Arizona's Last Frontier - Part 1

Greenlee County, in far eastern Arizona, was the only county that I had not yet visited in Arizona.  Guess that qualifies it as my Last Frontier in Arizona.  This county is the most under-birded county in the state and it is Arizona's second smallest county and the smallest in population.  This county borders New Mexico on the east and is sandwiched between Apache and Graham Counties on the north and south, and is located in a very remote area.  Highway 191 that runs north and south is a very good highway, but once one heads north from the mining town of Morenci, it is slow driving on a mountainous stretch that is full of twists and turns, but the vastness of the area is stunningly beautiful.  Deserts in the south and mountains in the north.  It may be Arizona's second smallest county, but it is still larger in area than the state of Rhode Island

Good birding buddy Tommy D., and I decided to do some birding in Greenlee County as it was a place I had always wanted to visit but had never made it there in the past.  Tommy has been there recently in the past and knew where a lot of hotspots were located.  We planned our visit to coincide with the Global Big Day where eBird takes a snapshot of all the bird sighting data on one day of the year throughout the world. Since it is a very under-birded location, all of our reports for May 13 would get Greenlee County represented in the Global Big Day.

The first full day was a trip to the northern part of the county and it was a very full day.  Highway 191 is a very good road, but it is not a road one can travel very fast on due to the many twists and curves and switchbacks.  Once you head north from Clifton, you travel through the mining community of Morenci where one of the world's largest reserves of copper is located.  This is an interesting ride and it is hard to imagine the enormity of this mine until you drive through in daylight.

This day was spent in the higher elevations and with that type of habitat, many of our birds and other critters consisted of the types of animals that favor those habitats.  At one point as we rounded a curve, we had a Black Bear in the middle of the road and it took off running and disappeared into the brush on the side before I could get my camera ready.  The photos below are indicative of what we found up north.  We even venture to the isolated community of Blue, Arizona, which has a post office, a school and a library and in 2000, it had a population of 36 people!

Red-faced Warbler

Swainson's Hawk - This was one of my first birds in Greenlee County and this photo was taken late in the afternoon as we arrived on Thursday.

 Small but fascinating Aker Lake where we had American Three-toed Woodpecker and Purple Martin.

 American Three-toed Woodpecker

Click HERE for a link to a video of the woodpecker and its drumming.

Purple Martin

 Arachne Checkerspot

 Arachne Checkerspot

Common Black Hawk - They were seen in several places.

 Common Ringlet

 Dainty Sulphur

 Dusky-capped Flycatcher -We found 2 of them at the Upper Blue Campground, which was further north than previously reported for this species.

Click HERE to a link to a video of the Dusky-capped Flycatcher where it can clearly be heard calling.

Golden-crowned Kinglet - Hannagan Meadow Campground

 Greater Pewee - Blue River

 Marine Blue Butterfly

 Mountain Bluebird - Near Aker Lake

Friday was a very long day due to the distance we traveled and the many stops we made.  We were secretly hoping for Dusky Grouse in one o the many places we visited.  Habitat was very good, but the pesky grouse were not meant to be.  Stay tuned for part 2 of this adventure and my initiation to Greenlee County.  There is much more to come, including Saturday which was the Global Big Day.

   

Rainy Days and Mondays

The 8 days of the trip to Oregon/Washington were filled with RAIN!  It rained every day during our stay and at one brief moment in the state of Washington, we did see a few snow flurries, but nothing to cause any road condition problems.  Only once did we encounter a MONDAY, but it was a special MONDAY as I picked up 2 new life birds that day.  The first was the Gray Partridge (see previous post) and the second lifer was one that has been on my wish list for a few years, the Short-eared Owl.  This owl is one that is rather difficult to get in Arizona although they are reported from time to time in the winter months.  We arrived at the location that Khanh knew about at dusk and, of course it was RAINING!  I got my binoculars on it quickly and confirmed the ID and was happy.  Had to bump up the ISO on the camera since it was so dark, which allowed me to get some photos of this cool owl.  I now have only 2 species of owls left to see in the list of North American owls; one is pretty easy in the right range and the other is one of the hardest to find.

 Short-eared Owl

A couple more lifers that I added to my life list on this trip were found in Washington. They were the Bohemian Waxwing and the White-headed Woodpecker.  The Bohemian Waxwing is a cousin to the Cedar Waxwing that we see quite frequently in Arizona, but it is a bit larger and grayer overall with a dark red vent area.  They are very nomadic and can be hard to find as they travel a lot, in search of food sources.  Luckily we stumbled on to a flock of about 200.

 Bohemian Waxwing

The White-headed Woodpecker has been on my wish list for a long time and I know they can be found a few hours away in California, but I had never taken the time to pursue them in their habitat.  We had a stunningly beautiful female show herself to us.  The white head on a coal black back and body is very striking. 

