Warblers, Vireos, and a Crane

The old blog has not seen any recent posts, so figured it is time to rectify that issue.  Most of my recent birding has been near home and I am truly enjoying the wonders of migration and discovering a few new spots around the Valley of the Sun. Many of the birds I am seeing are species that I have more than once posted on my blog site in previous posts.  

Having the time to spend on exploring regular sites and observing many of the migrating birds that are usually only seen for a short time, once or maybe twice a year as they pass through the state of Arizona.  During a 1 week period in late April, I made 3 trips to my regular spot in South Mountain Park and during that period, was able to detect a total of 8 migrating warbler species in this dry desert wash.  When birds are migrating, they need to constantly replenish their their fuel by devouring many insects, pupa, larva, and even unhatched insect egg cases.  The species list of these warblers include:  Hermit, Townsend's, Wilson's, Yellow-rumped, MacGillivary's, Black-throated Gray, Nashville, and Orange-crowned.  That s pretty remarkable considering that none of these species calls this place home for breeding purposes.  Of course, being a warbler, most do not pose for photos very well, so several did not get documented with photos.

Townsend's Warbler

Wilson's Warbler

Yellow Warbler

Vireos are also a common migrant through Arizona, but are usually not quite as colorful and flashy as the warblers.  Some are very vocal and are easy to detect by sound even though they do not always present themselves for photos very well, just like the warblers. 

Gray Vireo

 Bell's Vireo

 Cassin's Vireo

Warbling Vireo

Then something remarkable happened.  A Common Crane was found at Mormon Lake in northern Arizona.  This is a Eurasian species that has appeared in the United States from time to time, but has never been recorded in Arizona.  I took off for Mormon Lake shortly after I heard the news.  It was about a 2½ hour drive from Mesa and it took me awhile to locate the bird on this vast lake.  As I was trying to get a bit closer for better photos, it took flight and disappeared over a ridge.  I was able to snap a few photos before it flew and also as it was in-flight.  Wish I could have gotten better photos, but getting a lifer is much more important.  What a great bird to add to my life list.

Common Crane

My current life list now sits at 689 species and currently there is a big trip in the planning stages that should easily push me over the 700 mark and then some.  Looking forward to some great birds in the near future.  

A Prelude to Awesomeness

With a meeting planned at Slate Creek Divide with a couple more birders, I headed out early on April 28, 2016, to do a little birding on the way.  I first visited Sycamore Creek and then Bushnell Tank which are both located on Hwy 87, also known as the Beeline Highway.  The actual visit to Slate Creek Divide will be covered in the second post and it was an Awesome visit!

My first stop was Sycamore Creek and as soon as I parked my vehicle, a Bell's Vireo was so noisy and making sure I did not ignore it.  I have the feeling that it might have been feeding young in a nest somewhere close, however, I was not able to locate a nest. But it was actively hunting insects and was carrying one morsel around as it moved from bush to bush.

 Bell's Vireo with prey

Spring time is always a great time to enjoy the birds because many of them are migrating through Arizona.  Some have already arrived and have nested, such as the Bell's Vireo above.  But many more are still arriving.  Different species most generally have a their own migration schedule, so the viewing is an ever changing phenomenon.  

Black-headed Grosbeaks just started arriving a couple of weeks ago and are becoming more abundant. 

Black-headed Grosbeaks

Bullock's Orioles arrived a week or two before the grosbeaks, so they are probably already setting up breeding territories, as least for those that will be staying in Arizona.

Bullock's Oriole

Lucy's Warblers arrived about a month ago and many are already feeding babies about now.

Lucy's Warbler

The Zone-tailed Hawks were found at Bushnell Tank which is about 2 miles from a known nesting pair reside, so there is a good chance this is a second nesting pair, however I failed to find a nest.

 Zone-tailed Hawk

And being the nature lover that I am and intrigued by many different creatures, including butterflies, I take photos of them when offered a chance.  

 Dainty Sulphur Butterfly

 Variegated Fritillary Butterfly

Water bugs of some sort on top of the water at a small pool.

After visiting these 2 spots, I then headed up the rough and rocky road to the Mt Pelee Trailhead on Slate Creek Divide where I was planning on camping that night with a couple of others and we will going to do some nocturnal birding.  Stay tuned for part 2 of this 2 part post.

Boyce Thompson Arboretum

Finally, the heat has arrived in the Phoenix metro area with temps finally reaching the low triple digits.  Birding takes on a new persona when this time of year rolls around, usually resulting in trips to higher elevations.  I decided to take on a simple trip this past Saturday with a visit to Boyce Thompson Arboretum.  I had not been there for some time and I did not want to travel far.  I have a major trip planned in July of this year and in preparation for that trip, I am sticking close to home on the weekends for the time being. 

 

When I visit BTA, I usually like to get there a bit early to check out the Picketpost trailhead about a mile west of the BTA entrance.  When I first started visiting the trailhead location, I usually was blessed to see Pyrrhuloxia, but after the nearby fire a few years ago, I have not been able to find them again at this location.  Once again, I dipped on this species, but then I only spent about 45 minutes there and did not cover much area.  I think a longer visit and covering more habitat might result in better chances in the future.  Even though I only spent about 45 minutes there, I really enjoyed the stay.  Included with the 15 species I found was singing Lucy's Warblers and Bell's Vireos.  Even discovered a recently fledged Bell's Vireo being fed by one of its parents. 

 

 Bell's Vireo

 

Bell's Vireo - Fledgling

 

And of course there were plenty of the debonair Black-throated Sparrows singing and serenading me with their songs.

 

 Black-throated Sparrow

 

 

For a very brief moment an odd-plumaged Summer Tanager paid a very short visit.  Not necessarily odd except for the time of the year.  Normally, I would expect to see a male in this first year plumage very early in the spring.  It flew in and gave me a good enough look but by the time I lifted the camera it was looking the other way and promptly departed the scene.

