern Harrier

Northern King Bird

Northern Rough Winged Swallow

Orange Crowned Warbler

Purple Martin

Red Tail Hawk

Red Tailed Hawk (Fuentes Subspecies)

Red Winged Blackbird

Rock Dove – Pigeon

Rufous Hummingbird

Say’s Phoebe

Scott’s Oriole

Sharp Shinned Hawk

Snowy Egret

Song Sparrow

Starling

Summer Tanager

Swainson’s Hawk

Turkey Vulture

Verdin

Vermillion Flycatcher

Violet Green Swallow

Virginia’s Warbler

Warbling Vireo

Western Bluebird

Western Tanager

Whip- poor-will

White Breasted Nuthatch

White Crowned Sparrow

White Faced Ibis

White Winged Dove

Wilson’s Warbler

Yellow Breasted Chat

Yellow Eyed Junco

Yellow Warbler

Yellow-Rumped Warbler

Zonetailed Hawk

So if you want to have a relaxing time and take a gander at natures beauty on the wing, consider Down By The River as a central hub and starting off place for your birding activities. We are proud members of the Tucson Audubon Association but we are also novices to this hobby and not experts.  We do enjoy the times when we are observing the birds that frequent the area and we look forward to adding to our list as we experience more sightings.