THE TROGON NEWS

HUACHUCA AUDUBON SOCIETY

Post Office Box 63, Sierra Vista, Arizona 85636
Volume XXX Number 2, June 2008

President’s Message
Hello, with just a few days remaining of my term of office I’ll claim another successful quarter.
Attendance on our field trips has been significantly better - and thanks to good leaders we’ve seen
many great birds. Our monthly meetings continued to be well attended and donations always paid for
over half of the room rent - thank you. However, unless someone steps forward as Program Chair
there will be changes starting in September; apart from us reverting to a free classroom - good news,
no more pleas for donations!

Use of our shared Bird/Mammal trunk is off to a good beginning; we had a table with exhibits at the
Sierra Vista Earthday and the International Migratory Bird Day Festival at the San Pedro House, then
responded to an invitation and had the same table at Fort Huachuca’s Safety Expo 2008 - thanks to all
who assisted. Plans are proceeding for school visits commencing this fall.

Successful birding classes held by Rick Romea brought $750 to our treasury, which enabled us to
donate $1,000 to "Delighted Eye Productions" towards the cost of an educational video on the San
Pedro River - its benefits and its perils. We will be provided with copies to show to schools and other
organizations.

A few statistics - in my last annual report to National Audubon I stated that 21 people had donated
1,200 hours to run our organization. We held ten membership meetings and conducted over 100 field
trips, including the weekly EOP bird walks. This year's figures will be very similar. My thanks to all
who have helped in the past, and my encouragement for those about to help. We can only remain
active if people continue to step forward and volunteer.

Regards, Mike

June 2008 1
 Committee News

The chairpersons for the chapter committees are as follows: Conservation: <vacant>; Education:
Ginny Bealer; Programs: <vacant>; Membership: Ginny Bealer; and Outings: Alan Blixt and Robert
Weissler. Please contact the relevant chairperson if you would like to find out more information about
the activities of a particular committee.

Shop at our Marketplace! And raise money for Huachuca Audubon!!

Help raise funds for the Huachuca Audubon Society by shopping at our online Marketplace. Just click
on the shopping bag banner on the left side of the Huachuca Audubon Society home page
(www.huachuca-audubon.org) and raise money for us! Please remember that ONLY purchases made
online at participating merchants accessed by clicking on our website Marketplace banner first will
raise money for us. Otherwise, the merchants will not be able to return a portion of the purchase cost
to Huachuca Audubon.

Welcome to New HAS Members!

We would like to welcome our newest HAS (and Friends of HAS) members: Cave Creek Ranch; Ron
DeVecchio of Benson; Mary Chestnut of Bisbee; Kim Bullington of Cochise; Klingler family of
Elfirida; Donna Mann of Elgin; Stephanie Johnston of Hereford; Joanne Bielicki, Laurie Hoffsmith,
Marjorie Dailey, Larry Hawthorne, Andrew-Susan Moffitt, Richard Mount, John Roth, Mary Anne
Somerville, Katia Streeter, Marcelle Toczko, Ms. Williams, and Ron Yonker of Sierra Vista; and
Kimberley Adgerson, and Morry & Charlotte Gil of Tombstone.

Volunteer Opportunities with Huachuca Audubon: Get Involved!

New members in particular may be interested in getting involved with our organization. There is
currently a vacancy for the Conservation and Programs Committee chairpersons. If you enjoy
planning field trips to interesting birding destinations – and there is no lack of those in southern
Arizona – then consider taking on this role with our chapter.

We continue to seek an Editor for the Trogon News. Currently, due to a full time job and his other
commitments, Robert Weissler can accommodate only quarterly issues. We would prefer to return to
our customary monthly publication schedule if an interested person steps forward. Useful skills for
this position include document editing and layout using a word processing package like Microsoft
Word, OpenOffice (free download), or NeoOffice for the Mac (also free download). Also, modest
photo editing skills are helpful, e.g. iPhoto for the Mac.

Help and guidance are readily available for any volunteer position of interest. If you wish to join us,
please discuss with Mike Guest or any other officer listed on the back cover of this newsletter.

June 2008 2
 Interested in Monitoring Breeding Birds in the Huachucas?!