 

Summer Tanager

 

From here I headed to Boyce Thompson Arboretum.  This place is really a special place and anyone living in the east valley of the Phoenix metro area should visit this place several times a year.  For me it is only about a 45 minute drive and the road is excellent.  A pair of Bronzed Cowbirds greeted me at the entrance; not a bird that I get to photograph very often.

 

Bronzed Cowbird 

 

This is one place that a person can always find Yellow-breasted Chats in the summer.  Not always easy to see and photograph, but there is no way a person can miss their very vocal calls. 

 

 Yellow-breasted Chat

 

 

Probably one of the most pleasant surprises was the Scott's Oriole.  I do not recall seeing one at this location in the past, but that is very irrelevant as these are some stunning birds and being able to get photos of one is also a nice thing to have happen. 

 

 Scott's Oriole

 

 

A couple regulars were very obliging for photos.  While the Gambel's Quail is a very common bird in many habitats, most generally they are quite skittish and usually take off at the sight of a human, this male held its ground and posed quite nicely for me. 

 

 Gambel's Quail

 

 

The local Black Phoebe was kind enough to pose as well.  The odd thing about this one was that it was not hanging around Ayers Lake, but instead was gleaning insects on the edge of the eucalyptus grove.

 

 Black Phoebe

 

 

Other photos of interest but not necessarily avian related are included below.  I am glad I made the decision to visit this spot once again.  Might not have had any rarities on this visit, but this location definitely has had its share of rarities in the past and you never know when another one will stop by to visit.  This place is a great place to visit for the combination of birds, reptiles, butterflies, and the huge collection and variety of plants.

 

 An Agave flower stalk

 

 Picketpost Mountain

 

 Another angle of Picketpost Mountain

 

 Pomegranate blossom

 

  Queen Butterfly

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conquering a Nemesis Bird

This past weekend, I traveled south to the Tucson area and teamed up with fellow blogger/birder Chris Rohrer to do some birding in southeast Arizona.  Chris spent a lot of time and research on hot spots to hit with only about a day and a half to work with.  He did his homework very well as I came home with 8 new life birds as we explored the proper places and habitat to find some wonderful birds.  We spent most of the day on Saturday racking up the bird species, but I am once again going to post our Sunday adventure first as it turned out to be quite awesome.  

The Elegant Trogon is a bird that neither of us had the fortune of viewing before.  Both of us, and I think Chris more than I, has spent time trying to locate this bird.  It is a much sought after bird for birders who want to add it to their United States list.  It is a colorful tropical bird who's range reaches the extreme southern part of Arizona where breeding does occur in the U.S.  It is not an easy bird to find as it usually is found in higher elevations during breeding season which requires some hiking into higher elevations.  Some of these birds do winter in Arizona at lower elevations, but most migrate south into Mexico.  

The Carrie Nation Trail in Madera Canyon is well known for its nesting trogons and the nest is usually monitored and most serious birders know where and how to find it.  That was our game plan as we hit the trail early and started uphill to the nesting sight.  We had probably only traveled about ½ mile, far short of the nesting site, when Chris heard one calling somewhere near to us on the opposite side of the canyon.  So we decided to stop a bit off to the side of the trail and listen for it to see if we could pinpoint where it might be.  As we waited, it seemed to very slowly get closer to us as we waited quietly and patiently.  Then I spotted it by its bright red belly flying in and landing on a tree not far from us.  What a moment of inspiration for both of us as we relished the viewing, its calling and allowing us to capture some photos.  There was also a great bit of satisfaction for both us knowing that had actually found one without the assistance of others or staking out its nest cavity. As we were enjoying it another birder by the name of Nancy was coming down the trail after spending a long time near the nesting site without finding one, so she also had the privilege of joining in on the viewing.  Finally both Chris and I were able to add this bird to our life lists and the rest of the morning was like walking on clouds!  So without further ado, hear are my photos of the Elegant Trogon.

 Elegant Trogon

Elegant Trogon

The trogon was our main objective, but in the process of hiking up the trail to the trogon, I also added another new life bird to my list, the Swainson's Thrush. Very similar to the Hermit Thrush of which I have seen many, but enough subtle differences to be able to ID them with good looks in the field and also by its song.  

 Swainson's Thrush

Swainson's Thrush

From there we headed back down the canyon and made a stop at the Santa Rita Lodge, which is a great place to stay if anyone wants to plan a trip to Madera Canyon and spend a night or two.  They have a great set up of feeders out front with wonderful relaxed viewing in the shade.  While there I managed to capture a few photos of some beautiful birds.  There were lots of Black-headed Grosbeaks and they were easy to view and there was a lone Blue Grosbeak that wanted to feed in a feeder in the deep shade behind one of the cabins.  For one brief moment it flew up to a fence in the sun and I managed to get 1 photo.  Also captured photos of a Mexican Jay and a Pine Siskin.

 Black-headed Grosbeak

 Blue Grosbeak

 Mexican Jay

Pine Siskin

From there we headed even lower in elevation to the Proctor Trail.  On this trail we found many birds and the photos I have below are just a small sampling.  They include a Canyon Towhee, a Bell's Vireo, and a Varied Bunting that did not want to show off its beautiful colors in the sunlight.  

 Bell's Vireo

 Canyon Towhee

Varied Bunting

So much for the bird photos, but other photos of interest include a Clark's Spiny Lizard showing off its blue belly and throat, an Ornate Tree Lizard, a Gray Squirrel, and a Carpenter Bee on a white flower.

Clark's Spiny Lizard

Ornate Tree Lizard

 Gray Squirrel

Carpenter Bee

What a grand and wonderful ½ day of birding with Chris!