Tres Rios Wetlands - 1 Jan 2013 (Part 2)

To continue on with my latest foray into Tres Rios Wetlands (permit required), this part will be void of raptors.  You are going to see more sparrows than anything, but a couple barnyard birds as well.  Will start off this post with a photo of a Least Sandpiper.  A very common 'peep' and since it is so common in Arizona in the winter, many people do not pay much attention to this little shorebird.  But when a bird (any bird) presents itself for a photo, I usually do not turn them down.  This photo is a bit unique in the fact you can actually see its feet and toes.  Most generally that part of the anatomy of this bird is buried in mud!

Least Sandpiper

Next we will move on to a warbler.  Like almost all warblers, the Orange-crowned Warbler is a very busy bird and does not sit still for any length of time, plus the fact they like to hunt for food in heavy vegetation so taking photos is always a bit of a challenge.  In one of the photos, it is like trying to solve one of the 'Where's Waldo' puzzles.  The colors really blend in with the leaves.

 Orange-crowned Warbler

 Orange-crowned Warbler

Next we will move on to the sparrows from this trip.  This is a great place for various sparrow species and I was able to photograph 3 of them on this trip; Lincoln's Sparrow, Song Sparrow, and of course the scarce Swamp Sparrow which is not a common bird in AZ.

 Lincoln's Sparrow

 Song Sparrow

Swamp Sparrow

A Ladderback Woodpecker also made an appearance.

Ladderback Woodpecker

Now on to the barnyard birds.  One of the areas along Tres Rios also borders some farm ground and some land owners back yards and corrals.  Never seen these before, but found they had a small flock of Peafowl and some Guineas.  The Peacocks color was just so brilliant I had to shoot some photos, but could not leave out the Peahens either.

 Peacock

 Peahen

Guinea Fowl

Tres Rios Overflow Wetlands - 1 Jan 2013 (Part 1)

It appears that I have been doing too much birding and not keeping up with blog posts.  Such is the case with this post that took place on January 1st at Tres Rios Overflow Wetlands (permit required).  Ran into my good friends, Keith and Lindsey when I was on my way back to the starting point.  I wanted to start off the new year with something a bit different and was hoping to find the Red-shouldered Hawk that has been residing there this winter.  I did get to see it and was quite pleased, but it took to the sky before I had a chance to get my camera up and focused, so alas, no photos.  But I had plenty of other birds and a mammal that made my camera shooting worthwhile.  Have a lot of photos so will be doing this in 2 parts.  

The Red-shouldered Hawk was not so cooperative, but I had a couple of Red-tailed Hawks step up and make themselves available to the lens.  One was a juvenile that really made my day that was perched in a beautiful yellow leafed Cottonwood tree.  Made for quite a colorful photo.

 Red-tailed Hawk-Juvenile

Red-tailed Hawk-Juvenile

Red-tailed Hawk-Juvenile

Red-tailed Hawk-Juvenile

Also had one adult give me a nice fly-by which shows off the red tail that gives this hawk its name.

 Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

In sticking with the theme of predators in this post, I found both Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks, with the latter one giving me the photo opportunities.  These 2 hawks are very similar in appearance and can be easily confused; one has to look at the fine details to get the right identification.  

Sharp-shinned Hawk

The Black Vulture is usually not considered as a raptor by any means, but as I was walking I found a 'kettle' of Black Vultures flying high in the sky.  (Yes, a group of flying vultures is called a 'kettle'.)  

Black Vultures

One more bird of prey that I found on the outer perimeter of the Tres Rios area was a Burrowing Owl.  To avoid disturbing it, I did a slow drive by and shot this photo from the driver's seat of my car.  It is amazing how far they can turn their heads around!  

Burrowing Owl

The last predator photo happens to be a Coyote.  I was standing near the spillway area when it trotted in on the trail from the west.  It was more surprised to see me standing there than I was.  But once it saw me, it did not stick around very long.

Coyote

Look for part 2 probably sometime this weekend.

