Boyce Thompson Arboretum

Finally, the heat has arrived in the Phoenix metro area with temps finally reaching the low triple digits.  Birding takes on a new persona when this time of year rolls around, usually resulting in trips to higher elevations.  I decided to take on a simple trip this past Saturday with a visit to Boyce Thompson Arboretum.  I had not been there for some time and I did not want to travel far.  I have a major trip planned in July of this year and in preparation for that trip, I am sticking close to home on the weekends for the time being. 

 

When I visit BTA, I usually like to get there a bit early to check out the Picketpost trailhead about a mile west of the BTA entrance.  When I first started visiting the trailhead location, I usually was blessed to see Pyrrhuloxia, but after the nearby fire a few years ago, I have not been able to find them again at this location.  Once again, I dipped on this species, but then I only spent about 45 minutes there and did not cover much area.  I think a longer visit and covering more habitat might result in better chances in the future.  Even though I only spent about 45 minutes there, I really enjoyed the stay.  Included with the 15 species I found was singing Lucy's Warblers and Bell's Vireos.  Even discovered a recently fledged Bell's Vireo being fed by one of its parents. 

 

 Bell's Vireo

 

Bell's Vireo - Fledgling

 

And of course there were plenty of the debonair Black-throated Sparrows singing and serenading me with their songs.

 

 Black-throated Sparrow

 

 

For a very brief moment an odd-plumaged Summer Tanager paid a very short visit.  Not necessarily odd except for the time of the year.  Normally, I would expect to see a male in this first year plumage very early in the spring.  It flew in and gave me a good enough look but by the time I lifted the camera it was looking the other way and promptly departed the scene.

 

Summer Tanager

 

From here I headed to Boyce Thompson Arboretum.  This place is really a special place and anyone living in the east valley of the Phoenix metro area should visit this place several times a year.  For me it is only about a 45 minute drive and the road is excellent.  A pair of Bronzed Cowbirds greeted me at the entrance; not a bird that I get to photograph very often.

 

Bronzed Cowbird 

 

This is one place that a person can always find Yellow-breasted Chats in the summer.  Not always easy to see and photograph, but there is no way a person can miss their very vocal calls. 

 

 Yellow-breasted Chat

 

 

Probably one of the most pleasant surprises was the Scott's Oriole.  I do not recall seeing one at this location in the past, but that is very irrelevant as these are some stunning birds and being able to get photos of one is also a nice thing to have happen. 

 

 Scott's Oriole

 

 

A couple regulars were very obliging for photos.  While the Gambel's Quail is a very common bird in many habitats, most generally they are quite skittish and usually take off at the sight of a human, this male held its ground and posed quite nicely for me. 

 

 Gambel's Quail

 

 

The local Black Phoebe was kind enough to pose as well.  The odd thing about this one was that it was not hanging around Ayers Lake, but instead was gleaning insects on the edge of the eucalyptus grove.

 

 Black Phoebe

 

 

Other photos of interest but not necessarily avian related are included below.  I am glad I made the decision to visit this spot once again.  Might not have had any rarities on this visit, but this location definitely has had its share of rarities in the past and you never know when another one will stop by to visit.  This place is a great place to visit for the combination of birds, reptiles, butterflies, and the huge collection and variety of plants.

 

 An Agave flower stalk

 

 Picketpost Mountain

 

 Another angle of Picketpost Mountain

 

 Pomegranate blossom

 

  Queen Butterfly

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arizona: The Chase is On

The Friday after my return from a pelagic trip to San Diego, a very rare bird was reported in Ramsey Canyon in Arizona.  A Tufted Flycatcher is an ABA (American Birding Association) code 5 bird which is one of the rarest birds to find in the United States and one was spotted in Ramsey Canyon not too far from Sierra Vista, AZ.  I have heard various comments from several birders that this sighting is only the 7th record of this bird in the United States.  I do recall one being reported at Boyce Thompson Arboretum about 3 years ago, but it was a one day wonder and was seen by very few birders.

 

Since the report came in on Friday, through a series of several text messages, 4 of us planned a crazy trip to head to Ramsey Canyon on Saturday to try our luck at locating this bird as it would be lifer for all 4 of us. I met up with Magill Weber and Tommy DeBardeleben very early on Saturday morning and we headed to Tucson and met up with Chris Rohrer to chase this bird.  Since we arrived in the area almost an hour earlier than Ramsey Canyon's Visitor Center opened, we opted to drive to the campground at the end of Carr Canyon and then walk down the back way. I have never been to either one of these places before but after this trip, I know I want to check them out sometime in the future.  This is absolutely stunning scenery and the birds were awesome and numerous.  However our objective was the Tufted Flycatcher so we focused on getting to the spot where it had been seen the day before.  An awesome 3 mile hike later and we came upon the spot and it was not hard to find as you can see by the following photos that others arrived before we did.  Guess it was a popular spot in this very remote area that day!  Gives you an idea how special this bird is.

 

The crowd that had already gathered.



 

Another awesome and respected birder, Andrew Core, was there and he reported that they had seen it about 45 minutes prior to our arrival.  About 15 minutes after our arrival, Tommy was quick to exclaim that he just heard it and within a few seconds, this magnificent little bird flew in and gave almost all of us brief views of it.  Unfortunately, it did not stay long and it disappeared again.  But birders are a crazy lot, most of them stayed around hoping for another appearance and about an hour and 5 minutes later it reappeared and for those that hung around, this visit was much better and I was able to get better photos this time and those that missed it the first time got it on this visit.

