Changes of Fall

September is the start of mellowing temperatures in Arizona.  Yes, it can still be very hot, especially during the day, but the as the nights start becoming longer, the nighttime temperatures, start to drop which create for some glorious mornings for birding.  September is also a great month to find migrants as they filter through the state on their south-bound journey. 

When one thinks about migrants, it is warblers that most generally come to mind.  We have several species that migrate through the state of Arizona.  Some of them actually spend their winters in Arizona, so we get the pleasure of seeing and hearing them all winter. 

Hermit Wabler - This bird is strictly a migrant in spring and fall and most generally are found in higher elevations during migration, but occasionally they can be found in some desert habitats such as this one that I found in South Mountain Park in a dry desert wash.

Nashville Warbler - Fairly common in migration and can possibly be seen in all types of habitats.

 Orange-crowned Warbler - This is one of the species that will over-winter in many spots in Arizona.

 Orange-crowned Warbler - Note the tidbit that it has found as it forages.

Chestnut-sided Warbler - This is a fairly rare bird as its range is normally the eastern part of the United States.  However, there are a few reports every year in the fall/winter in Arizona.  I found this one at the Gilbert Riparian Preserve in October, but it did not stay the winter.

'Audubon's' Yellow-rumped Warbler - This is our most common warbler in the winter in Arizona.  It is the first warbler that I was able to identify by its chip note. They are very abundant just about everywhere in the state in the winter.

Warbling Vireo - This leads us to a different group of birds, the vireos.  This is a fairly common bird, but not always accommodating for photos.  I was happy to get this one to pose for me for a brief moment.

House Wren - This species is an elevation migrant.  The House Wren does breed in the higher elevations of the state in the summer, but they tend to disperse to lower elevations in winter. 

Burrowing Owl - In the winter we have more Burrowing Owls than summer.  We do have our year-round residents that breed in the state, but we also get a lot more in winter when those that breed in the northern part of the United States and Canada migrate south and spend their winters with us in Arizona.

Pied-billed Grebe - This is a species that pretty much leaves for the summer, and are seen much more in winter.  However, we do have a pair or two that spends their summers at Pagago Park in Phoenix, such as this one.  Note that they love feeding on crayfish.

  

 American Bittern - Not a real common bird in Arizona, but then they tend to be a bit secretive and are not always easy to detect so there might be a few more than what are being reported.  This one spent some time at the Gilbert Riparian Preserve.

Least Bittern - Another species that tend to be pretty secretive, but luckily this bird has been breeding at the Gilbert Riparian Preserve and if you time your visit just right, there is a good chance you can see one.

  Great Blue Heron - Not a migrant and a species that can be found throughout the United States at various times of the year.

Reddish Egret - This is an interesting photo of 3 species of egrets and offers a really cool comparison of the three all together in the same frame.  In the back is the smaller Snowy Egret, in the front is the much larger Great Egret, and in the middle (the non-white egret), is the Reddish Egret, which is a species that is a bit rare for Arizona.  Every winter, we seem to get a few in the state and they are probably first year birds that disperse northward from their regular range along the west coast of Mexico.

Verdin - This little bird is very common is the right habitats and one that can be quite noisy so one can detect their presence by their calls.  It is a very small bird at only 4½ inches and they tend not to perch very long for photos.

 Bald Eagle - Probably one of the most recognized birds in the United States since it is our national emblem.  We do have breeding pairs of Bald Eagles nesting along the Salt River and at other spots in Arizona.  So when one of these majestic birds offers great views and a chance to take photos, of course I take advantage.

   Bald Eagle

Vermilion Flycatcher - One of my favorite birds that I cannot resist taking a photo when they perch and present themselves to me.  Some of these birds do migrate south, but there are usually a few that will spend their winters in certain parts of Arizona.

Rosy-faced Lovebird - Yes, this bird in the only non-native bird that I included in this blog post.  This bird is originally from Namibia, Africa, and is a very popular cage bird in the pet industry and they are quite easy to raise in captivity.  This species found the desert climate in the Phoenix area to be quite a bit similar to their natural climate in Africa.  These birds have escaped from pet owners and also from pet stores releasing them when going out of business and they have thrived in the Phoenix suburban areas, with a current population of over 6,000 in the Phoenix metro area.  They seem to be holding their own and so far, there does not seem to be any competition with the native birds in the food or nesting locations. However, with all non-native species, it is possible for that speculation to change.  They have a foothold here and are ABA countable in the state of Arizona, for those that are wanting to add birds to their life lists.