Dudleyville CBC - 5 January 2013

This year I took part in a 4th CBC (Christmas Bird Count) and this was a new area for me.  It was centered near the small town of Dudleyville  AZ.  A very good friend of mine, Muriel and I were asked to fill in for another couple that had prior commitments this year and we both jumped at the chance to check out this new area.  (By the way, Muriel has taught me more about photography than any other person, so a lot of my photo knowledge is a credit to her.)  Probably the biggest highlight for both of us was the sighting of a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.  This is a fairly rare bird to be found in Arizona and can be difficult to find and also to identify.  The Red-naped Sapsucker is much more common in Arizona and is very similar in appearance.  One has to check them out very closely to make sure one is got the correct ID.  The great part about this one was the fact that both of us were able to capture photos that documents the correct ID.  Note the red throat patch and how it is completely framed by a black border.  This is a key identification mark for this bird.  On the Red-naped Sapsucker this black border is broken and has a small area where the red touches the white.

 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Another specialty bird that we found was a Rufous-winged Sparrow.  This bird is usually only seen in the United States in Arizona and this location is most likely its most northern range.  Note the 2 black whisker marks which is one of the key identification marks this bird has.

 Rufous-winged Sparrow

Rufous-winged Sparrow

While birding the Central Arizona College Campus, we were treated by a male Vermilion Flycatcher that was not showing much fear with us being around as it was actively foraging for insects in the grass.  Although  it is not a crisp clean shot, one of my photos captured it launching an attack mode on a hapless unsuspecting insect in the grass below.

 Vermilion Flycatcher

 Vermilion Flycatcher

Vermilion Flycatcher

A couple of other birds that allowed decent photos were a Cactus Wren and a Rock Wren.  The Cactus Wren clearly shows why it was so aptly named.  How they avoid being stuck by spines is amazing.  And the Rock Wren was a bit contrary to its name, opting to land on a dirt path instead of bouncing around in the rocks.

 Cactus Wren

Cactus Wren

Rock Wren

Both of us were so glad we went and look forward to joining in next year as well. 

Carefree, AZ, CBC - 2 January 2013

On Wednesday, January 2, I took part in the Carefree CBC (Christmas Bird Count).  This was the 2nd year in for me on this count and we found some unique birds.  This took place in the Quien Saba area just west of the Seven Springs Recreation Area.  Great lower mountain habitat with Cave Creek running through it.  All of the birding was done on foot and we covered some good distances on hiking trails. 

Probably the best bird we found that day was a Gray Flycatcher, which belongs to a family of birds that are usually very difficult to identify, the Empidonax Flycatchers.  The Gray Flycatcher has a trait that makes it one of the easiest to identify; it has a habit of dipping its tail downward, similar to a phoebe.  This one was showing a nice light yellowish color to its undersides which is only evident in the fall and winter.  By summer time, the yellowish cast is gone. Also note the pale lower bill almost all the way to the tip which is indicative of this species as well.

Gray Flycatcher

When we first arrived at our parking area we were greeted by the unmistakable song of a Canyon Wren.  And after our first hike into the hills, when we returned to the parking area, we found this bird and it was really bold and making itself quite noticeable on a brush pile.  In my humble opinion, this is probably the most attractive wrens in the United States.

 Canyon Wren

Canyon Wren

During one of our mountain trail hikes, we discovered a Sage Thrasher.  This one presented itself very nicely for us and gave us plenty of time to observe it while it warmed in the sun.

Sage Thrasher

One more unique bird that we can observe in Arizona, especially in the winter months, is the Townsend's Solitaire.  This bird is a rather drab gray in coloration, but has a very pronounced eye-ring that helps to identify it as it perches high above.

 Townsend's Solitaire

Superior CBC - 26 Dec 2012

On Wednesday, 26 Dec, I took part in the Superior CBC (Christmas Bird Count) and was assigned to area 4 which included the Oak Flats Campground.  Thanks to our great team leader, Cynthia, along with Grant, Tyler, Ellen and Vic, we had a great day.  Since the focus of this excursion was about 'counting' birds, I spent much less time photographing birds.  (Also to add to that, I had a minor malfunction with my photography gear, teleconverter was out of commission, which really hindered the photography portion during this all day event.) 