A new study is in the planning stages to commence next year, namely a project to determine the effects
of fuels reduction (thinning the forest, prescribed burns, etc to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire
and improve forest health) on cavity-nesting birds (especially Whiskered Screech-Owl and Lucy's
Warbler) as well as a host of other neotropical migrants and gamebirds. Huachuca Audubon is a
partner in this prospective project and plans to organize volunteers to monitor breeding birds in the
study area. Stay tuned for more information in the coming months...! -Robert Weissler,
weissler@aves.org.

Local Programs and Events

Check the web site (http://www.huachuca-audubon.org) for the latest updates to the schedule of
events. HAS monthly meetings will move to a classroom at Cochise College this fall.

June 7th, Saturday, 3:30 pm. HAS Annual Meeting (election) & Potluck Picnic at San Pedro House.

No HAS Monthly Programs during the summer recess.

Upcoming Field Trips

June 8th, Sunday, 7:30 am. HAS Field Trip to Carr Canyon/Comfort Spring.
June 11th, Wednesday, 7:00 am. FSPR bird walk. Meet at San Pedro House.
June 28th, Saturday, 7:00 am. FSPR bird walk. Meet at San Pedro House.
July 9th, Wednesday, 7:00 am. FSPR bird walk. Meet at San Pedro House.
July 14th, Monday, 8 am. HAS Field Trip, Hummingbirds at Ash Canyon B&B.
July 26th, Saturday, 7:00 am. FSPR bird walk. Meet at San Pedro House.
Aug. 10th, Sunday, 7:30 am. HAS Field Trip to Miller Canyon & Beatty's Orchard.
Aug. 13th, Wednesday, 7:00 am. FSPR bird walk. Meet at San Pedro House.
Aug. 23rd, Saturday, 7:00 am. FSPR bird walk. Meet at San Pedro House.

Note: Due to the high price of gas, car pool passengers are expected to provide adequate compensation
to their driver, about 8 cents per mile.

Weekly events

Every Sunday at 7 am April through September (8 am during winter months). Bird Walk at Sierra
Vista Environmental Operations Park. Limited to 20 participants with two docents.

Every Monday at 7am, Birdwatching Field Trips to the San Pedro River.
2-3 hour birding field trips to Gordon Lewis' property on the San Pedro River. Meet at the pull-off just
west of the bridge on the north side of Highway 92 (near Palominas, gate numbered 10663).

Monthly events

2nd Wednesday at 7am Apr-Sep, 8am Oct-Mar Bird Walk at San Pedro House.
4th Saturday at 7am Apr-Sep, 8am Oct-Mar Bird Walk at San Pedro House.
June 2008 3
 Huachuca Audubon Society 2008 Field Trips
The HAS Outings Committee has planned many interesting outings for the summer of 2008.

June 8th - Carr Canyon/ Comfort Spring

Field trip to the high Huachucas. Meet at the Perimeter Trail parking lot, Carr Canyon 7:30am to car-
pool. Be prepared for a 2-mile hike at a relaxed pace; the trail is rough with some steep sections, so
bring water and sturdy shoes. We will be looking for high elevation specialties such as Greater Pewee,
Virginia’s and Olive Warblers, and the Buff-breasted Flycatcher. Trip is free and open to the public.
Leader: Robert Weissler (803-0794, weissler@aves.org)

July 14th - Ash Canyon B&B

Field trip for hummingbirds at Mary Jo Ballator’s well endowed yard starting at 8am. From Sierra
Vista, take Highway 92 to mile marker 332.7; turn west on Turkey Track Road; continue to the end, turn
right on Spring Road; the B&B is the last place on the right. Trip is free and open to the public, but a
donation to help maintain the feeders is requested.
Leader: Alan Blixt (515-9458, alanblixt@hotmail.com)

August 10th - Miller Canyon

Meet at 7:30am at the Forest Service parking lot, located just below Beatty’s Orchard, at the upper end
of Miller Canyon Road (west off Highway 92). We will hike up the Miller Canyon trail to the ‘second
stream crossing’ in search of Huachuca mountain specialties such as Red-faced Warbler and Hepatic
Tanager, then we will spend some time at the hummingbird feeders at Beatty’s orchard. The trail is
rough and steep, so bring water and wear sturdy shoes and be prepared for a 2 mile uphill hike at a
relaxed pace. Trip is free and open to the public, but a small fee is required to access the upper feeders
at Beatty’s.

