Sunflower, AZ - 16 Mar 2013

After leaving Mt Ord, we wanted to stop and check out Sunflower, AZ which is not much more than a dot on the map, but yearly the Common Black Hawk has been nesting here along with Zone-tailed Hawks which nest a bit further up the stream.  First bird we saw soaring high above was a Zone-tailed Hawk, so that answered the question about whether or not this species had returned.  We had read a report the day before from one of the residents of Sunflower that mentioned that one of the Common Black Hawks had returned.  They also mentioned that the 2nd bird normally arrived a few days to a week later.  As we walked down the road we quickly found the one that had returned, perched in a tree, unfortunately on the back side of the tree not giving us the best photo ops.  Soon it started calling and we looked up in the sky and found a 2nd one circling and riding the thermals.  We thought maybe the mate had returned, but as they called back and forth to each other and the 2nd bird never came in for a landing and eventually kept going north, we decided that maybe this might have been 2 males and the one the trees was defending its claimed territory.  We will never know for sure, but it was quite wonderful to observe.

 Common Black Hawk

 Common Black Hawk

Common Black Hawk

While we were watching this spectacle, we also noticed a pair of Red-tailed Hawks riding the thermals above us in the sky.  I had never witnessed 2 of them flying so close to each other and after looking at my photos at home, I noticed that one of them had it legs and talons extended while in flight.  This is not a normal soaring behavior, so I decided to read up on the their breeding and courtship behavior and it seems the male of this species will often do this in courtship display.  Learn something new every day!  (Obviously it is not hard to see where this bird got its name!)

 Red-tailed Hawk

 Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

Since we found our 2 target birds, we did not spend much more time there, so photos were concentrated on the hawks. We did discover an unusual and rare bird along the road.  A very skittish Eastern Phoebe was found and would not let us approach it very closely to get good photos.  It is not unheard of in Arizona, but this state is usually not where most of them migrate to.  Every year, maybe about a dozen or so show up in the state in the winter months.  So when they are found, it is highly recommended to try and get documentation.  While my photo leaves a lot to be desired, it is still good enough for a positive ID as it was also dipping its tail in the classical phoebe style.

Eastern Phoebe

And last but not least, a nice male Phainopepla made himself look very attractive in the afternoon sun.

Phainopepla

What a way to finish off the day with these 3 incredible and beautiful hawks and an Eastern Phoebe as well.

  

Agua Fria National Monument, 22 Sept 2012

On Saturday, 22 September 2012, I joined the forces with another 14 members of the AZFO (Arizona Field Ornithologists) group to conduct a birding summary of the Agua Fria National Monument just a short distance north of Phoenix but in Yavapai County.  This is a place that does not get much attention from birders and we wanted to document what the bird diversity might be in this location.  There were 15 of us that showed up to partake in this adventure and we were led by Troy Corman.  We split up into 3 groups of 5 each and birded different areas.  The group as a whole did manage to find close to 70 species of birds altogether.  This area is a bit more difficult to bird.  One can get by with a smaller vehicle to the Horseshoe Ranch area, but beyond that a 4 wheel drive vehicle with a higher clearance is definitely recommended.  As this was more of an exploration excursion than a personal birding excursion, taking photos was not the most pressing issue.  However, we needed people with cameras to document anything unusual.  And my group did find an unusual bird and glad I was there to capture a couple of photos.  We came across an Eastern Phoebe.  This is a bird of Eastern United States and the Great Plains area and breeds as far north as the Northwest Territory in Canada.  As they migrate south for the winter, usually one or two show up in Arizona and are considered a rarity for AZ.  Along with this Phoebe, our groups also found Black Phoebes and Say's Phoebes to give us a 3 Phoebe day.

 Eastern Phoebe

 

 Eastern Phoebe

 

Eastern Phoebe with morsel

 

 Eastern Phoebe

 

Queen Butterflies were in abundance and of course I could not resist taking a shot of one while it was feasting on the nectar of the blossoms.

 Queen Butterfly

 

The river valley was full of Summer Tanagers and they won't be around much longer either.  I had never seen so many bright red males is such a small area before.  As is the case most often than not with this species, this bird is a bit camera shy and generally are tough to photograph.  This time I only had one female that gave me an ample shot.

 Summer Tanager-Female

 

The last photo is one of a Desert Grasslands Whiptail Lizard and to my knowledge the first one of this species that I have seen.  Unfortunately, I did not get the privilege of seeing the complete lizard.  It appears that a predator had tried to make this one its lunch earlier in the day and ended up with probably a small piece of a wriggling tail.  This is a defense mechanism for these lizards, as their tails will regenerate in time.  Many predators end up with a bit of tail only and not the whole lizard.

Desert Grasslands Whiptail Lizard

 



While this was my first venture into this wilderness area, I do plan on returning in the future.  I do think there is a lot of potential for sighting new birds and next time maybe I can try for a few more photos.  One has to get out and walk through the bush to find the wildlife; very few trails exist.  so it is also a great place to get in some good exercise.