Under-birded Hotspots: Case Natural Resource Park

By Mike Henry

Cactus Wren, all photos by Mike Henry

Birders in Southeast Arizona have it pretty good. We have a plethora of world-class eBird hotspots, most of them located within Pima County. Locals and visitors are well aware of Sweetwater Wetlands, Madera Canyon, Reid Park and Catalina State Park, to name a few. But if you look off the beaten path, Tucson has some hidden gems worth exploring.

Case Natural Resource Park (eBird Hotspot, MAP), located on Tucson’s east side near Broadway and Harrison, is a sprawling 53 acre park that features a playground, a paved walking path, and more importantly, a seemingly endless supply of natural landscape and native birds.

Black-throated Sparrow

While visitors are encouraged to tread-lightly, most of the park can be accessed on foot as long as you exercise caution and use common sense. For birders and photographers, Case is an ideal open space for observing and photographing our resident species. Most of the usual suspects are present year-round: Cactus Wren, Curve-billed Thrasher, Pyrrhuloxia and Rufous-winged Sparrow are easily found. Less common species such as Hooded Oriole, Summer Tanager, and Pacific-slope Flycatcher frequent the area in the summer months. You can also find raptors like Cooper’s Hawk, American Kestrel, and even the occasional Merlin or Prairie Falcon.

 

Curve-billed Thrasher

Phainopepla

Following responsible birding/photography etiquette, one can watch Cactus Wrens ferrying nesting material from cholla to cholla, or Phainopepla feeding on hackberries. The best feature of Case is that the majority of the park looks and feels like untouched desert. If you’ve ever wondered what parts of Tucson looked like before it was developed, this park is probably a very close approximation. There are countless picturesque perching opportunities on cholla, saguaro cactus, and more. Bring your camera and/or binoculars and enjoy one of the area’s lesser-known eBird hotspots.

 

Rufous-winged Sparrow

Pyrrhuloxia

Mike Henry has been in Tucson since 1998, a birder for about fifteen years, and a serious photographer for the last four. Find him on Twitter and Instagram @OnlyVeesAZ, and mikehenry-photography.smugmug.com/.