Leader: Robert Weissler (803-0794, weissler@aves.org)

Conservation News
For all those with an interest in the San Pedro River, the URL below will lead to wet-dry maps for the
Upper San Pedro since 1999 and the 2007 maps for the whole basin. These procedures are now being
expanded to other rivers statewide under the auspices of The Nature Conservancy and the University of
Arizona. One caution, from this site, the download is over 13 MB so be careful if you do not have a
high-speed line!

http://azconservation.org/downloads/data/san_pedro_wet_dry_mapping/

June 2008 4
 Skulls and Tracks to Enter Classrooms
Why does the Toucan have such a large, colorful bill?

What does the Javelina do with its relatively large canine teeth?

How are an animal’s feet adapted to the animal’s habits?

The Friends of the San Pedro River and Huachuca Audubon Society have joined educational forces by
contributing to a joint collection of specimens of skulls, pelts and animal tracks. Some of you may
have already seen the collection at a community event recently. Members of both organizations’
education committees will make the specimens available to schools and other community groups.
Both groups already have outreach programs involving local schools. Volunteers who have training
and experience in environmental education will soon be ready to take the “Bone Box” into classrooms,
to assist teachers with their science curricula. They hope to promote appreciation of the natural
environment, stimulate reasoning skills, and just plain generate curiosity and awe about the natural
world in viewers. Some of the concepts that may be explored with students are biodiversity,
correlation of structure and function, adaptations, food chains and webs, habitat and niche, and their
significance to the human species. All of these relate to Arizona Department of Education Science
Standards.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, no animals were killed for the sole purpose of providing
specimens for the “Box”.

-Virginia Bealer

June 2008 5
 Audubon Adventures: An Opportunity to Participate in Environmental Education
If you've ever wanted to share your appreciation for the natural environment with youngsters by
stimulating their curiosity and discovery of nature, here's your chance. Audubon Adventures is a
nationally acclaimed environmental education program of informational brochures, posters, activities
and action tips geared for grades 3 - 6.

Teachers who receive the kit get a guide, resource manual and a one-year subscription to Audubon
Magazine. Each classroom kit contains materials for 32 students, at a cost of $45, which includes
shipping.

Subject matter and activities in the kits are in alignment with national science and language arts
standards. Millions of school children have participated in this program since its inception in 1984.

Following are just two among the many accolades the program has received from teachers. These and
other information about Audubon Adventures are posted at the website: www.audubon.org/educate/aa/.

"I have been using the Audubon Adventures educational materials for many years and have always
found them to be well designed and appropriate to the educational needs of my students. Young minds
always seem to be eager to learn all they can about nature. Audubon Adventures can motivate even the
most reluctant learners. "

-Susan Campbell, Fourth Grade, Webutuck Elementary, New York.

"Audubon Adventures reading materials and lesson plans help students understand and respect the
natural world around them. We are matching the kit materials with our sixth grade science curriculum.
"

-Pasadena Unified School District K-12, Program Specialist, Pasadena, CA

Huachuca Audubon has a list of local teachers who have used Audubon Adventures in the past, and
would like to continue to do so, plus several others who would like to receive a package. If you would
like to donate a kit to any of these teachers, please send your check to our treasurer, Phil Tucker, HAS,
P.O. Box 63, Sierra Vista, AZ 85636-0063. Your donation to Huachuca Audubon for this kit is tax
deductible.

If you would like a particular teacher in our area to receive a kit, please include the following
information with your payment: a. school name and mailing address, b. teacher's full name and c.
grade taught.

Please address any other questions regarding this education outreach project to Sally Rosen at
azcatsally@aol.com..

June 2008 6
 Huachuca Audubon Spring Field Trip Reports

San Pedro Riparian NCA, 21 April 2008

Eighteen HAS members and guests, including some British birders, had a fine walk on 21 April 2008
along the San Pedro River, with 69 species tallied during our five hour loop to the south from San
Pedro House.

There was a Great Blue Heron and a Green Heron at Kingfisher Pond, plus another Green Heron at
Black Phoebe Pond. "Mexican" Ducks, N. Shoveler, and Am. Coots were also seen at the bigger pond.
Early arrivals for the walk had a Gambel's Quail at San Pedro House. An adult Gray Hawk soaring
over the cottonwoods was a favorite, but we also saw Turkey Vulture, Swainson's Hawks, and a fly-by
Am. Kestrel. The usual White-winged and Mourning Doves were seen, while a perched Great Horned
Owl was another highlight of our trip.

