Black Canyon City, Arizona

Probably not considered much of a birding spot in the past and just a community to pass through on I-17 between Phoenix and Flagstaff (except for the pies!), but that is probably going to change in the near future due to an AZFO Field Expedition to the riparian area in this area, this past weekend.  I had the pleasure of taking part of this field expedition which was to focus on the reports of a breeding population of Broad-billed Hummingbirds.  There have been reports of a fairly stable population of these birds at this location for 5 years or longer.  The focus of the expedition was to try and document if this is a breeding population with substantial numbers.  Some of the residents have had this bird come to their feeders year-round and if this is a true breeding population then, this will be the northern most known breeding range for this species.

So early on Saturday morning, I met up with Nick Vendehei in Mesa, then we travelled to northern Phoenix where we picked up Jason Morgan and continued on our way to Black Canyon City where we met the rest of the team of about 12 individuals.  One of the local residents then led us to the riparian area on the west side of town and showed us where the access point was located.  It did not take long for us to be amazed at this riparian area of cottonwoods and willows with the Agua Fria River with running water and pools of water.  We divided up into teams, with one team heading north and our team heading south.  Since there really are no well marked trails, much of our progress was a bit of bushwhacking through the brush and trees.  Our finally tally came up to about 50 species of birds in just the southern section only, including Broad-billed Hummingbirds.  We observed and recorded males in the riparian area, but no females, but we also surmised that it is possible that females might be nesting at this time of year.

 Broad-billed Hummingbird - Male

Broad-billed Hummingbird - Male

 

More photos of these stunning hummers will follow later in the post.  We also had Anna's Hummingbirds and discovered a nest with a single pinkish colored egg.  They usually lay two, so I am sure she is now incubating her eggs in her nest.  One of the photos has one of our party off to the left of the photo which helps to put the size of the nest into perspective.

 

Anna's Hummingbird Nest

Anna's Hummingbird Nest - Close up

 

We also had other birds that were also fun to see and observe such as a Phainopepla that had his territory staked out.  But if he thought he was going to blend in with the catkins on the tree, he was obviously very mistaken. 

 

 Phainopepla - Male

Phainopepla - Male

 

This area was flourishing with Northern Cardinals, and at least one of them gave me a short photo opportunity.  We had this birding singing constantly from the beginning to the end of the hike.

 

Northern Cardinal - Male

 

A Red-tailed Hawk also was found along the dry west side desert slopes,  peering down into the lush river valley. 

 

Red-tailed Hawk

 

After both groups met up, we then ventured to the back yard of one of the residents where he has a few bird feeders set up.  And boy did he have the hummers visiting along with a few others as well.  Four species of hummingbirds; Anna's, Black-chinned, Costa's, and our target species the Broad-billed Hummingbird.  With 12 people in the back yard, the birds were a bit more cautious so I had to settle on some photos of them visiting the feeders.  Always like to get photos in a more natural setting, but sometimes this will do.  Several Broad-billed males were seen and at least twice we also had females show up at the feeders which makes for a bit better of a confirmation that this species is breeding in this area.  Since we did not find any active nests, we don't have proof positive, but you can bet that the general consensus is they are breeders in this area. 

 

 Broad-billed Hummingbird - Female on the right
Black-chinned Hummingbird - Female blurred on the left

Broad-billed Hummingbird - Female, note red underside of bill

 Broad-billed Hummingbird - Male

 Broad-billed Hummingbird - Male, What a stunning bird!!!

Broad-billed Hummingbird - Male

 

 Black-chinned Hummingbird - Female

Black-chinned Hummingbird - Female

 

A male Hooded Oriole also came in to probably get a sip of sugar water, but I think it might have been a bit intimidated by the number of people as it did not stay long after it noticed the crowds near the feeders.

 

 Hooded Oriole - Male

Hooded Oriole - Male

 

One last place we visited before we headed back to the city was some high desert terrain.  Compared to the huge numbers of birds we had in the lush riparian area, this was sparse as far as numbers of birds.  But we did discover a nest of a Curve-billed Thrasher which contained 3 lovely blue speckled eggs.  We snapped a couple of photos and then got out of the area to leave it alone.

