April 14 -- With the Mexican Chickadees along the Greenhouse Trail

 My "new" friend Dodie, birder and artist from Minnesota who has been spending part of the year at the Chiricahuas for awhile now, recommended the Greenhouse Trail as a good place to see a variety of habitat with a corresponding variety of birds. The trail goes all the way up to the Chiricahua Crest Trail --and I would see that intersection when I hike the Crest Trail a few days later. But it starts at Herb Martyr Road in Pinyon-Juniper woodland -- and right off the bat, just at the start of the trail, I hear the mournful call of, then see, a Dusky-capped Flycatcher (click on the name to hear the Dusky-capped's calls and song) --

If it weren't for the call I'd have a hard time IDing it in the field, which is why I tote the 500 f/4 lens around on my day hikes, since this clearly shows one of the ID marks of a Dusky-capped -- secondary feathers are "washed" with rufous coloring, unlike any other "Myarchus" flycatchers. I came upon another Dusky-capped later on in the hike -- 

 It was around 9am, and the air was full of singing birds, such as this Grace's Warbler (click on the name to hear the bird's calls and song) --

I mean, he was really belting it out, a Frank Sinatra among warblers -- 

 Simply spectacular -- and I remember myself thinking, as I have done so many times during the past year of my travels, that there is nowhere else I'd rather be, the moment was perfect in every way...The habitat along the trail is now a mix of Sierra Madrean pine and oak woodland, with Ponderosas scattered here and there, so there are Juniper Titmouse chattering along with the "shreep!" of Western Scrub-Jay. And a White-breasted Nuthatch was grubbing around the bark of a tree, and found a snack --

Lizards seem to be everywhere in the Chiricahuas, and the area around the Greenhouse Trail is no exception -- 

What I wouldn't do to see a Gila Monster -- though from a safe distance... But once again, you never know what you might come across here in this ultimate "sky island". And there are those species that are unique only to the Chiricahuas, such as the Apache Fox Squirrel, probably one of the most striking-looking squirrels you're ever to see, with its rich red coloring -- 

The Greenhouse Trail keeps climbing, and now you enter a mountain meadow -- 

The meadow, like much of this area of the Chiricahuas, shows evidence of 2012's Horseshoe 2 fire and its seeming arbitrariness, charring some trees while leaving others relatively untouched --

Ahhh, the scent of pine...And it's just about 300 yards from this point that I make the re-aquaintance with that most wished-for of all the bird species to be found in the Chiricahuas, Mexican Chickadee (click on the name to hear the Chickadee's calls) --

It's the only Chickadee to be found here, and the Chiricahuas are the ONLY place on public land in the United States that you encounter them. Even though they're "common" in the Chiricahuas, they're still a bit challenging to find. But this one seemed to be putting on a show for me -- 

Once you cross the meadow, the trail continues on up to the Crest Trail, about 3 miles and perhaps 2,000 feet above, so I reluctantly head back -- and flush out what I believe to have been Montezuma Quail. You never notice them as they blend in so well with their surroundings, and they fly off at the last minute. Alas, I can't re-find them, and though I also encounter them along South Fork road a few days later -- and actually see them; 2 are crossing the road -- I end up with no photos of Montezuma Quail. But, getting back to the meadow along Greenhouse Trail, the dayhike still holds one more surprise. I see Flycatcher -- a BIG one. It's hidden behind a single branch, so I can't get a totally unobscured look at it --

RATS -- 

And it isn't calling, but with that crest, and large bill -- and then it flies to a higher perch, in the direction of the sun of course, but now it's unobscured -- 

I've been wanting to get this species for a LONG time. It's a lifer for me, and one of the signature birds of SE Arizona's sky islands, known for its "Jose Maria" call, the King of Pewees (and you thought it was Peewee Herman),  Greater Pewee (click on the name to hear the Pewee's call) -- 

With that large bill, and showing the head crest in the previous photo -- no doubt about it, even though I never heard its call. I am truly a Happy Camper by this point. And to add to another great day in the Chiricahuas, I hear the call of Mexican Whip-poor-will, in the day (very unusual) while in that same meadow. Gee, how can you top THIS day? Well, it happens, when I go back to Barfoot Park and camp for the next 3 days there...