White Mountains of Arizona

After my return to Arizona, I had the privilege to escort a birding friend from New York to the White Mountain area of eastern Arizona.  A trip to this area in the middle of summer is always welcomed.  It is a great place to escape the unbearable heat of central Arizona and also a fantastic place to see some really cool birds that cannot be found in the lower elevations amidst all the heat.

Ernie Welsh and I met on the same trip to Chiapas, Mexico, last July.  Those kind of trips are awesome in the fact that one meets other birders from other parts of the country and it is nice to know these people as they can assist in finding birds in their own turf if one should ever decide to visit.  Ernie is an accomplished birder and was approaching the mystical number of 800 on his life bird list.  So the pressure was on for me to help him hit that magical number.  Our route to the Greer area took us through the communities of Pinetop/Lakeside where I knew we could most likely find a Lewis's Woodpecker, which was one of Ernie's target birds.  Just driving on the main highway through town, Ernie quickly spied a Lewis's Woodpecker.  We got amazing views of it, even though we were parked on a busy street.  We then headed to Woodland Lake Park, where I figured we would get much better views and they did not disappoint us.  A rather unusual colored bird, especially for a woodpecker, but one this is highly sought for many birders. 

 Lewis's Woodpecker

Pygmy Nuthatches seemed to not be concerned with us as well.  They were bold and brazen while feeding just a few feet from us in some low bushes.

 Pygmy Nuthatch

In Greer we were treated to a Red-naped Sapsucker that also seemed unconcerned about us and was busy tapping away on these saplings along the Little Colorado River.

Red-naped Sapsucker

Gosh I love Golden-crowned Kinglets!  They are such a nice treat to see especially having seen many of their counterparts, the Ruby-crowned Kinglets in the winter.

 Golden-crowned Kinglet

Bridge over the Salt River between Globe and Show Low.

After checking out both the East and West Forks of the Little Colorado River in Greer, and srriking out, we finally made it to Sheep's Crossing at the Old Baldy Trailhead in the search for an American Dipper.  Congratulations go out to Ernie when he spied one flying down the river and in the process, we also discovered they had a nest under the bridge.  They were making forays to the river to find food for the babies in the nest.  This bird was number 800 for Ernie on his life list and I was happy to be with him to celebrate the occasion.  Even went so far to write it on the rear window of my vehicle for documentation purposes!

 American Dipper

American Dipper nest and babies.

And here is the traveling billboard!

When we got to South Fork, just west of Eager, we found a bit of a surprise.  As we were walking the road we found a couple small birds flitting around in trees overhead.  Once I got my binoculars on them, I realized that they were American Redstart juveniles!  (This can be determined by the small patches of dark feathers in the chest area.)  Normally this is a bird that I see in Arizona in migration and casually in winter.  All the range maps of this species indicate it breeds much further east.  The general western limit of its breeding range only extends to the far eastern part of Texas and the eastern part of the United States.  To see juveniles in Arizona at this time of year indicates they were hatched in AZ.  After returning home and consulting the Arizona Breeding Atlas, it appears there has been a history of this species breeding in this area in Arizona irregularly since 1936.  But has been some time since any evidence had been discovered,  It is experiences like this that goes to show how the study of birds is an ongoing and fact finding of research.  Every little bit of data collected and notated, is immensely helpful to the trends of avian knowledge.  

   

 American Redstart

One other bird that caught my attention was this Brown-headed Cowbird with food in its beak.  Normally not much to ponder with most species as it would appear it is fetching food for some nestlings.  However, since this species is a brood parasite and it lays it eggs in the nests of other species for the unsuspecting other species to raise, it should not have a nest of babies to feed.  Quite puzzling to me, but I am sure there is a logical explanation for this.

 Brown-headed Cowbird

Another life bird for Ernie was this pair of Clark's Nutcrackers.  

 Clark's Nutcrackers

This Townsend's Solitaire was also a welcome sight at the river where it took a bath.

 Townsend's Solitaire

This was a much needed short break to an area of the state that I dearly love.  And to see all the diversity of these different birds is always exciting.  I think I assisted Ernie in getting about 6 or 7 life birds on this trip.  

Rosseau Sod Farms

On Sunday, January 25, birding buddy, Chris Rohrer, drove up from Tucson and we ventured out to the Rosseau Sod Farms north of Mesa and east of Scottsdale.  This is place that I had not been to in a long time.  There have been some really special birds spotted there in the past and now that I have a scope, I felt it might be worthwhile to check out the fields.  While we did not find anything rare, we most definitely found some good birds and really had a great time.  I even explored more roads than I ever did in the past.

 

As the sun was rising, we started scanning the sod fields and although we tried, we could not come up with anything rare, but we had hundreds of American Pipits, and they alone entertained us as we watched them foraging in the grass.  A flock would fly up into the air and then land a few yards away from where they took off.  Maybe the grass is greener on the other side of the irrigation pipes.  Some even ventured out onto the roads and along the sides of the roads. 

 

 American Pipit

 

American Pipit

 

As we drove the roads, we found canals and small ponds of water and one Common Merganser female allowed for a photo on the water and then when it took flight (they tend to be very skittish), if flew over us instead of away from us giving me my first attempt at capturing one of these birds in flight. 

 

 Common Merganser

 

Common Merganser

 

Some Mallards appeared to be playing a game of hide 'n seek in the tall green grass.  Almost a bit comical to see them stretch their heads up above the grass to take a peek at us.

 

 

Probably the coolest bird we saw in such an unusual habitat was an adult Bald Eagle perched on a dead tree in some desert habitat.  One photo which shows the habitat and then a close up photo that shows this bird in its majestic beauty.

 

 Bald Eagle

 

Bald Eagle

 

Next we ventured to the lower Salt River and stopped at Butcher Jones Beach on Saguaro Lake, a place Chris had not yet been to and we got to see many of the regular birds to be found there.  The Gray Flycatcher has been a resident in this location since before Christmas and at one of my visits I found two of them here.  Great place to get decent photos of this tail pumping bird 'empid'.  A Red-naped Sapsucker was also present and is definitely the most expected species in this area in the winter.  But one always has to check them out closely to rule out a much rarer species, the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.  No luck on the YBSA on this day, but RNSA is always a good bird to find and watch.

 

 Gray Flycatcher

 

Red-naped Sapsucker

 

One last stop on the way home was a small pond along a golf course in a residential neighborhood where the locals apparently enjoy feeding the ducks.  And these ducks are spoiled and are easy to photograph.  I already photographed a couple Redhead males a few post ago in January, so this time I focused on the lady Redheads, and they obliged.  (Yes, I am guilty as charged, had to get another photo of a drake as well! I am a sucker for that irresistible red head!)

 

 Redhead - Female

 

 Redhead - Female

 

Redhead - Male

 

It was a great day of birding once again with another avid birder.  Chris is almost obsessed with birding and he might even agree with that description.

 

 

 

 

 



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.

 

  

 

 

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.