The Merry Month of May

May brings even warmer temperatures and more migrants.  But it also signals that summer is soon to arrive with its blistering triple digit temperatures in Arizona.  One has to take advantage of the nice weather whilst one can!  And these blog posts need to continue as it won't be long and I will be embarking on a new adventure outside of the Unites States.  More details will be provided at the end of this post.  

One of my trips in May involved a journey into northern Arizona and an oasis in the desert east of Flagstaff.  This jewel of a birding spot, Meteor Crater RV Park, was new to me, but I had heard of it in the past as it seemed to bring in some really special migrants every year.  This spring was no exception, as an Ovenbird made its appearance, and an invite from Barb Meding to join her on quest to see if we could locate this bird.  Ovenbird is not a life bird for me as it is fairly common in eastern US, but I had never been able to add it to my Arizona state list.  What a great place to bird and the hosts are very welcoming to birders.  Go inside and ask to go birding and they point you to the doors in the back and into the great little oasis they have created.

 Ovenbird

A Bendire's Thrasher was also a bit of a surprise at this location.  I was not aware that their breeding range extended that far north. 

Bendire's Thrasher

On the way home, we spent a short time looking for the Gray Catbird that had been reported in the Flagstaff area.

Gray Catbird

In addition to this trip up north, I also made a couple of 3 day trips.  The first trip was to Rancho El Aribabi in Sonora, Mexico, to assist in leading the Tucson Audubon Society's field trip to this magical place.  The location is only about 35 miles south of the US/Mexico border and many of the bird species are common with Arizona, but a couple of species are a bit more prevalent and easier to see and hear, namely, the Sinaloa Wren.  Was able to get a photo and also made a video on my cell phone just to capture its rich melodic song.  Not much to see on the attached video, but you can hear it clearly.

Sinaloa Wren

Click on this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2uuGb7mOJg

Video and audio file of a Sinaloa Wren.

Other birds and arthropods are shown below.

 American Rubyspot

 Broad-billed Hummingbird

Painted Damsel - Beautiful and a first for me!

 Bullock's Oriole-Hate feeder shots, but sometimes you have to take advantage.

 Olive-sided Flycatcher

Sonoran Spotted Whiptail

The second trip in May, was a trip to Greenlee County, Arizona, that I led for the Maricopa Audubon Society.  We spent 3 days exploring some of the birding spots in Greenlee County, which is the most under-birded county in Arizona, mostly due to its location along the far eastern border with New Mexico.  

 Cedar Waxwing

 Olive Warbler

Vermilion Flycatcher - Female

This is the third year in a row that a Yellow-throated Vireo has returned to the same location in Arizona in Yavapai County.  It really does not belong here in the summer, as their normal range in the eastern half of the US.  Of course I had to chase it to add it to my Arizona list.

Yellow-throated Vireo - Rare for Arizona

The rest of my exploration time in May focused on local places, including my 'patch' area (South Mountain Park), where I go hiking to get some exercise and see what all kinds of natural flora and fauna I can find.  

 Black-tailed Gnatcatcher

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher

 Adult Verdin with fledgling

 Loggerhead Shrike fledgling

White-winged Dove

Cordilleran Flycatcher

 Coyote

Antelope Ground Squirrel

Black-tailed Jackrabbit

 Springwater Dancer

Zela Metalmark

The month of May was a very busy, but a very rewarding month for getting out and exploring what nature has to offer in Arizona and Sonora.  

In July, I will be traveling to yet another international destination.  Obviously the focus of my destinations are centered around our wonderful avian friends in this world.  Ernie Welch and I decided on a trip to Ecuador this summer.  Ecuador is a country that is situated on the Equator and in size is about the size of the state of Nevada.  But it ranks high in bird species density; over 1600 species has been reported in this beautiful country.  Currently, my free time is spent in preparation for this exciting trip.  I hope to add a lot of new life birds to my list.    

   

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.

Slate Creek Divide

On May 17th, birding buddy from Tucson, Chris Rohrer, and I decided we needed someplace new to explore that was within a decent distance.  We had not been birding together for some time and we were due for an 'epic' excursion.  I suggested Slate Creek Divide in the northeast part of Maricopa County.  I had only been there once before about 3 years prior and the road leading there was definitely not suited for a low suspension auto.  Thanks to Tommy DeBerdeleben, I would never have visited this place as I would not have know it even existed or what to find or how to get there.  So once again, I was ready to explore and Chris was equally ready to check it out.  Exploring new and under birded spots can be very rewarding.  This place is not for the meek, especially if one decides to do some bushwhacking as it is very remote (no cell phone coverage) and some areas are steep, rocky and treacherous with the possibility of rattlesnakes.  What Chris and I discovered is that we need to plan a new trip back to this spot and be a bit better prepared for proper exploration.

The road is narrow and with numerous turns and switchbacks, but all along the way we found birds including a Black-headed Grosbeak and a Gray Vireo, which just happened to be a new life bird for Chris.  This has been the year of the Gray Vireo for me as I have now seen them in 5 different locations this year.  The silver lining to this is the fact that I now have a better understanding of their habitat and especially what to listen for when they are singing.

Black-headed Grosbeak

Gray Vireo

We also had the most expected warbler in this area, the Black-throated Gray Warbler; this would be prime breeding habitat and territory for them.  Bullock's Orioles and Olive-sided Flycatchers were also seen.  All of these birds almost had this remote area to themselves as we did not encounter anyone else until we started our trek back down where we met 4 different ATV's that were looking for a mine.  Had no idea where to tell them to look, so they continued on and we continued our slow exit.

Black-throated Gray Warbler

Bullock's Oriole

Olive-sided Flycatcher

At one point we found a Zone-tailed Hawk riding the thermals and screaming at us, so it is probable they had a nest somewhere nearby.

Zone-tailed Hawk

Other critters we found include an Arizona Sister Butterfly and a couple of Desert Grasslands Whiptail Lizards where one was feasting on a nice plump insect.

Arizona Sister Butterfly

Desert Grasslands Whiptail

Desert Grasslands Whiptail - with prey

What was abundantly clear was that it was definitely wildflower season in these higher elevations as we found several species of  wildflowers.

What a trip this was with incredible views and scenery and some great birds and wildlife as well.  This place is definitely on my must visit list again.