This last photo was taken in a captive enclosure, but it is a bird that used to reside in southern Arizona.  This is a 'Masked' Bobwhite, which is a sub-species of the more widely known Northern Bobwhite in other parts of the United States.  It has pretty much been extirpated from Arizona and is only found in a small area further south in the state of Sonora, Mexico.  However, there is a captive breeding program in Arizona for this species  and they are trying to attempt to reintroduce them to the desert habitat where they formerly resided in Arizona.  So far, the success has had mixed results.  Would like to see this bird make a comeback in this state.  Note that this pair has a chick with them.  This was photographed at the Sonoran Desert Museum just outside of Tucson.

  

Birding in Arizona is always a lot of fun.  Yes, there are times when I see the same birds that I always see, but I learn from each one of those encounters.  I am currently trying to catch up on some blog posts that I have procrastinated about doing for far too long.  With a couple of upcoming trips on the horizon, I know that I will not get completely caught up, but am going to try for one or two more posts before I head off on my next adventure.  Both of these trips in 2019 are within in the United States and at the present I do not have any international trips planned.  Stayed tuned for more updates and thank you for taking a look at my blog.   

New Directions

Since finishing my 'Maricopa Big Year' in December, I have thought long and hard about the direction I was heading to continue my birding adventures.  I have definitely decided, no more big years for me.  It feels too much like a job and since I am now retired, a job is not what I want to begin again.  I want to enjoy the birds and revel in the beauty and behavior and learn more about them.  Along with that process, I have also started to admire and extend my interest into many more aspects of nature.  So expect to see a more diverse listing of other critters on this blog in the future.    One thing I have come to realize is the fact that many birding adventures are not the most physical and are lacking in exercise.  Granted, there are some chases that do require some good physical exertion such as a couple of trips to Slate Creek Divide last year.  But many hunts are more vehicle driving and then leisurely walking to easy spots.  

The past few weeks, I have been pushing myself to get some good physical exercise and much of it has been done on some hiking trails in South Mountain Park.  First and foremost, it is for the health aspect for me, but secondly, it will allow me to take trips out of state to chase some birds that cannot be found in Arizona.  Currently have a couple of upcoming trips on my slate.  Local birding has been fun and I would like to share some of the fun I have had enjoying local birds in the past few weeks.  Also know that long winded posts most times go unread, so I try to keep them short and add lots of photos.  After all, its the photos that most people enjoy seeing.  

A trip to Lost Dutchman State Park got me a nice Bendire's Thrasher and a Northern Mockingbird. 

 Bendire's Thrasher

 Northern Mockingbird feeding on Mistletoe berries

A visit to the Gilbert Water Ranch is always a great way to capture some great photos and is never a disappointment.

 Black-crowned Night Heron

Cinnamon Teal showing some of its colorful wings

 A very cooperative Green Heron

 Least Bittern

An elegant Northern Pintail drake

A handsome drake Redhead taken during the Greater Phoenix Waterbird Count.

Redhead

A trip out west to the White Tank Mountains Regional Park, was quite enjoyable.  Had never visited the place before and was taken in by its beauty and nature.  Besides having a lot of Canyon Towhees in the park, I came across something I never expected in a desert canyon; a snail!  I have always associated snails to be found in wet damp areas or water, but this one was found on a trail at an elevation of 2200' and no running water or pools of water anywhere close by.  Temperature was around 50° F.  It had rained about week prior to my visit and some areas of the trail were damp.  I was so intrigued that I posted this find on iNaturalist.org and also tried to do a little research on my own.  I discovered that there are an estimated 200 species of land snails in Arizona and most of them are fairly unknown and researched due to their limited ranges and hiding until enough rain or moisture brings them out from under rocks.  This one does not have a common name, but its scientific name is eremarionta rowelli.  Probably only found in the White Tank Mountains west of Phoenix.  

 eremarionta rowelli

Canyon Towhee

From the White Tank Mountains, I headed south to some ag fields near Buckeye where a Trumpeter Swan had been reported.  This was definitely not a common bird for Maricopa County, so it was nice to find it and add it to my county list.  