 

Tufted Flycatcher

 

 

To this day the bird is still being seen and there is talk from several that claim to have seen a nest so if that is the case, this would most likely be a US breeding record.  A very reliable and respected birder in our group insisted there are 2 of them as he heard two of them calling from different spots in the canyon.  This is a species whose normal northernmost range is southern Sonora, Mexico where is breeds in highland forests.  This is an awesome bird and one that I derived a great pleasure in seeing in the United States.

 

Another rare bird is nesting lower in Ramsey Canyon and many birders are 'flocking' there to add it to their life lists.  And I was the only one of the 4 that had not seen this second bird before.  Tommy, being the gentleman that he is, was so kind to offer to hike back up the way we came and drive the car to the visitor center at the Ramsey Canyon entrance while Magill, Chris, and I all headed on the down the trail towards the nesting site of this second species: the Flame-colored Tanager.  This bird is only an ABA code 3 bird, but it is one that is absolutely stunning to look at.   

 

The 3 of us started down the trail towards the visitor center and quickly discovered that this trail was also very steep and it would have a been a tough climb accessing the TUFL spot from this direction.  Even the trek down was taxing on the legs.  The Flame-colored Tanager has a confirmed nest and the staff from Ramsey Canyon has very wisely fenced off the area around the nest to give the birds and their nesting attempt some space.  Nest is very well concealed and for the longest time the only view of this bird was that of the tail of the female on the nest.  Not a view that I wanted to claim as a life bird.  But with patience and perseverance, the male finally paid a visit to the area and we quickly got what photos we could.  I later saw the female in a distance tree and got better looks at her as well.

 

Flame-colored Tanager

 



 

Getting life birds in Arizona is becoming more of a challenge for me, so getting 2 in one day was pretty amazing.  At the end of the day we took a group photo and dubbed ourselves the 'Tufted Angels'.  Birding with this group of people turns this hobby and passion into a lot of fun and is something that I cherish and look forward to as long as I can continue to keep up with them. Very happy that they agree to allow me to join in on their adventures! 

 

'Tufted Angels'

 

Here a few other photos from the day of birding and some great fun with some great birding friends. 

 

Arizona Sister Butterfly



Unidentified Butterfly



Unidentified Moth



Painted Redstart



Unidentified Butterfly - a Skipper of some sort



 Yarrow's Spiny Lizard

 

And Chris, we have a very big adventure coming up this summer!  Looking forward to adding dozens of new life birds to my list.

 

 

 

 

 

California: Coast to Mountains

Our 3rd day in California was the day to return to Arizona.  Tommy and I had already decided we wanted to check out Laguna Resort in the mountains about an hour out of San Diego, but we also wanted to get some breakfast to start off the day.  We had talked briefly a few times about maybe searching for the Red-crowned Parrot that now has large enough numbers and are breeding freely in southern California.  They can be found in the San Diego and Los Angeles areas, but we really had not gotten too serious about locating them to add them to our life list.  Even though this species is now accepted as an ABA reportable bird, somehow if feels weird adding a life bird to one's list that is not a native to the United States.  But then, when one thinks about it a little more, then I suppose that if we are going to  follow that standard, we probably should not count House Sparrows, European Starlings, Eurasian-collared Doves, and a whole slew of game birds that have all been introduced. 

But fate stepped in when we pulled into the parking lot at Denny's for breakfast and we heard the unmistakable calls of parrots in the air.  It did not take long to see them flying overhead in small flocks and landing a block or two away.  Too easy!  The chase was on and we finally located and saw over 20 parrots. 

 Red-crowned Parrot

Red-crowned Parrot - juvenile

We just added a new life bird without much difficulty and after a hearty breakfast, we then headed east with Laguna Resort as our next target location.  This place is in the mountains east of San Diego and although we stopped here on our way in on Friday, it was pouring rain so this visit would be much better weather wise.  We did have a target here, so there was a reason to check it out.  We had did a little researching on eBird and found that this location was one of the most southerly locations with resident Purple Finches.  Believe it or not, this would be a life bird for both of us.  The place was full of higher elevation birds and many were common to Arizona, but we focused on locating Purple Finches.  In the process we did locate a Swainson's Thrush and a couple of Band-tailed Pigeons.

 Band-tailed Pigeon

Swainson's Thrush

And in the same vicinity we found our target bird the Purple Finch.  There were several of them, but photographing them was a bit of a challenge as they did not like to expose themselves to sunlight.  They can be identified from House Finches due to the reddish/raspberry color in the brown feathers on their wings.  They kind of look like they have been dipped in raspberry sauce.

 Purple Finch

Purple Finch

So for the final day, I tallied 2 more life birds for a total of 6 during our 3 day epic trip.  Once we left Laguna Resort and headed east, I was rather interested in stopping at a another location, Kitchen Creek Road which was on the east side of Laguna Resort but at a much lower altitude.  Tommy had gotten photos of a Wrentit in this area a year before and although I had gotten very brief glimpses of this cool little bird in September 2013, I had not gotten good looks of them and no photos.  Well this time was a much better experience because we had 4 of them show themselves for photos.

 Wrentit

 Wrentit

 Wrentit

Wrentit

And for a final and last stop we visited Cibbets Flat Campground to check it out before we took the long trip home. 

 Steller's Jay

 California Scrub-Jay

It was an awesome 3 days of birding and exploring some new birding spots and was well worth the trip by adding 6 new life birds to my list.  And I believe Tommy added 14 new birds to his life list as well.