Black-chinned Hummingbirds were common around the feeders, but a Broad-tailed Hummingbird was
only heard as its ringing sound passed overhead. Both Gila and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers were
seen. More challenging were the Empidonax flycatchers, with several eluding identification, but we
did see at least two each of Hammond's and Gray Flycatchers. Vermilion Flycatchers were plentiful;
other flycatchers included Say's Phoebe, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Cassin's and Western Kingbird. A
single Loggerhead Shrike was spotted in the yucca grasslands.

Poor views of a Bell's Vireo were augmented by its vigorous singing. We had better luck seeing at least
five Cassin's Vireos, some of which were also singing. Swallows included N. Rough-winged, Cliff,
and Barn. All the wrens were true to their skulking nature, but we found Bewick's, House, and Marsh
Wren. We heard, but did not see, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, a sign that these common winter visitor
have moved north. We did see several Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, but only those at the front of the line
saw a single Hermit Thrush. Both Curve-billed Thrashers and European Starlings were around San
Pedro House.

Nine species of warblers were tallied, with a female MacGillivray's Warbler being the most elusive.
The other warblers were Orange-crowned, Lucy's, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray,
Townsend's, Wilson's, and Com. Yellowthroat. Summer Tanagers put on a colorful show, and we saw
Green-tailed, Canyon, and Abert's Towhees. Sparrow numbers were low, although we had a good
variety-Chipping, Brewer's, Lark, Fox, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned, and Dark-eyed Junco.

Pyrrhuloxias were at the house feeders, while a Black-headed Grosbeak was along the river. Four male
Bullock's Orioles were quite colorful; we also had Red-winged Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle, and
Brown-headed Cowbirds. Finally, the three usual finches-House, Pine Siskin, and Lesser Goldfinch-
were found at the feeders.

Report by Erika Wilson.

Trip reports continue on next page...

June 2008 7
Garden & Scheelite Canyons, 28 April 2008

Thirteen HAS members and guests had a splendid morning looking for birds in Fort Huachuca's
ponds, grasslands, and oak-pine woodlands on 28 April 2008, with 70 species tallied during our six
hour trip by car and on foot. We found our three target birds-Spotted Owl, Elegant Trogon, and Red-
faced Warbler-all in the late morning during our hike up Scheelite Canyon.

But we began our trip with a stop at the gravel pit ponds, where we had an unexpected Wilson's
Phalarope. Other birds of note there were a Great Blue Heron, a pair of Red-tailed Hawks building a
nest, Killdeer, White-throated Swift, a male Anna's Hummingbird, and a flock of Lark Sparrows. A
dozen swallows there were mostly Barn, but we spotted several Violet-green Swallows and a single
Cliff Swallow among them. A pair of Vermilion Flycatchers were hawking for insects, as was a
Western Kingbird, while a female Belted Kingfisher sat quietly.

Strong winds made the grassland birding difficult, but we did pick up a singing Botteri's Sparrow, a
Pyrrhuloxia, and N. Mockingbird at one stop. Next we worked along the two ponds below Garden
Canyon, between the main road and the aerostat site. A gobbling Wild Turkey was strutting his stuff,
and the cottonwoods here yielded a great variety, including a male Gambel's Quail, Dusky-capped
Flycatcher, a hidden, but vocal Brown-crested Flycatcher, a pair of Summer Tanagers, Yellow-rumped
and Wilson's Warblers, a pair of Bullock's Orioles, and two female Cassin's Finches.

The upper picnic area was relatively quiet; we did not hear a trogon there, but we did have good views
of singing Plumbeous Vireos and a pair of Hepatic Tanagers. The usual Acorn Woodpeckers, Bridled
Titmice, and Mexican Jays were about. Crossing the creek, we found the first Western Wood-Pewee of
the season. In a nearby clearing we watched Broad-billed, Magnificent, and Black-chinned
Hummingbirds at four feeders put up by the banding group. Also at this spot was an Arizona
Woodpecker.

