Maricopa County Has Awesome Birds!

Southeast Arizona most generally gets all the attention for the best birding in Arizona and rightfully so.  After all, that area is located near to the border with Mexico, and it is expected that some of these Mexican specialties wander north over the border and into Arizona.  But at the other end of the spectrum, Maricopa County which is further north, has its share of some pretty awesome birds. It does get its share of northward wandering Mexican birds as well, just not as regular as southeastern Arizona.  The county also gets some pretty amazing northern and eastern migrants that can whet the appetite of many birders.

Recently, I was invited to join Barb Meding and Jeanne Burns to head a little ways north of town of Carefree and look for Grasshopper Sparrows which had recently been reported by a team of birders participating in a CBC (Christmas Bird Count). We had decided to make a day of it and explore various other locations in the vicinity as well.   First was the search for Grasshopper Sparrow in the desert grasslands and we found them (at least 4).  This is a bird that is not too commonly found in Maricopa County, and we had to endure looking at a lot of White-crowned Sparrows to find these rather cool and interesting sparrows.

 Grasshopper Sparrow

Grasshopper Sparrow - backside

2 Grasshopper Sparrows

Rufous-crowned Sparrows and a Sage Thrasher also rounded out this area along the recently paved road.

 Rufous-crowned Sparrow

Sage Thrasher

Next stop was the Seven Springs Campground area.  We arrived to find a wedding had been scheduled for the campground, so we did not have a lot of time to explore, but we were able to find Cassin's Finches feeding on the many Juniper berries.  

 Cassin's Finch - Male, munching on juniper berries

Cassin's Finch - Female, also feeding on juniper berries

Our final stop on the way back to civilization was Lower Camp Creek.  We had seen reports of a Louisiana Waterthrush and a Golden-crowned Kinglet from that location, so those were our target birds.  The kinglet was actually quite easy to hear and it showed itself well.  It is rare for this species in these lower elevations, but this year seems to be a bit of an irruption year for it.  It can be notoriously hard to get photos of this bird, and this one offered me the best views ever for this species.  

 Golden-crowned Kinglet

Took a bit longer to locate the Louisiana Waterthrush.  We could hear it giving its single note 'chick' call, but getting on it was a bit tough.  And it got tougher as I happened to spy a Pacific Wren down near the water, which had not been reported and it too, is a hard bird to find in Arizona due to their secretive habits.  It is always fun to find an uncommon bird to add to the list for others to locate. 

 Pacific WrenWren

After getting over the distraction of finding the Pacific Wren, we were able to finally get some views of the Louisiana Waterthrush. They can often be confused with the Northern Waterthrush, but one of the key identifications is the white supercillium, or eye-brow.  These photos show how wide it is all the way back behind the eye towards the nape of the neck.  Northern Waterthrush has a similar marking, but it tapers to a very thin line in the rear.  This is a species I had only had seen very well once before.  This sighting is great as it provides a learning experience for me. 

 Lousiana Waterthrush

 A couple more birds we saw at this location was a Hutton's Vireo and another Sage Thrasher.  Both species are always great to see.  

 Hutton's Vireo

Another Sage Thrasher

What a great day of birding with a couple of really good friends, so I was in good company.  Finding the Pacific Wren was really great so we could add to the list of uncommon birds at this location.  Several other birders have chased the Pacific Wren since our report and found it, so you know it is a desirable bird.  Maricopa County really has some great birding of its own and birders need to take note that not all special birds are found in southeastern Arizona.

  

  

Snow Birding in Arizona

The weekend before Christmas, I teamed up with Chris Rohrer, Babs Buck, and Magill Weber to chase an Arizona rarity up above the Mogollon Rim in Navajo County of Arizona.  A Carolina Wren had been making an appearance at a feeder in Overgaard, AZ.  This was only the 4th confirmed sighting of this species in Arizona, so it is a pretty special bird.  We knew it was going to be cold in the higher elevations and we planned accordingly.  There was plenty of snow on the ground as the winter weather so far in Arizona has been a little on the wet side, especially in the high country where quite a bit of snow has already fallen and the ski resorts are in full operation.

We arrived at the location and spotted the yard and feeder and managed to get a short, quick look at it briefly and then it took flight and did not return during our stay. During the time we were waiting and hoping for its return, we took advantage of the many other birds around in this snowy winter wonderland.  Steller's Jays were raiding the feeders while a flock of over 100 Pinyon Jays were moving though the trees behind us just beyond a fence that blocked any closer access to them.  

 Steller's Jay

 Pinyon Jays

 Pinyon Jay

Of course Dark-eyed Juncos were just about everywhere.  This is a bird that consists of several sub-species with variable coloration and markings.  On this day, we were quit fortunate to see at least 5 of the sub-species; Oregon, Gray-headed, Pink-sided, Red-backed, and Slate-colored.  We did not see them all in the same place, but at various locations and it is fun to note the differences in them.  Below are photos of the Red-backed and the Slate-colored.

 'Red-backed' Dark-eyed Junco

 'Slate-colored' Dark-eyed Junco

On the return trip we decided to visit the Tonto Creek Fish Hatchery which is always a great place to visit and this trip did not disappoint us in any way because one of the very first birds we spotted when we pulled into the parking area was an American Dipper!  This is quite a unique bird and it has found a niche in the wonderful world of nature.  They feed on aquatic invertebrates by walking and swimming under water in cold mountain streams.  They are most entertaining and it was hard not spend the entire rest of the day with them.  They have to be one of my top ten most favorite birds.  