 

Curve-billed Thrasher Nest

 

Definitely a spot that needs more exploration and several of us already know we will be returning to check it out.  Not the easiest place to find access to, but now that I know, I will return sometime and hope to show a few others how to gain access to the lush riparian riverbed. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Birding with Caleb

On February 7th, I had the good fortune to spend a day birding with Caleb Strand.  This young man is an extraordinary birder for his age and birding with him is really something special.  He has keen ears and eyes and has many chip notes memorized.  Only makes me regret that I did not pursue this hobby much younger in life when I had the chance.  We met in central Phoenix and we had left the day open without a concrete destination in mind.  Two days before, he went birding with good friend and excellent birder, Tommy DeBardeleben, and picked up two new life birds.  So the pressure was on to see if I could help him add another bird or two for the week.  I knew that I could find at least one new bird, that was pretty easy, but we headed east instead to the Salt River area, and specifically Coon Bluff.  Tommy and Caleb had dipped on this bird, (although, not for the lack of trying), on Thursday.  Might have been the time of the day though, as they searched in mid afternoon when the birds are less active.  I had found this bird myself a week before, but in the morning hours. 

 

We arrived around sunrise and decided to check out the river area first to allow the sparrows in the mesquite Bosque to warm up and wake up.  In the process we got to see a lot of cool but common birds such as the Vermilion Flycatcher, Gila Woodpecker, and Phainopepla.  Coon Bluff is the Phainopepla capital of Maricopa County. This is probably the best spot in Maricopa County to find this bird.  Sometimes they even photobomb other photos such as one of the Gila Woodpecker shots.

 

 Vermilion Flycatcher

 

 Gila Woopecker - Photobombed by a Phainopepla

 

 Gila Woodpecker

 

Phainopepla - Male

 

Finally after the sun had risen and the temps started warming up, we headed to the land of the mesquites to look for the target bird, the Harris's Sparrow.  We knew it was hanging out with a small flock of White-crowned Sparrows, so we concentrated on finding them first.  While doing so, a few flocks of Cedar Waxwings flew in and this is just one cool and sleek looking bird and they just beg for a camera to be pointed at them. 

 

Cedar Wawwings

 

We spent a lot of time looking for the sparrow and sifted through about 3 small flocks of them, even checked the other side of the road to see if it moved over there, but alas, we were not having much luck.  Finally went back to the original area and we split up to cover more ground and I heard Caleb shout that he had it.  I hastily joined him and we followed it as it kept moving further away from us and did not want to pose for photos.  Both of us finally got photos, and Caleb was just fascinated to watch this handsome looking sparrow.  SUCCESS!  Caleb had found his first new life bird of the day.

 

  Harris's Sparrow

 

  We then headed back west and our next stop was at the Arizona State University campus in Tempe to try and locate a Chestnut-sided Warbler that someone had a discovered in a lone cottonwood tree a few days prior.  It is not a new bird for either of us, but one that is not that common in Arizona, so they are always a pleasure to see.  Within 2 minutes, Caleb had already found it in the cottonwood.  Typical of most warblers, they do not sit still and pose for photos, so any photo is better than none and I never expect too much.  However, I think I lucked out on one of my shots on this day and caught this cutie with part of its chestnut colored side showing.

 

Chestnut-sided Warbler

 

Our next target was the Eurasian Wigeon located at Dos Lagos Park in Glendale.  This is the bird that I figured should be pretty easy to find for Caleb and it was.  This bird has been reported here for the last couple of years and can be found in the flock of American Wigeons that spend their winters in Arizona.  Did not take long to find the wigeons and all the other waterbirds in the pond because on the opposite side, some of the local people were feeding the ducks.  I quickly found the Eurasian in the water and pointed it out to Caleb.  so we headed around to the opposite side of the pond and we both got photos.  Caleb just informed me today that this was his 300th bird species that he has photographed. 

 

Eurasian Wigeon

 

Decided to take a photo of the feet of an American Coot while they were there since they were fairly tame and used to humans.  These feet are just fascinating to look at.

 

 

Our last stop was the Rio Salado, just south of downtown Phoenix right off Central Avenue.  No, we did not discover anything rare at this location, but I did manage a photo of an Orange-crowned Warbler. 