Next we drove up to the Scheelite Canyon parking area, got out our walking sticks, and started up the
trail to look for owls, trogons, and warblers. The score was 0 for 0 by the time we reached the split in
the trail 3/4 mile up, but then a Red-faced Warbler was heard calling a bit further up. This bird was
finally spotted by a few of us, but not very well. Heading down, we were delighted when a Red-faced
Warbler came in right over our heads, just below the trail split. Much heartened, we checked all the
oaks in the main grove carefully, again, and finally located a Spotted Owl in deep shadow, roosting
quietly. With two target birds found, we were happy to finally hear an Elegant Trogon about half way
back down the canyon. Everyone got to see this handsome male as he called and swooped through the
trees-a great ending to our field trip.

Report by Erika Wilson.

HAS Field Trip: Hummingbirds, 25 March 2008

Just under two dozen Huachuca Audubon Society members and guests met at Mary Jo Ballator's Ash
Canyon B&B garden to work on hummingbird identification and watch other birds coming to the
feeders.

We had five hummer species: Broad-billed, Magnificent, Blacked-chinned, Anna's, and Rufous. The
cold weather up until this week meant there weren't any flowers in bloom yet, which helped us

June 2008 8
because every hummer came to a feeder. In the bright sunlight the Broad-billed and Anna's
Hummingbirds were particularly iridescent.

Other highlights among the two dozen species recorded were: Cassin's Finches with the regular House
Finches, Pine Siskins, and Lesser Goldfinches. A vocal pair of Scott's Orioles appeared in the garden
several times during the morning. All five woodpeckers were noted: Acorn, Gila, Ladder-backed,
Arizona, and N. Flicker. A Cooper's Hawk spread panic and then perched quietly in a nearby oak.

Report by Erika Wilson.

Alan Blixt's Spring Bird Walks and Hikes

Absolutely fantastic outings with Huachuca Audubon Society!!!!! On April 21st we had 18 folks for a
walk on the San Pedro River. We recorded 69 species in 4+ hours including resident birds, migrants,
some winter hangers on, and breeding birds back for the summer. Hawks, hummingbirds, flycatchers,
woodpeckers, warblers, vireos, etc. What a fantastic morning!!! On April 28th we met to view spring
migration in the foothills and mountains. 13 people carpooled onto Ft Huachuca where we found 70
species of birds! What a morning!!!! Red-faced Warbler, Elegant Trogon and Mexican Spotted Owl
were seen along with beautiful Black-throated Gray Warblers, and numerous other spectacular birds.
On May 12th 5 souls carpooled to the Monastery in St David where we were greeted with fantastic
views of a Mississippi Kite, a life bird for me!!!! We recorded 44 species of birds including Summer
Tanager, Vermilion Flycatcher, Yellow-breasted Chat, Gray Hawk, Northern Cardinal, Ash-throated
Flycatcher and many more. Go to Huachuca-Audubon.org to find dayes and times of outings. They
are GREAT!!!! These walks are offered regularly throughout the year. Come take a walk with us.

Alan Blixt

June 2008 9
 Adventure in Peru: Machu Picchu to Amazonia
My wife Liza and I traveled to Peru in mid-May, 2008. All in all, the trip provided a diverse and
satisfying sampling of Peru, in terms of cuisine, Andean music, Incan history, and the flora and fauna
of the dry, temperate intermontane valleys of the Andes, the cloud forest on the eastern slopes, and the
humid, Amazonian lowlands further east.

A brief overview of the itinerary and highlight birds will help keep events in order.
We started the tour in Lima, the capital, then flew to Cusco high in the Andes the
next day. Our first destination there was the vicinity of the Huacarpay Lakes.
Some highlights there were Puna Teal, White-tufted Grebe, Puna Ibis, Many-
colored Rush Tyrant, Rusty-fronted Canastero, Streak-fronted Thornbird, Sparkling
Violet-ear, Giant Hummingbird, and Andean Flicker. Next we took the Peru Rail
train to Machu Picchu, encountering Andean Guan in trees alongside the railroad
corridor. The cloud forest of the Rio Urubamba below Machu Picchu was quite
productive, yielding several Highland Motmots, Ocellated Piculets, Inca Wrens,
Spectacled Whitestarts and numerous tanagers, while the river provided Torrent
Ducks, White-capped Dippers, White-winged Cinclodes, and Torrent Tyrannulets.
After we returned to Cusco, we left the pavement behind for a white-knuckle ride
of hair-pin turns above sheer cliffs – typical Andean terrain. We passed through the
town of Paucartambo and over a 12,000 ft pass to descend through elfin forest to

