Lesser Goldfinch and Warblers love to visit the feeders
Birding is one of the many things to do in Southeastern Arizona, in particular Cochise County, and our B&B is near to all these locations. In fact there is a path to the San Pedro River that is right out the back door of our BnB. The B and B is located on the west side of the tree lined San Pedro River away from the noise of Highway 80. We keep most of the 15 plus acres of the property natural so that the wildlife has shelter and food sources. We do keep feeders for the birds and the resident birds frequent them. Many finches, sparrows, doves and quail frequent the feeders during the day. During the spring summer and fall the hummingbirds are always around to grab a sip of nectar. There are the territorial hummingbirds that run the others off but once in a while a hummingbird will hold it ground and fight. If you want to get up close and personal, sit in a chair on the patio, sip some wine and wear some read ear rings. You may hear a hum next to your ear. turn slowly as it will probably be a hummingbird looking for a drink.
We do get the Raptors at times that come over the field on the hunt. I did do a blog on a Northern Harrier that
Northern Harrier flies low over the back acreage looking for prey.
spent most of the spring gliding over the property. He was back again in the fall and we see him every once in a while this winter. In the mornings and afternoons during the spring we have some American Kestrels that show up and hover over the fields. It is fun to watch them dive down for a morsel and fly back up to a limb and then repeat the cycle. We do have Red Tail Hawks in the area but last summer we had something larger. It took a while but I got a long shot at the bird sitting on a limb of a tree at the river. After walking toward the tree I saw how big the limb was and my best guess along with some other birders that were here was that we had spotted a golden eagle. We saw that bird many times over the summer. Just after the New Year we were coming home late at night and an owl took flight from a pole as we came around the corner. We couldn’t tell what type but there have been Great Horned Owls seen at the San Pedro by Angie and me last summer. Check out this list we have of birds that have been spotted on the property.
Vermillion Flycatchers are found in the San Pedro River area and on the property of Down By The River B and B in St.. David.
There are other locale areas that are near the bnb in Benson and St. David. Benson has a birding trail that is near the waste water plant along the San Pedro River. This can be reached by heading north on Ocotillo Road at the corner where Safeway is located. Go under the I – 10 freeway and turn right at the sign for the San Pedro Valley Golf Course. Turn left at the T and follow the road to the waste water plant. The other local area is the Holy Trinity Monastery that is about 1/2 mile north of the B and B on the east side of the river. The Monastery has an award winning birding trail that was dedicated in 1993 that starts on their property. The Monastery also has pond and 150 acres of open area adjacent to the tree lined river. There is also a trail south of St. David along the San Pedro River at Fairbanks. This trail is wooded and goes back to the ghost town of Contention. For other birding areas click here for a list of locations and then reference the map below to get a perspective of distance from the B & B.
It has been a bit on the cold side in Arizona over the last week and so the birds are really hitting the feeders. It
Black-chinned Hummingbird taken by our guest Egil from Norway.
seems that the year is moving along relatively fast for us. Christmas came and went and now we are half way through January. The birds will start migrating back through the area in March and April. In April of 2008, we had a birder that spent three days at the b and b either on the porch or with occasional walks to the river and sited 53 birds. She was very excited that she could find such a large population in such a small area. I was amazed that she could identify that many birds in such a short time. Migration isn’t too far off and we have future guests that have already made their reservations for that time of the year. Check out our list of the birds that have been seen on the property and at the San Pedro River that flows behind the property. Come join us and see what we have to offer. We are centrally located so that trips to other birding areas are close by. We just updated the map. Please right click on the map below and click on view image to get the full size map and you can see what I mean.
Down By The River B and B is “The Lodging Hub of Cochise County” and you can see all the things to do in the area from this map