 

Orange-crowned Warbler

 

As we headed back to the car, Caleb followed the river bed area while I went up on the path on the bank above the river.  It was there that I met up with a pair of Greater Roadrunners that were in courtship display.  Most people are surprised to find out that these birds are members of the cuckoo family.  They can be quite entertaining to watch and these 2 did not disappoint. 

 

 Pair of Greater Roadrunners - Running, imagine that!

 



 Caleb - Photobombed by Roadrunner (the blur in the front)

 

Greater Roadrunner - Caleb, blurred in the background

 Greater Roadrunner

 

  Greater Roadrunner

 

We covered a lot of miles that day, but in the end it was all worth it as we had a great time and found and observed some incredible birds.  Caleb is a phenomenal birder and is a joy to have around on birding field trips.  Thank you Caleb for a great day!

 

 



Birding With Jim - Day 2

On Monday we decided to head up to the Seven Springs Recreation Area which is a totally different habitat than where we did our birding on Sunday. This spot is located north and east of the Phoenix metro area and is at a higher elevation.  It consists of a stream of running water surrounded by low desert mountains. Temperature at this location is much colder and often has ice in many places in the winter. On the road up to Seven Springs right about sunrise, we found a couple of Harris's Hawks in a tree by Blue Wash.  Nothing that is normally newsworthy.  However, remember this small bit of information, as the day is not yet over.

 

Within a few minutes of stopping we already had 2 new life birds for Jim; Bridled Titmouse and a Mountain Chickadee.  And about 15 minutes after that we got bird number 3, a Sage Thrasher.  As it turns out, they were fairly common in this location.  They can be found at the Thrasher Spot where we had visited the day before, but I think this location is a bit better for finding them consistently. 

 

Sage Thrasher

 

Another bird that I was hoping to find for Jim was the Mountain Bluebird.  This is a good spot for them in the winter and we were finding a lot of Western Bluebirds and no Mountain Bluebirds.  Must have had a little luck as we headed back towards the car, a pair of Mountain Bluebirds appeared in the tree above us.  Success and one more new life bird for Jim.

 

 Mountain Bluebird

 

Mountain Bluebird

 

From here, we decided to head for the various spots along the Salt River. On our way back towards Scottsdale, and while Jim was checking out his smart phone and the notices, I made a fairly sudden stop and pulled off the road and told him to look in the tree a bit behind us and on his side of the road.  We had a family of 5 more Harris's Hawks.  At least this time I was able to get a photo of one of them before they all took flight to the west.  That brought our tally of Harris's Hawks up to 7 for the day.  I have never seen that many in one day before, so this was quite exciting.  (No, it is not over yet.  You will have to keep reading!)

 

Harris's Hawk

 

After lunch in Scottsdale and a brief visit to Fountain Lake, we then set out for the north end of Bush Highway to explore the Salt River from the north.  Once we turned off the Beeline Highway and started south on the Bush Highway towards Saguaro Lake and Butcher Jones Beach and as we were driving through desert scrub populated by many Saguaro Cactus and just before the turn off to Butcher Jones Beach, we found another 2 more Harris's Hawks perched on a Saguaro Cactus off the road a ways.  That brings our total of Harris's Hawks up to 9 for the day!!!  Incredible?  Yes, but nope, still not done; read on.

 

At Butcher Jones Beach, and as we were studying the various ducks one of the resident Ring-billed Gulls made a few passes over the water and it is always fun to try capturing photos of them in-flight.

 

 Ring-billed Gull

 

 Ring-billed Gull

 

Ring-billed Gull

 

We then headed back to the picnic area as I had another bird in mind that I wanted to find as I knew it would probably be another new bird for Jim, but I had not mentioned it yet.  Jim spied one first and knew immediately that it was a flycatcher, but since it belongs to a family of flycatchers that can be hard to identify, the species, might be difficult.  I quickly pointed out to him to notice a behavior of this bird as it perched; it was frequently dipping its tail downward like a phoebe.  This is a great thing to know for this group of flycatchers as the Gray Flycatcher has this behavior.  Some birds can be vary difficult to identify by what they look like alone and knowing behavior and calls can often make that ID a bit easier.  One of my photos shows a morsel (insect) that it had just captured from near the ground.