 

Probably the funnest and cutest bird that day was a Bridled Titmouse.  These little birds make their appearance in the United States in Arizona and New Mexico.  And like many very small birds, they are very active in gleaning insects from the foliage of trees.  Had one spend some time in the sun for me and allowed me to capture some photos of it in various poses. 

 

 Bridled Titmouse

 

 Bridled Titmouse

 Bridled Titmouse

 

Bridled Titmouse

 

Another unique bird that is not as common as the Curve-billed Thrasher is the Crissal Thrasher, another bird of the American Southwest.  It has a long, slender curved bill that almost appears like a lethal weapon.  This bird is known for its rich chestnut colored undertail patch, which is unlike other thrashers.  Most thrashers are great singers and this one was not an exception, singing from the top of a small shrub.

 

 Crissal Thrasher

 

Crissal Thrasher

 

Other birds found at Oak Flats CG, were the Canyon Towhee, Northern Cardinal, and Dark-eyed Juncos.

 

 Canyon Towhee

 

 Northern Cardinal-male

 

Dark-eyed Junco

 

Late in the afternoon, we all met at Boyce Thompson Arboretum for a wrap-up of our counts.  I also used the bit of free time to capture a couple other photos.  Had to capture an equally beautiful female Northern Cardinal as well since I already had the male from earlier in the day.  After having counted endless numbers of White-crowned Sparrows, I figured a photo or two of them might be nice.  And I found the lingering White-winged Dove at BTA that must have decided to spend its winter a bit further north than usual. 

 

 

 Northern Cardinal-female

 

 White-crowned Sparrow-juvenile

 

 White-crowned Sparrow-adult

 

White-winged Dove 

Continental Golf Course - 23 Dec 2012

Decided to visit a new site today and that was a pond on the Continental Golf Course in Scottsdale, AZ.  A Ross's Goose had been reported there and although it is not a new life bird for me, they are rather scare in Arizona and it would be something new to see instead of all the desert birds.  The goose was easy to find as it was foraging on grass with a large flock of American Wigeons.  All I had to do was park in the parking lot on the north side and walk across the street.  But while checking it out and inventorying all the other birds on the pond, I also noticed that the end of the parking lot where my car was parked, a few small birds were flitting about, so I went to check that out and discovered a small stream of water running along the side with a few trees on the side and rocks in the water and a bonanza of birds coming and going.  Many were getting their morning drink of water, but many were bathing as well and a few ducks were also in the midst where some of the water was pooling.  All the photos in this post were taken by standing in one spot near this stream, except for the photo of the Ross's Goose at the end of the blog. 

 

The most colorful birds to visit were some Rosy-faced Lovebirds.  I heard them before I saw them with their noisy chatter.  This species is one of the newest species accepted by the ABA (American Birding Association) as an established bird in the state of Arizona.  For those birders that keep track of lists, it is another one they can add to their list.  In the first photo with 3 birds, bird on the far right is a juvenile; notice the brown bill and less intense facial coloring.

 

Rosy-faced Lovebirds



Rosy-faced Lovebirds



 Rosy-faced Lovebird

 

A beautiful male Gadwall was foraging in a small pool of water and right behind it in the stream, there were visits by House Finches, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and Red-winged Blackbirds.

 

Gadwall



Gadwall



House Finch



Yellow-rumped Warbler



 Red-winged Blackbird

 

Across the stream 3 Mourning Doves were attempting to blend in with the rocks and stones and a Curve-billed Thrasher was probing around for morsels of food.  And a Killdeer was not the least upset by the golf balls in the water.

 

 Mourning Doves

 

 Curve-billed Thrasher

 

 Killdeer

 

Killdeer

 

The post would not be complete without a photo of the objective of my trip, the Ross's Goose.  The bird did not seem too skittish, but the American Wigeons were and when they would scatter, the goose would make its way to the water, but not nearly as fast as the wigeons.

 

Ross's Goose

 

When I first found this spot, I did not expect to find much other than the goose, but was quite surprised by the show that many of the other birds put on for me in front of my camera and all I had to do was stand there and swivel from one side to another to take photos.  Birding hot spots can happen just about any place.  A lot of times it has to do with being in the right place at the right time.  Thanks to Walter Thurber for reporting the goose and to Jon Mann for validating it was still around.