#3 of the “Top 10 reasons to visit the desert southwest for birding:” the amazing Greater Roadrunner. These pre-dawn shots at El Rio Preserve in Marana, AZ.
Tips for seeing Greater Roadrunner in the Tucson, AZ area: (i) drive long enough anywhere around Tucson; (ii) drive around the agriculture/dirt road area west of Red Rock, AZ (i.e., ‘Santa Cruz flats’)/NW of Tucson; (iii) visit El Rio Preserve in Marana, just outside Tucson.
Dateline: 13 August 2023
Checking back in at Presque Isle State Park with an interior ‘spot check’ along the Pine Tree Trail Sunday afternoon. Bird activity remains mostly ‘summer normal,’ e.g., Blue Jay, Northern Cardinal, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, White-breasted Nuthatch, various woodpecker species, American Crow, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, various flycatcher species, GBH, Canada Goose, Field Sparrow, Gray Catbird!, Black-capped Chickadee, Warbling Vireo, Purple Martin, American Goldfinch, etc.
Three shots of beautiful Great Crested Flycatcher:
Surprise of the day, a beautiful/uncommon (at Presque Isle) Carolina Wren! ID ‘double check’ confirmed via Merlin.
Ongoing content from BirdingPI.com’s adjunct team in Arizona, with beautiful male Broad-billed Hummingbird. Here, ‘close ups’ @ Sweetwater Wetlands, Tucson, AZ:
Bonus @ late blooming Saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea) at Tohono Chul Park:
So… hot… in… Tucson. So hot. Nothing to do but hang out by the water fountain.
Tried-and-true @ bird bath:
Lucy’s Warbler @ pond water feed @ Paton Center for Hummingbirds, Patagonia, AZ:
Back to the desert. Lovely female Scott’s Orioles in Century Plants (Agave americana) @ Box Canyon, Arizona.
Coming up soon, lots more desert/mountain content (hummingbirds!) + back with a Presque Isle State Park update.
Macro shots @ 105mm of beautiful Halloween Pennant (Celithemis eponina) dragonflies at Presque Isle State Park. Mostly using the ‘controlled fall’ method – (i) get reasonably close, (ii) brace one leg, (iii) deep lean-in + continuous shooting until the insect in question flies away.
From time to time @ Gull Point, Presque Isle State Park = lots and lots of Bank Swallow. These shots from a couple weeks ago, resting + landing/takeoff on the observation platform rope fence.
Recent shots of mostly upside down Baltimore Oriole (m) along the Gull Point Trail, Presque Isle State Park. Upside down = more bugs.
If it’s August, must be time to check back in @ the BIRDS (BirdingPI.com Regional Desert Southwest) field station, for the SE Arizona Birding Festival and otherwise. (With high temps of 41+ deg C in Tucson, Erie is looking pretty good.)
Starting off – and why not? – with nature! #monsoon_lightning
These shots late July @ 28mm, Tucson, AZ, using the 1/8 – 1/10 sec continuous/handheld shooting method. Cropped but not sharpened or colour revised.
Almost always lots of interesting bird activity @ Pine Tree Trail, Presque Isle State Park. These recent shots from July.
First up, beautiful Blue Jay:
Hairy Woodpecker with a very long beak:
And lots of nice shots of Downy Woodpecker:
Coming up soon, wild pigs?!?