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SCHOLARSHIP REPORTS 2007

2007 VENT Camp Chiricahua

11-22 July 2007

By Hope Batcheller

It all began last September, when another young birder told me about a wonderful camp she had attended. Victor Emanuel Nature Tours Camp Chiricahua is a camp for high school-aged young birders, and is co-sponsored by the ABA. Before I knew it, everything had fallen into place: approval by my parents, registration, airplane tickets, and generous scholarships from the ABA and the Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club. I was ecstatic, and couldn't wait until July 11th—the day Camp Chiricahua began.

Upon my arrival in Tucson, AZ, I was greeted by the two leaders: Dave Jasper and Rob Day. Soon, I and several other campers were shuttled back to the hotel, where we met Lia Sansom, the counselor, and the rest of the 14 campers. Of course, nobody could wait to start birding, so we walked (or should I say ran?) around the hotel courtyard finding as many birds as possible. When everyone had arrived and brief introductions had been made, we headed to Sweetwater Wetlands for our first "real" birding. By the end of the day, I was exhausted, but excited for the eleven days that lay ahead.

Our first few days were spent in Portal—a very small town (perhaps more accurately described as a community) in the Chiricahua Mountains. Although you might think that birding in a town isn't the best, Portal was an exception. Blue-throated, Violet-crowned, and Broad-billed Hummingbirds could be seen from the picnic tables in front of the general store. Elf Owls roosted in a tree near the post office, and Cassin's Kingbirds were everywhere. Most mornings, we would all get up early and walk along "Main Street," (a quarter-mile dirt road) seeing Summer Tanagers, Bridled Titmice, Canyon Towhees, and much more. In addition to the birding, the people of Portal were very friendly to us, making for a wonderful stay.

Every morning and afternoon, we would clamber into the vans (fighting for shotgun, of course) and go birding as a group. One day we birded the desert around Portal, where we saw Bendire's Thrasher, Eurasian Collared-Doves, Roadrunners, Barn Owl, and other desert species. Another day, we hiked up South Fork, which yielded Red-faced Warbler, Mexican Chickadee, Painted Redstart, Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, Arizona Woodpecker, and more. At other places we saw Buff-breasted Flycatcher, Elegant Trogon, Western Wood-Pewee, Grace's Warbler, Yellow-eyed Junco (got yellow eyes!), and several additional southeastern Arizona specialty birds.

While we were in Portal, two visiting British birders (John and Judy Geeson) mentioned a very unusual find: a probable Crescent-chested Warbler feeding a fledgling. The Crescent-chested Warbler itself would be a fourth North American record, let alone the fledgling, which would constitute the first breeding record in North America. Of course, we followed their directions to the birds, with hopes of confirming their sighting. After we waited around for several minutes and walked down the road a bit, we were beginning to get discouraged, when suddenly. "THERE IT IS!!!" The excitement level was unbelievable. Several people, myself included, got photos, and others documented it by field notes and sketches. Unsurprisingly, this was the main topic of discussion for several days to follow (eventually we stopped stumbling over the bird's name, too), and we thanked the Brits profusely.

In case you don't know about Dave Jasper, he is a resident of Portal and an expert on the local flora and fauna, in addition to being quite the character. His specialty is night birds, so we were lucky enough to see (not just hear) six species of owls. By putting a bright flashlight to his forehead and searching for the owls' eye shine, he gave us incredible looks at Flammulated, Spotted, Barn, and Elf Owls, plus Whiskered and Western Screech-Owls. If you ever go owling with Dave Jasper (which everyone should), prepare for some great sightings (but be sure to stand still)!

After spending several days in Portal, we drove south and west into the heart of the Chiricahua Mountains: Rustler Park. We camped there for two nights, adding several birds to our list, including Greater Pewee, Olive Warbler, Short-tailed Hawk, and my nemesis Red Crossbill. It was at Rustler Park that we started paying more attention to the butterflies. Species included Mournful Duskywing, Reakirt's Blue, Nais Metalmark, Four-spotted Skipperling, and Orange-edged Roadside Skipper, some of which are endemic to the Chiricahua Mountains. Rustler Park, at an 8,000 foot elevation, was also a nice break from the heat, so we were sad in that respect when it came time to leave.

Upon arriving at the San Pedro River Inn, where we spent three nights, we were almost immediately greeted by the songs of Botteri's Sparrow. This was soon followed by Tropical Kingbird (my 400th ABA area life bird!), Rufous Hummingbird (another nemesis bird!), multitudes of Blue Grosbeaks, Yellow-breasted Chat, and spectacular looks at a Great Horned Owl. Later that night and the next day, several of us had awesome looks at Barn Owls, and Lesser Nighthawks swooped mere feet from us. Day trips from here produced Berylline (talk about uncooperative.) and White-eared Hummingbirds, Common Ground-Dove, Gray Hawk, and several others. We left here on the last full day of camp, which was, perhaps, one of the most exciting days.

After leaving the San Pedro River Inn, we made our way to the legendary Patagonia Rest Stop and nearby, "The Shrine." As we were stepping out of the vans, a Thick-billed Kingbird called loudly and perched cooperatively on a dead tree. Soon afterwards, Varied Bunting, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, and Peregrine Falcon all made appearances. Although we tried for Black-capped Gnatcatcher at both Patagonia Lake State Park and Madera Canyon, and for the "regular" Flame-colored Tanager at Madera Canyon, we didn't see either. Nevertheless, we did get some other new birds along the way, such as Rufous-winged Sparrow and Montezuma Quail. After this eventful day, we made our way back to Tucson where we spent the night and said our good-byes before leaving the next morning.

Camp Chiricahua was an amazing trip, and I would highly recommend it to any young birder. Thanks go to Rob and Dave as our most excellent leaders, Rob as an accomplished chef, Lia as a counselor, and the other participants for making this an awesome trip. And last but not least, I thank the American Birding Association and the Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club for their scholarships. I would go again in an instant!

Hope Batcheller, age 15, lives in Petersburgh, NY. You can some of her photos from Camp Chiricahua at www.flickr.com/photos/saltospero.

These young birders attended the camps/events they report on with the help of ABA scholarships.