Rusty's RV Ranch

On April 28, 2019 we packed up and headed south and east down Highway 80 through Tombstone, Bisbee and Douglas. Destination: Rusty's RV Ranch in Rodeo NM. The previous 2 years we have made this very same trip, because Rusty's is a very special place. Along the way we had an interesting experience. We had left Douglas, AZ and had travelled about 20-25 miles when a local sheriff had us pull off the road. Seems an extremely WIDE load was approaching and we needed to be out of the way.

We were told it was enroute to Space X facility which is somewhere in New Mexico

Well, we got by this monster and continued on to Rusty's and was it ever good to be back there.

All the sites are 200' long pull throughs. WIFI was ok, cell service sucked. At least for us it did. But, hey, you can't have everything. No trains, no planes, no traffic, night skies that are beyond description.  And there were birds.

I never get tired of this view.

These are the Chirachua Mountains and this is the view we get up to each day.

This makes 3 years in a row for us coming here and we never get tired of it. We were here for a week and each day we would leave early and go to one of our "places". This year it incuded:

Bob Rodriguez house in Portal. He has parking and a special observation area all set up with table and chairs for us vagrant birders. His feeders are always full and you can always plan on seeing a large variety of birds there. This year, in addition to the Orioles, Grosbeaks, Finches, Thrushes, Woodpeckers, Quails, Hummingbirds, Cardinals, Siskens, Wrens, Towhees, Flycatchers, Mrs Gambel Quail came by with her recently hatched brood......about 12 of them!

We got to take some great pics, some of which I'll share here....

Male Bullock's Oriole

Female Bullocks Oriole

Likely a female Black Chinned Hummingbird

Cave Creek Canyon and more specifically the South Fork, is world famous for its bird population. Many come here in the spring/early summer to perhaps catch site of the Elegant Trogan. Most times, you will hear this bird before you see it, his call is so distinctive. And you can tell when a birder has spotted one because a crowd will gather.....as we saw when traveling up the South Fork. Sometimes they get together and visit. And you will see something like this.....

Everyone is so busy talking about the Trogan that they don't notice the visitor......

And speaking of Trogan.......

Mary and I spent 3 days in the South Fork area of Cave Creek Canyon. On day 1 we saw 1. On day 2 we saw 3(2 were together and we would guess a mating pair. Mary found them! What a great job!!!The third flew in front of our truck as we were leaving.) 4 sightings in 3 days is something to brag about.

Our other trips included The George Walker House in the Village of Paradise, about 5 miles above Portal, where host Jackie is always friendly and available to help identify birds. Cave Creek Ranch, at the mouth of Cave Creek Canyon, The Southwestern Research Station
(noted for their dedicated Hummingbird Feeder area.), are other places we visited. We also took a drive up to the Herb Martyr Camping area just to check things out. Portal is at 4000', Paradise is at 5000', and Herb Martyr area is at 6000'. Elevation changes right on up to 9000' are available here in the Sky Islands. And a reason why researchers from all over the world come here to study & work.

Not to be left out is the Village of Portal. Just a walk past the Post Office, the Library and the few houses that populate the small road is an experience. Most have feeders out and most welcome birders. We have really enjoyed our time spent there and at the Portal Store, which also has a number of feeders out. Breakfast wasn't bad either. This year we got a treat. Supposedly the Great Horned Owl that we had seen a couple of years ago when it nested in a tree adjacent to the Portal Store, moved / relocated / found a new nesting area. Some birder friends that we met, told us about where to look. And that we did. Here is where we found her......

In the vicinity of the Post Office and Library

Right in front of her is a section of tree that had broken off, in the opening she had a nest and 2 chicks.

I mentioned that each morning we went out to one of the spots that I reviewed above, but in the afternoon, Lexie and I would sit outside and just watch. The bird activity was incredible. Always something going on. I now have a new favorite bird - The Western Kingbird. Whenever I was outside, he was there. He had a favorite tree.

My new favorite bird

Here are a sampling of some of the other birds I saw and identified while sitting in my chair outside the trailer:

Female House Finch

Yellow Rumped Warbler

Cactus Wren. Mrs Wren had a nest in the tree that was part of Mr Kingbirds'. 

Dusky-Capped Flycatcher

Lexie wasn't done watching the birds when we went inside the trailer.....

So, as you can see, we all had a great time here. And now looking forward to getting back here next year. On May 5 we hooked up, said goodby to Rusty and headed to our next stop: Las Cruces, NM.