June 2008 10
 reach the Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge in the cloud forest of the east slope of the Andes. Before the pass,
we made a stop to find Creamy-crested Spinetail and Red-crested Cotinga. On the way down to the
lodge, we encountered many special birds, including Gray-breasted Mountain-Toucan, White-collared
Jay, Golden-headed Quetzal, several species of Mountain-Tanagers and Sierra-Finches, not to mention
a Masked Trogon, a bird whose portrait hangs near our living room (it looks nearly identical to our
Elegant Trogon minus the coppery tail). A brief glimpse of a Red-and-white Antpitta was thrilling –
the only one of its kind the entire trip. We were treated to a dazzling display in the early morning
hours at the Cock-of-the-Rock lek near the lodge. The mixed species flocks that followed were some
of the best of the entire trip! Barbets, tanagers, hummingbirds... the list is too numerous to mention!!
We continued down to the lowlands, leaving our buses behind at the Madre de Dios river to ride on to
Amazonia Lodge and our ultimate destination, the Manu Wildlife Center. In the lowlands, antbirds of
many types were plentiful: several species of antwrens and antshrikes. Large White-throated and
Channel-billed Toucans, Chestnut-eared Araçaris, Bluish-fronted, Purus, and White-throated
Jacamars, and Broad-billed Motmot. The Red-necked Woodpecker sounded a double-knock heard
through the forest, much like that attributed to the much-sought-after Ivory-billed Woodpecker in the
states. Our tour of Amazonia ended in Puerto Maldonado at the confluence of the Madre de Dios and
Tambopata rivers, not far from the Bolivian border.

How to sum up this trip? First, there is Machu Picchu, of course. It

is largely what we imagined, quite amazing to see in person. It was
raining cats and dogs when we got there and we had absolutely NO
view through the fog. However, after a few hours of walking through
the ruins with a guide, the fog and rain subsided enough for us to get
terrific overall views. The precision of the
stonework was impressive. They said only
7% of it was that "you can't get a piece of
paper in the cracks" quality, the rest was a
couple different grades of rustic, but still, it
was a fascinating place. Lima, the capital
city, undoubtedly has its share of squalor, but
we stayed in a very nice section called Miraflores, two blocks from the ocean
with great shopping and restaurants. The airport landing in Cusco was
dramatic to say the least. It is situated just under 11,000 feet, so you fly down
a long valley, then make a sweeping u-turn to return to the runway. Cusco
has a beautiful square called Plaza de Armas lined with shops and restaurants and dotted with several
imposing churches that the Spanish built in the 16th century. The outlying areas were lined with
adobe-colored dwellings. The people of the Andes wore colorful, traditional garmets and Bowler hats.

For our Andean traverse, the small buses hauled 10 passengers each along steep slopes, a true e-ticket
ride - a single-lane, well-graded dirt road that went over 12,000 and 13,000 ft passes. Forget
guardrails... the view from the switchbacks if you were on the "downhill" side was quite hair-raising!!
If that were not enough, when someone was coming in the opposite direction, our driver would back
up some distance along the precipice until there was room to pass side by side – without losing the
side mirrors. We headed over the top above treeline, then back down the eastern slope, watching the
elfin forest thicken into cloud forest, then primary rainforest in the tropical lowlands.

We had several days of long river trips along the Madre de Dios river (which ultimately flows into the
Amazon) to get to destinations. For example, we traveled seven hours to get to the vicinity of Manu
National Park down in Amazonia and then a further eight hours to leave it when heading to Puerto
Maldonado, where we boarded our flight back to Lima. Along the way, we were treated to flocks of

June 2008 11
 Scarlet, Red-and-green, Chestnut-fronted, and Blue-
and-yellow Macaws, plus white caiman on the
shores of the Madre de Dios. Manu was where Liza
had her “monkey” encounter. There was a pet
emperor tamarin at Manu Wildlife Center (see
photo), who was cute enough while scampering
around and screeching at us, but one afternoon she got into our room.
And now our decision not to get rabies vaccinations before the trip
appeared to be misguided. Just when we were looking up at it thinking about how we might get her
out of the room, she launched herself at Liza, jumped onto her head, then grabbed her ears and started
trying to nibble the earrings off. Perhaps she thought they were food. Of course, with a primate on
her head nipping at her ears, all we could think of was the movie 'Outbreak'. I wasn't much help
either, since I was busy trying to photograph 'Frida' while trying not to laugh! The commotion in our
room was like a scene from a Disney movie with our unwanted guest leaping from wall to wall and
bed to bed, knocking down the mosquito netting.

