This was the Presque Isle weekend of “events for people in really good shape,” which sadly excludes the entire BirdingPI.com staff: Erie Marathon on Sunday, & Barber ‘Beast on the Bay’ on Saturday. Due to the commotion + other logistical issues, unfortunately no Gull Point content again this week. However, ‘the game’s afoot’ (migration-wise), with some nice shorebird sightings Saturday afternoon (after the rain but cloudy) at Leo’s Landing:

It’s Gray Catbird! x more Caspian Tern (carrying a stick apparently):

---

Trail conditions: locally muddy at usual locations, e.g., Duck Pond Trail & west end Long Pond Trail.

---

Coming up soon, more Great Egret!

It’s the final “Gull Point photo adventure” from June, featuring ‘misc. bird,’ mostly Yellow Warbler except where noted.

Kind of think of this area as Avra Valley, though the ‘official’ Avra Valley is south of here. Anyway, these shots are from the south end of the agricultural area (e.g., open farmland) running roughly along the Santa Cruz River, SE-to-NW paralleling I10 on the west, between Red Rock and Arizona City, and west of Picacho Peak. Specifically, near where E. Sasco Rd. (heading west out of Red Rock) crosses the river. (This is a regular spot on at least one of the SE AZ Birding Festival field trips.)

Might have seen 4-5 Greater Roadrunner either together or in close proximity just east of the river crossing:

---

Good location for Inca Dove. (Several were heard at this spot; following individual was perched by the road.) ID tip: note the scaled appearance on the back of the neck.

---

The ‘bird of the outing,’ a very lucky sighting, west of the river crossing (open mesquite scrubland), of Bendire’s Thrasher:

Note the relatively short, straight bill compared to, e.g., this Curve-billed Thrasher at Paton Center:

---

Heading west from the river eventually leads to Ironwood Forest National Monument. Territory changes from agriculture/riparian to open mesquite scrubland to Sonoran Desert w/ Saguaro and Desert Ironwood (Olneya tesota), for example.

White-winged Doves landing on a power line:

---

The word that best describes the 100+ year-old Boyce Thompson Arboretum outside Superior, AZ is an unironic “Wow!” Beautiful rock formations/desert scenery, interesting history, an extra-amazing collection of desert plant life, & diverse wild birds taking advantage of the oasis-like conditions. First ever BirdingPI.com visit to this location (despite many times in Tucson), & very highly recommended.

Visitation tips: min. travel time from Tucson: 90 minutes, from Phoenix: 60 minutes; summer hours 6AM-3PM; summer conditions – very hot (38+ deg C, 100+ deg F) = get as early a start as possible + bring water. (Several water filling stations are located around the grounds.) Note: the ‘main trail’ (highlighted in green below) is doable in the heat, but the more exposed desert-y exhibits (e.g., Wallace Desert Garden) are best visited early AM or in winter.

Some selections of probably Brown-crested Flycatcher x a very nice sighting of what’s definitely Canyon Wren:

ID on the flycatcher is tough = very similar to Ash-throated Flycatcher. However, note the large/thick bill, and from picture analysis, it appears to lack dark colouration across the entire tip of the tail (or outer tail feathers), which would indicate Ash-throated.

---

Here’s an unusual (for this location) sighting of Orange-crowned Warbler, along with a Lark Sparrow:

ID tip on the warbler: olive/yellow overall, w/ broken yellow eye ring + eye line.

---

Couple shots of the amazing/thorny Boojum Tree, at the entrance to Boojum Grotto. Tall ones could be 100+ years old. At the top are active blooms = very popular with local insects.

Here’s Picket Post House, the old residence of William Boyce Thompson. Boyce Thompson founded the arboretum in 1924 from copper mining money:

This is Summer Tanager (m) x Phainopepla (m):

---

---

Next time on BirdingPI.com, more bird!

Back to Presque Isle State Park, mostly near the east end of Budny Beach, w/ a medley of American Goldfinch (m), beautiful Eastern Kingbird, & Yellow Warbler:

---

Coming up next time, an ‘extra-large’ post from the amazing Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Superior, AZ!

Returning to the desert southwest with part 2/2 of bird photographs from Tucson Audubon’s Paton Center for Hummingbirds in Patagonia, AZ. (Wooded location along seasonal/periodic Sonoita Creek = more riparian than ‘desert.’) Why not start with a medley of beautiful (if shady) Yellow-billed Cuckoo x male Broad-billed Hummingbird?

(Paton Center’s a fairly reliable location for Yellow-billed Cuckoo, FYI.)

---

Great to have a relatively close encounter with Yellow-breasted Chat, here in a medley w/ misc. hummingbird:

Slightly better shot of Black-chinned Hummingbird (m); note the purple iridescence on the lower throat:

---

Here’s a nice selection of Curve-Billed Thrasher x Broad-billed Hummingbird (f):

---

Finally, befittingly, more hummingbird:

Nice sighting of a migrating female/immature Rufous Hummingbird:

From the ground to the “mostly air,” with more shots from June at Gull Point:

Finally, more nice shots of Red-winged Blackbird on Common Mullein:

Lots more bird content from June at Gull Point @ Presque Isle State Park, including nice shots of a foraging Spotted Sandpiper:

Following are Spotted Sandpiper except where otherwise noted:

Part 4 of bird content from an “average morning” at Gull Point. Pictures with ‘stakes + rope’ = the roped-off trail at outer Gull Point for accessing the observation platforms, e.g., here w/ Spotted Sandpiper:

An Osprey either carrying nesting material or w/ something caught around its feet/talons:

An Osprey in a similar situation was seen on other days, so perhaps something was caught in its talons such as landscape fabric or lake vegetation or ?

---

Finally, a fun underside shot of a Bald Eagle (juvenile) harassed by an Eastern Kingbird:

American Goldfinches love thistle seed; this spot is along the south edge of Budny Beach, at its east end. Part III of late-June coverage of a typical summer morning along the Gull Point Trail.