Dateline: 4 August 2023

Another winter diversion, this time a special two-part report from ‘regionally famous’ Aravaipa Canyon, Arizona. BLM (US government) wilderness land in southeast Arizona, renowned as a year-round stream & rock canyon oasis in what’s essentially the rugged Sonoran-ish desert northeast of Tucson and southeast of Phoenix.

Shot above: unnamed rock formation, probably the eastern edge of the Brandenburg Mountain complex. Shot below: Aravaipa Canyon West Trailhead.

Canyon is accessed by west and east trailheads; west trailhead much closer to both Tucson and Phoenix. Driving time to west trailhead from Tucson Mall area: about 1.5 hours. (About an hour on the highway to the E. Aravaipa Rd turnoff, then 1/2 hr.+ mostly on rough dirt roads; absent crazy weather conditions, ok for passenger cars.) There is an open-air ‘bathroom’ at the trailhead, namely, pit toilet building sans roof.

Hiking or camping (max. 2 nights/3 days) access via permit only. See BLM website for details. Short version: go online to get an inexpensive permit, 3 months ahead of your planned date. Hint: few folks are hiking the canyon in high summer. Shot below – view west back towards trailhead, post-dawn w/ moon, from Aravaipa Creek streambed:

Canyon route has short sections of trail, but otherwise unimproved with many sections requiring stream crossings or stream hiking. Hint: wear close-toed water shoes, or boots/wool socks; sandals are ‘doable’ but there’s a lot of sand & gravel = really unpleasant.

Canyon overall is fairly heavily forested along the water = shady and cool in the morning. (Sunrise in August around 6 AM.) Mid-summer, still warm in the canyon, but much cooler than surrounding desert = good hiking conditions if carrying plenty of water for hydration.

Initial section is a bit flatter; after passing the wilderness boundary, more interesting with rock/canyon walls:

A view showing the very tight transition between stream, riparian vegetation, and desert hillside:

Overall bird activity was “good,” but probably too large an area with too much water/vegetation for concentrated activity. Here are some nice ‘flying way overhead’ bird shots:

For this day hike, the turnaround was the junction for Cave Canyon:

Considering patches of rough terrain + occasional need for bushwacking, Cave Canyon seemed like a reasonable spot for lunch + turnaround. (As mentioned, temps were warm/hot, but manageable.) Better option for enjoying the canyon would be an overnight at least as far as Horse Camp Canyon.

With the recent melt-off at Presque Isle State Park, fascinating to see late-January North American Beaver (Castor canadensis) activity off Leo’s Landing. And a fairly unusual sighting of two Beavers together.

Can’t be 100% certain what’s happening here, however, Jan.-Feb. is Beaver mating season:

---

More North American Beaver:

---

[Photo editor’s note: rather tough lighting conditions for these shots, w/ deep shade + overcast + ice.]

Not quite the arctic here in Erie County, PA, especially considering the recent unseasonably mild weather. (Snow/ice as of 2 February 2024 = essentially zero.) Still, with the earlier period of cold + variable weather, there’s plenty of bleak-ish landscapes to share via helpful, generally ok Nikon camera imaging:

The GBH were mostly lying low during the cold snap. Following shot of an unusual congregation (& similar shot below) from after it warmed up slightly, but before the recent ice melt:

This is probably a juvenile Great Black-backed Gull:

---

---

A bit of ‘snow drizzle’ this Friday afternoon here in Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle”), but the weekend weather forecast looks ok. Happy birding/nature!

Back to the snow storm the Saturday before last, with mostly woodpecker shots at Presque Isle State Park. (Generally, plenty of Downy, Hairy, Red-bellied, & Pileated Woodpecker activity in Erie County, PA.) Following is a mélange of lovely female Downy Woodpecker (in the woods along the multi-use trail by the PI maintenance center) + misc. woodpecker/etc.:

The highly variable weather continued apace this past weekend in Erie County, PA – overcast and chilly on Saturday, steady rain turning to ‘wintery mix’ on Sunday, light freezing rain Monday, etc. Warm enough overall, however, for most of the snow and much of the lake ice to have subsided/melted. At Presque Isle State Park, plenty of waterfowl and gull activity, otherwise very localized/variable.

Saturday at Long Pond, the beautiful resident Pekin + Mallards:

---

Finally, despite the challenging lighting/exposure conditions, fun to see a lovely Belted Kingfisher in for a landing, appropriately enough at Leo’s Landing:

---

With the recent, unseasonably warm/wet weather, Presque Isle trail conditions are mostly locally muddy and wet, but accessible and snow/ice free. Gull Point ‘inner’ official trail: muddy/wet but passable; Gull Point ‘outer’ official trail: in good shape. Outer Gull Point: mostly snow/ice free except in a couple spots along the beach.

---

[* Editor’s note: clearly too intrepid to be BirdingPI.com staff.]

Time to take a break from the Erie, PA winter weather with some summer shots of lovely Arizona Gray Squirrel (Sciurus arizonensis), in the national forest outside Pinetop-Lakeside, AZ:

Only BirdingPI.com brings you ‘free’ underexposed video content of a lovely female Mallard ‘ice skating’ at Presque Isle State Park!

From a rainy morning after last weekend’s snow/cold, some rather nice shots of mostly American Robin in full ‘foraging behavior’ mode x Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora)(i.e., rose hips):

---

‘Bonus birds:’

All photographs @ Millcreek Twp, PA (“Gateway to Presque Isle”).

After the snow + deep cold last weekend, weather in Erie County, PA turned rainy and unseasonably ‘warm,’ w/ melty conditions on the lake + snow’s mostly melted. Based on quick mid-week observations at South Pier and East Ave boat launch, looks like much of the duck population has dispersed, e.g., to outer Lake Erie. These shots ‘part 2’ from South Pier last Sunday under very cold conditions:

Following shot mixed ducks – Common Goldeneye (far right + just left/down of that); Redhead (bottom right); Ring-necked Duck (upper right of middle); Greater Scaup (left of middle), etc.:

Following shots Ruddy Duck + Greater Scaup (upper right + upper left):

---

Common Goldeneye:

---

Finally, still lots of Canada Geese passing through:

---

Weather as of this Saturday morning = overcast/wet but no active precipitation. Stay tuned for plenty of gloomy/wet content from Presque Isle State Park! (Spoiler alert: there may be beavers!)

Lots of photos from last weekend at South Pier, Erie, PA, under cold/snowy/overcast conditions. Background with tents on ice = ice fishing on Misery Bay @ Presque Isle State Park.

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

Lots more Bald Eagle activity:

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

Several more of ducks in flight (mostly Redhead):