When preparing for today’s trip we noticed that Montezuma Quail, one of our major target birds in Arizona, has been seen in Gordon Hirabayashi Campground. So we decide to stop for a short while at the campground to look for it before continuing to the top. Luckily there is a parking spot at the entrance as the campground itself is closed and soon we are on our way to explore the area and hopefully find the elusive quail.
The campground lies on the site where a former prison existed where Americans of Japanese descent were interned during the Second World War. The info panels are quite interesting and give a great overview of the great scare and the impact it had on the lives of many US citizens that had the misfortune to be caught in the hysteria of the times. Very little is left of the camp, you can see some outlines of the buildings and some scattered ruins.
The campground itself looks like a nice place to stay, especially now with no one else around it. We sit down at one of the tables and eat our lunch before starting back towards the car.
And what about the Montezuma Quail? As usually it evaded all our efforts but we still saw a good mix of birds typical of this altitude including a few Phainopepla which are always fun to see.