There was a plethora of colorful, charismatic birds, of course! In all, the group overall had 440
species or so. And with all those birds and hours outdoors comes a big appetite. We were well fed
throughout the trip, even in the most remote areas! Some specialties included ceviche in Lima, cuy al
horno in Cusco (though we didn't get a free evening to try it), not to mention a drink called a pisco
sour. We also sampled the local beer, namely Cusqueña. Chewing the coca leaves (yes, it's legal) at
high elevation helped ward off altitude-induced ailments, although the most we had was a mild
headache anyway. We thought the leaves tasted like spinach. We tried alpaca and llama meat, which
tasted good, but the fish was the best. And, of course, we shopped around for alpaca sweaters!

During the trip the weather was cool and rainy at higher elevations,
sometimes downright cold high in the Andes, while in the lowlands, it
was predictably steamy and downright hot in direct sunlight. Hat,
water, and sunscreen were necessities during the trip as they are here
in Arizona. We did get a few serious rainstorms that soaked us rather
thoroughly, once while on the river in the boats.

Accommodations were very good. The more remote lodges, namely

the Cock-of-the-Rock and Amazonia Lodges and Manu Wildlife
Center, had no tv, phones, nor Internet. Generators provided electricity for the kitchen facilities, but
there was no power in the rooms, so we functioned by candlelight. Candlelight and mosquito nets in a
rainforest lodge has a nice ambiance. There was hot water at every lodge, so showers were welcome
events, particularly given the omnipresent humidity.

The bottom line is that we had a terrific experience

and that we would love to return to sample more of
Peru. We would have liked another day in Cusco,
another day in Lima, more time in the rainforest, there
was some local food we didn't get to try, birds we
didn't see... but what we did see, hear, taste, smell, and
feel will remain a rewarding experience with vivid
memories that will last a lifetime.

-Robert Weissler

June 2008 12
 Mail Correspondence to:
HUACHUCA AUDUBON SOCIETY
P.O. Box 63
Sierra Vista, AZ 85636

HUACHUCA AUDUBON SOCIETY Huac Aud Soc

DIRECTORY B03
President, Mike Guest 378-0667 7XCH
mwguest@juno.com
Vice President, Robert Weissler 803-0794
weissler@aves.org
Secretary, Anne Graf
Treasurer, Phil Tucker 803-8440
Field Trips, Robert Weissler & Alan Blixt
Programs, <vacant>
Conservation, <vacant> MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
Education, Ginny Bealer 378-6341 National Audubon Society - New Member - $20, two
Membership, Ginny Bealer 378-6341 years - $30, renewals - $35, Seniors - $15. Membership
vbealer@mindspring.com includes subscription to Audubon Magazine. Make
Trogon Editor, Robert Weissler 803-0794 check payable to National Audubon Society. For NAS
has_admin@huachuca-audubon.org membership changes and status call 1-800-274-4201.
Friends of Huachuca Audubon Society – Individual -
Director, Ginny Bealer 378-6341 $10 annually, Household - $15 annually. Provides no
Director, Tricia Gerrodette 378-4937 affiliation to National Audubon. Make check payable to
Director, Dave Cunningham 378-2201 Huachuca Audubon Society.
Director, Sherry Cunningham 378-2201 The Trogon News newsletter is provided to all members
Director, Alan Blixt 515-9458 via the HAS web site - www.huachuca-audubon.org.
Mailed copies or monthly email notification is available
AZ Audubon Council Rep. Tricia Gerrodette upon special request to HAS editor and/or secretary.
Webmaster, Robert Weissler 803-0794 Send all checks to Huachuca Audubon Society, PO Box
63, Sierra Vista, AZ 85636.

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