 

 Gray Flycatcher

 

Gray Flycatcher

 

A Black-tailed Gnatcatcher also made an appearance in the area and I almost never pass up a chance to photograph these busy little birds.  They can be so curious and will allow fairly close viewing even though they are very busy and do not sit still very long.

 

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher

 

From here we headed south on Bush Highway once more with the next destination being Coon Bluff.  Guess what?  Right on the highway we found an electrical pole with 2 crossbars and lo and behold, 2 more Harris's Hawks!  What an incredible day with 11 Harris's Hawks in various locations.  (OK, for those readers that have been following along just for the Harris's Hawk saga, you can now leave if you wish as that is the end of them for this day!  But, if you leave now, you are going to miss the most colorful bird of the day.) 

 

The stop at Coon Bluff was not as productive as I had hoped it would be with Phainopepla and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers being the easiest to photograph.  Was hoping for something else, but it was not found at Coon Bluff on this day.

 

 Ladder-backed Woodpecker - Female

 

Phainopepla - Female

 

Phainopepla - Male

 

The final stop was at Granite Reef and finally we found a bird that Jim was wanting to see in Arizona, the Vermilion Flycatcher.  His only other sighting of one, was a vagrant rare one on the east coast of the US.  So it was high time to finally see one where they belong.

 

Vermilion Flycatcher

 

In the two days that we spent birding in Maricopa County, I believe I was able to help Jim add 12 new life birds to his list.  He continued bird for the rest of the week while I had to return to work and he added a few more on his own.  It as a lot of fun spending these two days birding, and want to thank Jim for the good times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tucson CBC

Sunday morning came very early for the 3 of us and our coverage of the Winterhaven area for the Tucson CBC.  Chris and I met Jan at a Trader Joe's in our coverage area before the sun came up and the first birds we heard were White-crowned Sparrows.  Have to remember that the goal was to count birds and find as many species as we could find in one day in this mapped out area.  We then headed to the Winterhaven residential area first as we wanted to arrive before the crowds converged on this district to admire the many decorated yards with their Christmas lights and displays.  The first bird that we actually saw right after we stepped out of the vehicle was a Great Horned Owl!  Finding this bird was a great start to the day!  

 

One of the target birds was the Bronzed Cowbird which is a summer resident in southern Arizona, but in winter they can be a bit difficult to locate as most have migrated south for the winter, but a few stay the winter in the Tucson area.  Thanks to some great scouting by Chris and Jan two days before, they knew exactly where to find them.  And we found more than 40 of them; a great bird to add to the count. Of course a few other birds got in the way of my camera along the way, including a Gila Woodpecker and a male Phainopepla.

 

Bronzed Cowbirds



Bronzed Cowbird - Male



Gila Woodpecker



Phainopepla



 

At the University of Arizona Ag farm, we had the pleasure of observing and listening to a male Costa's Humingbird as he was putting on a display for the local female.  And a Verdin got into the act of fluffing out to dry on an branch after an early morning bath. 

 

Costa's Hummingbird - Female



 Verdin

 

  We also had the fortune of locating three Cactus Wrens in a residential neighborhood that was close to a racquet club and a dry stream bed.  The stream bed was a hot spot for many raptors, including Cooper's Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks, and a very 'high-in-the-sky' Prairie Falcon.  (Horrible photo of the Prairie Falcon, but the photo does help to identify this falcon.)  The Red-tailed Hawk was for a while sitting on top of a very tall electrical pole, but then it joined a second one soaring the thermals for an elaborate display.

 Cactus Wren

Cooper's Hawk

Prairie Falcon

Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawks

Red-tailed Hawks

 Red-tailed Hawks

 

Our last bird of the day was a Red-naped Sapsucker that we found in a tree in the corner of a schoolyard.  By observing the many holes in the limbs of this tree, one can tell it has been used by this bird or other like it for some time.

 

Red-naped Sapsucker

 

I want to thank Chris and Jan for making this a very enjoyable day of birding on my first ever Tucson CBC.