This past winter I read that someone had found a rufous-capped warbler in the Florida Canyon near Green valley, AZ.

This is an uncommon bird for the United Sates, so I decided to look for it when I would be in AZ. in Feb. 2017. I had detailed directions to the place where the birds had been seen. I met a man in Green Valley and told him where I was going. He said, " Be careful, it's easy to get lost and the trail is steep and rocky". I thought that I would find the spot- I was wrong. I was not in the right spot the day I hiked up the trail; luckily, I met some people on the trail who knew the way. I followed them and we did not find the bird.

I returned to Az. this April and decided to look again. I hiked up the Florida Canyon in the early morning, following two persons who were also looking for the bird- again no luck. The next day I arrived at Battiste B and B in Hereford, AZ. The owner, Tony told me that he knew a guy who could help me find the Rufous-capped warbler in Hunter Canyon. This man had an excellent ear and could hear the birds before he saw them. We hiked up the canyon in ninety degree heat to a place where he had seen them- they weren't there. He said, " They are probably in the upper canyon". More hiking. Finally he heard them and "phished" them out of the bushes onto some higher tree limbs. What a joy to see a rufous-capped warbler! One moved around in the trees ten to twenty feet from me and I was able to get excellent photos.

Pam