 White-headed Woodpecker

A couple other lifers that I acquired in the Pacific Northwest were the Gray-crowned Rosy Finch and the American Tree Sparrow.  The Rosy Finches were using some of last year's Cliff Swallow nests for roosting at night.  Who said birds are not smart?  We got there at twilight just as they were going to roost and had to use our flash to get photos.  Not great for photography and I usually despise using a flash and try to avoid it at all costs.  

 Gray-crowned Rosy Finch

The American Tree Sparrow was one of the hardest birds to get for my satisfaction.  They did not cooperate by any means.  We had heard them in a few spots and I caught glimpses of them, but not enough to confirm the key field marks for an ID.  Finally at one stop, I got some good looks, but photos were not meant to be.  They really played hide-and-seek with me.  The photo below is the best I could get and one has to really look hard to see that there is a bird in the background behind all those branches.

American Tree Sparrow - Yes, it is in there!

Other birds that I was able to get photos of included Rough-legged Hawk; one I have never photographed before.  And a female American Three-toed Woodpecker.

 Rough-legged Hawk

American Three-toed Woodpecker - Female

Even some of the birds that are found in this area are the same species as those found in Arizona, but some of them can look quite different.  The next 4 photos are examples of these birds.

 Horned Lark (Western Rufous Group)

Gray Jay - 2 different subspecies in the northwest

 Gray Jay - 2 different subspecies in the northwest

Spotted Towhee - less spots and its call was a bit different as well.

Even though it was RAINY and we only had one MONDAY, we still got to see some great birds.  Will have one more post to cover this expedition, so you can look forward to it in the future.

   

   

    

Rain or Shine

A recent 3 day trip to the White Mountains of Arizona, was just what was needed by 4 of us that needed a break from the Arizona summer heat.  We had to deal with rain off-and-on for the first couple of days, but it was so cool and refreshing, none of us were complaining. Joined by Muriel Neddermeyer, Babs Buck, and Chris Rohrer, we had a couple of target birds as our goal.  The first was the Dusky Grouse, which would be a lifer for all 4 of us. The second target species was the American Three-toed Woodpecker, which would be a lifer for 2 in the party.  It would not be a lifer for me however, as I had seen one in 2012 and after 4 years, it would be nice to see one again.  

In spite of 3 visits to the top of Green's Peak, we dipped on the Dusky Grouse, but we definitely gave it our best shot.  However, on a side note, on our second visit and walking down the trail on the north side, we were stunned to have a very brief glimpse of a Gray Wolf, trotting down the trail and quickly out of view. After that brief sighting, it helped us understand the distant unusual barking that we were hearing.  

The hunt for the American Three-toed Woodpecker ended with better results and a new life bird for both Muriel and Chris.  We checked several spots where they had been reported in the past, with the Butler Canyon Trail in Greer being the most promising location.  After our first visit and getting rained out, the second visit proved to be fortuitous for us.  Once we got far enough up the trail and into the right habitat, then it was a matter of listening and watching and waiting.  Sure enough, a male finally revealed his location.  It wasn't until it flew to a different tree that we were able to get photos. While I failed to get photos of the yellow crown on this bird, Muriel and Chris did which was very gratifying for all since it was a life bird for them.  

    

The rest of the photos in this blog are just some of the other interesting and cool discoveries that I found intriguing.  

 Horned Lark

 'Red-shafted' Northern Flicker

 Pied-billed Grebe - Parent and juvenile

 Pied-billed Grebe Juvenile

 Pygmy Nuthatch

 Rufous Hummingbird

 Sora

 Sora - With an itch

 Western Bluebird - Juvenile

 Western Bluebird - Juvenile

Willow Flycatcher

 Abert's Squirrel

 Cliff Chipmunk

 Unknown flower with unknown ant.

Nokomis Fritillary - A very vibrant and colorful butterfly

 American Dipper

 Lobster Mushrooom - something new to me and it is edible.

 Mormon Fritillary

 Unknown fungi

 Olive-sided Flycatcher

Williamson's Sapsucker

As we were preparing to depart this area, I received a notice from a friend that a Tricolored Heron was discovered at the Gilbert Riparian Water Ranch back in the valley.  So we hatched a plan to stop there on our return.  Yes, it took us about 3 hours to return and when we did, we quickly got a slap in the face with the triple digit temperatures.  But we persevered and went to the water ranch and split up.  Muriel was the one the found it on pond 6.  She quickly got the rest of us on it.  What a great way to end the 3 day road trip!

 Tricolored Heron

All four of us had a very enjoyable 3 day trip with some good friends and some good food in Springerville, Arizona.