17.
PESQUIERA & BELLATOSA CANYONS
Size: 7.54 sq. mi.
GENERAL: A combination of driving gravel roads, walking gravel and dirt roads and some off-road walking through grass and dry creek beds. From Exit 12 off of I-19, take the west frontage road south to Old Ruby Road. Your count starts here.
NOTES: In 0.8 miles fork left (south) onto a gravel road. In 0.4 miles at a road junction ("Y") bear left (south). In about 0.5 miles there is a short pull-off to the north where one has a view of the old gravel pit pond. If there is water here, scope it carefully for waterfowl, shorebirds, pipits, horned larks, longspurs, etc. This is an important stop! This land is owned by the ZZ Cattle Company, and a key contact is Dan Bell. It is a good idea to send Dan a note in advance to tell him the count date (ZZCattleCo@gmail.com) SCOPE USEFUL OR REQUIRED TO COVER THE PIT ADEQUATELY. A HIGH- CLEARANCE VEHICLE IS REQUIRED FOR BELLATOSA CANYON, AND PREFERRED FOR PESQUIERA CANYON. Continue to bird your way south on the gravel road. About 3.3 miles past the pit overlook (5 mile mark), just after a tank (Upper Pesquiera Tank) on the north side of the road, there is a road junction ("3.3 mile junction"). Continue south on the main road for 0.4 miles to a fork in the road. Suggest parking here and walking. From here south to the circle edge (31.3681, -111.0368) is some of the best birding. The south fork (FR 4204) goes up a small canyon for about a mile through grassy oak slopes to the circle edge. Back to the parking spot, the right fork (FR 623) goes through similar habitat, then goes up a grade to a hilltop and a road junction. The latter is the edge of the circle and your sector. THERE IS A GOOD CELL PHONE SIGNAL AT THIS HILLTOP. Along the Bellatosa Road there area several tanks: Bellatosa and another one SW of there along the north side of the road at 31.391716, -111.025448. You have to sneak up these tanks, especially Bellatosa, very carefully so as not to flush the ducks. When flushed they go to the other tank. After spending plenty of careful time in these two canyons, head back toward the pit. At "3.3 mile junction" take the north fork road back to the pit. Re-check the water at the pit from the overlook. STUDY YOUR INTERACTIVE SECTOR MAP BEFORE COUNT DAY, and, if you have time, explore areas with which you are not familiar. It is particularly important to study and make notes of roads and distances if you may be in areas that have no cell phone signals. Be aware of where the count circle ends. (Many phone map & GPS apps allow you to set the center of the circle as a “waypoint”, then [offline] gives you constant readings as to miles to that waypoint. If you then exceed 7.5 miles from the waypoint, you are out of the circle.) The map narratives provide some help in this regard. Scouting in advance, and in particular, exploring and hiking into the drainages in your area, is strongly encouraged.
TARGET SPECIES: The pit has the potential for interesting species and should be birded carefully. Anywhere that there are oaks, especially at those two canyons near the edge of the circle, look/listen for Mexican Jays, Montezuma Quail, Acorn WP, bluebirds and other oak habitat birds. Try Pygmy Owl calls; they have been seen nearby. Check the grassy areas, for Botteri's and other grassland sparrows. especially near tanks.