 Trumpter Swan

Cattle Egret

And a stop at the White-tailed Kite location not far from the ag fields and I was able to find the pari in one tree.

White-tailed Kites

One last stop that day took me to the Glendale Recharge Ponds to see if the Long-tailed Duck was still there.  It was and this time I was there by myself and it really let its personality shine for me.

 Long-tailed Duck

There were a few other stops during this time as well.  I also visited Pima Canyon Wash several times in the past few weeks and have had some really great experiences with some of the local birds.  Have enough to do a separate blog post to cover those instances.  So you can look forward to another post in the near future.  

Texas: The Final Day

Wednesday April 30th was my last day for birding in Texas and I still had a couple of target birds I wanted to find, I did a little extra driving and headed east from Winnie to the small town of Anahuac.  Someone had suggested that Swallow-tailed Kites had frequented the area from time to time.  Well not this time, so I once again struck out on this bird and came home without this bird added to my list.  But while I was there and driving the streets, I did happen to find a pair of Purple Martins on a nest box built for them.  Not a bird that I see that often and although I prefer photos without man-made objects in them, I was happy to find them and add them to my Texas list.

Pair of Purple Martins with a neighboring House Sparrow

The rest of the day was spent by revisiting some of the places I had already been and first on the list was Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge.  It is one of those places that deserve a second visit and I have no regrets on the return visit as this time other birds showed themselves well and another critter was seen multiple times as well.  Fulvous and Black-bellied Whistling Ducks and Mottled Ducks are common in this location and I was able to find all 3 species with the Fulvous Whistling Duck and the Mottled Duck being a couple of life birds for me.  

 Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

 Fulvous Whistling Duck

Fulvous Whistling Duck

To many the Mottled Duck probably looks a lot like a female Mallard.  However, 2 key identification marks are the black spot at the gape of the bill and the absence of white feathers in the tail.

Mottled Duck

This day just happened to be the day of the Least Bittern.  I visually saw 4 of these elusive and secretive birds on this day and captured photos of 3 of them.

 Least Bittern - female

 Least Bittern - male

Least Bittern - female

An American Bittern was seen in the grass which is a bit uncharacteristic of this elusive bird.  Not sure if it thought it was invisible or not, but then once I got out of the car to snap photos it did not stick around very long and took flight in the opposite direction.

American Bittern

One of the biggest reasons to return to this place was because a rare bird had been reported here.  The Ruff is a Eurasian species that has a habit of showing up in the United States from time to time and this time one of them chose Texas and since I was in the neighborhood, I kind of thought it might be best to try and add it to my life bird list.  Surprisingly, when I arrived at the location that others had seen it, no one else was there and I was wondering if I would be able to pick it out.  Definitely was not a problem as it stood out from the rest of the 'peeps' in the shallow water.  Also had a couple of Stilt Sandpipers and a gorgeous female Wilson's Phalarope in the same pond.

 Ruff

 Ruff

 Stilt Sandpiper

Wilson's Phalarope - female

So many birds were present, some of them even common to Arizona.  Here are a few more photos of wading/water birds.

Green Heron

 Great Egret - note the bright green facial pattern, breeding plumage

Purple Galinule

On the way out, the Dickcissels were singing on both sides of the road and one male was quite content to let me capture a couple of photos even while a couple of Northern Bobwhite were calling nearby.

Dickcissel

And of course another photo of my non-nemesis bird, the Common Nighthawk.  Just had to have my daily dose of this bird, but I am definitely not complaining!

Common Nighthawk

And just to prove that birds were not my only interest, I happened upon one of the area's most notable reptiles, the Alligator.  I actually found 3 of them on this day in this location and 3 more in another location later that afternoon.  I liked this pose the best.  

Alligator

Once again I will have to complete one more blog post after this one to finish out my trip.  I ventured back to High Island to finish my final day and got some photos of one of my key target birds.