 American Dipper

While we were enjoying the American Dippers and the show they were putting on for us, we had a pair of majestic adult Bald Eagles acting as sentinels watching over us in the tree above our heads.  

Bald Eagles

As we were leaving this area and about a ½ mile down the road, we found another Bald Eagle.  This one was a third year immature.  Bald Eagles take 4 years to reach their full adult plumage, so it is always exciting to see a youngster such as this one surviving in the wild.  

 Bald Eagle - Immature

Another fascinating bird is the Brown Creeper and one of them paid us a visit as well.  This bird, with its curved needle-like bill, will usually fly to the base of a tree and work its way upward in the spiral, probing for insects and larva in and under the bark of a tree.  Then it will fly to the base of a neighboring tree and do the same thing.  Always tough to photograph as they do not sit still and their brown coloration sometimes blends in with the bark of a tree to make it hard to zoom in with a good focus.

 Brown Creeper

One other bird that we encountered at this magical place was a Pacific Wren.  They do not like to come out and show themselves very much, so photos were not too great.  However, this bird was quite a milestone for Chris as it was his 700th life bird, which is a big milestone and it is a great bird to claim for number 700.  A big congratulations to Chris on his achievement!

 Pacific Wren

The 700 Club!

One last stop on the way home was Green Valley Park in Payson.  We added several waterfowl species to our daily tally, including a couple of Great Scaup.  They can be difficult to ID when Lesser Scaup are so much more common in Arizona.  But there was no doubt on these females that we saw, with the smoothly rounded head and the bill with a wide black nail at its tip.  

Greater Scaup

A couple of male Hooded Mergansers were also present and I was able to capture an adequate photo of one of them with its prized catch.

Hooded Merganser

It was a one day trip that was filled with a lot of special birds with great company along for the ride!

The Diversity of Maricopa County - Part 2

On Sunday of this past weekend, I teamed up with Jason Morgan and we headed to the Seven Springs Recreation area north of Cave Creek, AZ.  This place is a totally different habitat than where I spent Saturday and it involved a couple of miles of hiking.  And the morning started out as a very cold morning where one could see their breath.  It was one of those days where the sun would appear and then disappear creating some warmth then coolness.  Plus the fact that we also spent most of our time in the washes of canyons and some shade, reminded us to bring a jacket where ever we went.

 

We were welcomed at Seven Springs Rec Area by a huge number of Cedar Waxwings that were hanging out in the trees with large numbers of American Robins and Mountain and Western Bluebirds.  A couple of Sage Thrashers were also found as well as a Red-naped Sapsucker, which I believe was a new bird for Jason.  Typical for most sapsuckers, this one was well in the shade of a tree and photos were a bit scare. Most of the other birds were a bit of distance away and did not allow for photos except for one lone Cedar Waxwing.

 

 Cedar Waxwing

 

Red-naped Sapsucker

 

Spotted Towhees were fairly common as their calls gave them away.  Usually a skulker and hiding in the undercover, at least one of them made an appearance for at least one photo.

 

Spotted Towhee

 

As we followed the trail along Cave Creek we watched for the sign that designated the crossing to the south which used to be marked by cairns placed in the streambed to assist people as where to cross.  The summer monsoons had washed away all those cairns and someone was kind enough to tie some pink ribbons on the trees in the streambed to mark where to go.  Shortly after we crossed the first small stream of running water, I heard a double 'chimp' call. And  mentioned to Jason that there might be a Winter or Pacific Wren nearby.  I have not had a lot of experience with either one of these birds having only seen one of each in the past.  The Winter Wren from my past was the one that wintered at the Gilbert Riparian Water Preserve three years ago and after some patience it showed itself and I was able to obtain photos.  My only previous experience with a Pacific Wren was one at the Rio Salado in Phoenix two years ago and that one was so secretive that I only got about 3 glimpses of it dashing about deep in the brush and no photos.  Well this time, this one was not so timid and once it showed itself, I knew it was a Pacific Wren because of its rich brown color.  Both species have very short stubby tails.  This little 4" bird was truly the find of the day.

 

 Pacific Wren

 

 Pacific Wren

 

Pacific Wren

 

Once we finished up in the Seven Springs area, we headed to Rackensack Canyon on the way back, which really turned out to be a bust.  It was very quiet with very little bird activity and almost no singing.  We did happen to find an Empidonax Flycatcher, which belongs to a family of hard-to-identify birds.  The most common species at this time of year would normally be the Gray Flycatcher and they are usually one of the easiest to identify due to their behavior of dipping their tail downward like a phoebe.  Well this one was not doing that and based on the fairly small bill, I initially thought this was a Hammond's Flycatcher.  But after looking at my photos once I got home, I started leaning toward's a Dusky Flycatcher due to the short primary projections.  Hammond's has longer primary projections.  Both Hammond's and Dusky would both be considered rare at this time of the year, however, both have been reported in that vicinity this month, so it is not out of the realm of possibilities that this is one of them. 

 

 Hammond's/Dusky Flycatcher

 

Hammond's/Dusky Flycatcher

 

Jason and I both came away with some great birds, maybe not much in the way of photos except for my first photos of a Pacific Wren.  By the time we left Rackensack Canyon, a few rain showers had started which was a sign to maybe call it a day to keep from getting our gear wet.