Ash Canyon Sanctuary Recipe
If you’ve never been to Ash Canyon, or SE AZ, and you like birds, what are you waiting for? It has long been regarded as a birder’s paradise, but here are some of my personal favorites.
Ramsey Canyon
I went when I was 16 after my sister got married. My brother and Cass had decided from watching the Weather Channel that Tucson was the place for them. We met the Mautzes in Aspen for the Music Festival and then continued on to Tucson to help Cass and Rick find a place to live. Mom had fairly recently become a birder, thanks to her new son in law and Jim Cavanaugh, so Mom, Dad, and I hopped in the rental and headed down to Ramsey Canyon. It was called Mile Hi back then, because… but when the Nature Conservancy took over they renamed it. They kept the old sign though. So we hiked up the trail, maybe a mile or so, looking for birds, any lifers being dutifully recorded by mom in her bird book. It being late July, a monsoon moved in, and we got soaked and the temperature dropped 25-30 degrees. We were also surrounded by lightning, hovering under a giant conifer to try to stay dry-ish and safe. When the storm finally abated, we hightailed it down to the car and drove to Wendy’s for a cup of hot coffee. I remember having a delightful Frosty, which perhaps makes no sense, but if you’ve been to AZ in the summer, you know it heats right back up after an afternoon monsoon.
Anyway, Jen came out for Mother’s Day this year and we had a grand old time, visiting the San Pedro House and Ramsey Canyon and Ash Canyon Sanctuary looking for the elusive (still) Montezuma Quail. Their main draw is probably hummingbirds, and they have tons of feeders around the property, but they also attract all manner of birds to their tasty suet. They are kind enough to share their recipe with anyone who’s interested.
Chunky Peanut Butter 2c
Lard 2c
Flour 2c
Cornmeal 4 c
Quick Oats 4 c
Raisins or other dried fruit if you so desire.
Then just heat it on the stovetop enough to blend everything together, and stuff it into holes you drill in pieces of wood, or an old candle holder you don’t use, smear it on rough bark like mesquite, or some other creative holder, and get your binocs ready. Thrashers and woodpeckers will come right away, but you never know who else you might see.
They make giant batches of it because they use so much each day, so adjust the recipe as necessary to fit your needs.
Hunting & Fishing Recipes