Kind of think of this area as Avra Valley, though the ‘official’ Avra Valley is south of here. Anyway, these shots are from the south end of the agricultural area (e.g., open farmland) running roughly along the Santa Cruz River, SE-to-NW paralleling I10 on the west, between Red Rock and Arizona City, and west of Picacho Peak. Specifically, near where E. Sasco Rd. (heading west out of Red Rock) crosses the river. (This is a regular spot on at least one of the SE AZ Birding Festival field trips.)
Might have seen 4-5 Greater Roadrunner either together or in close proximity just east of the river crossing:
Good location for Inca Dove. (Several were heard at this spot; following individual was perched by the road.) ID tip: note the scaled appearance on the back of the neck.
The ‘bird of the outing,’ a very lucky sighting, west of the river crossing (open mesquite scrubland), of Bendire’s Thrasher:
Note the relatively short, straight bill compared to, e.g., this Curve-billed Thrasher at Paton Center:
Heading west from the river eventually leads to Ironwood Forest National Monument. Territory changes from agriculture/riparian to open mesquite scrubland to Sonoran Desert w/ Saguaro and Desert Ironwood (Olneya tesota), for example.
White-winged Doves landing on a power line:
