Dateline: August 2022
Reporting from the White Mountains in central-east Arizona, with recent shots of the beautiful Pygmy Nuthatch in the national forest outside Pinetop/Lakeside. Lots of ponderosa pine = lots of Pygmy Nuthatch.
White-breasted Nuthatch for comparison:
[Edit: Additional photo of Pygmy Nuthatch from Mt. Lemmon:]
Dateline: 8 August 2022
Greater Roadrunner – definitely in the top five of BirdingPI.com’s “uncommon Arizona birds you have a reasonable chance of seeing” list. Checked it off the list Monday morning outside Sweetwater Wetlands in Tucson, aptly enough on the road.
(White piping and concrete pads: pump equipment for controlling waterflow in the Sweetwater ponds/marshes – tertiary sewage treatment.)
The coolest bird in Arizona? Yes.
Per Wikipedia: “Willcox Playa is a large endorheic dry lake or sink (playa) adjacent to Willcox, Arizona in Cochise County, in the southeast corner of the state.” (No affiliation, but please consider supporting this great online resource.) BirdingPI.com translation: large, shallow, seasonal lake; interesting habitat for (maybe) seeing unusual birds in the desert.
Several access points – on the west, Apache Station Wildlife Viewing Area off Route 191 (easy access); on the north, observation area south of the Twinlakes Golf Course (easy access); on the east, Wilcox Playa Wildlife Area off S. Kansas Settlement Rd (hike-in access).
Helpful hint: Wilcox Playa, mid-day in August = sunbaked, hot, & humid; not a pleasant hike.
Totally worth the suffering to see American Avocet. Absolutely beautiful.
Breeding adults: reddish head; nonbreeding/immature: gray/white head.
From the marsh/lagoon at the south end of the lake.
Helpful hint: viewing area’s fairly far from the nearest water. Recommend a good spotting scope, and/or #giant_camera. (All shots long distance and heavily cropped.)
Saw a dove or two going out to the viewing area; + one Western Kingbird (probably – rufous coloring is unusual, perhaps juvenile?):
Now it’s out by the golf course. Very easy access with views (of this portion of the lake/area) from the dirt road:
What a great surprise, another lovely shore bird, Black-necked Stilt:
[Editor’s Note: It was pointed out that the lake immediately above is called Cochise Lake; considered an adjacent habitat to Wilcox Playa proper.]
Comin’ up, the coolest bird in Arizona? Stay tuned.
Dateline: 7 August 2022
Thanks to Mike and the other nice folks at Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary for the great introduction to this amazing spot in Hereford, AZ (south of Sierra Vista). Missed seeing the ‘resident’ Lucifer Hummingbird, but very highly recommended nevertheless.
Some mostly unedited photos from BirdingPI.com’s all-too-brief visit:
Following haven’t been fully vetted, but appear (except for last shot) to be Anna’s Hummingbird:
Dateline: 7 August 2022
After leaving Ramsey Canyon Sunday (more great Ramsey Canyon content to follow ASAP), time to head further into the ‘deep south’ of Arizona for Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary, Coronado National Monument, Wilcox Playa, etc. (Posts to follow.)
First up, a quick post on world-famous Sandhill Crane migration stopover point Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area. In August, fair enough to say it’s the ‘off season.’ Lots of water due to recent monsoon rains; only light/moderate bird activity mid-day – most seen at a distance and/or hiding in the grass/willows.
Starting with the one good photo, of a beautiful Black Phoebe:
Presumably female or juvenile Red-winged Blackbird:
Relatively, lots of Lazuli Bunting activity – always a favorite. Rather skittish for photography, but a couple shots nevertheless:
Presumably juveniles (+ the adult male) in this shot:
Even at a distance, always fun to see ducks landing. These might be Mallard/Mexican Duck/hybrid:
Not sure what this is. Yellow coloration with black-white wings, large beak – perhaps a female Western Tanager?
Preening Vermilion Flycatcher (m), at a very long distance:
Fair amount of swallow activity, mostly Tree Swallow:
Plenty of agriculture/crop farming in the area. Heading north towards Wilcox, AZ, special note of the amazing Western Kingbird activity along the dirt roads. Dozens of Western Kingbird – taking advantage of the open fields and power lines.
Note the white edging on the tail feathers – distinguishes from Cassin’s Kingbird (among other different features such as more gray on the breast).
Dateline: August 2022
Quick post on the recent BirdingPI.com field trip to beautiful Ramsey Canyon – hummingbird edition – outside Sierra Vista, AZ. (All shots of hummingbirds.) See, e.g., Nature Conservancy.
Dateline: August 2022
If it’s August, must be time for an update (or several) from the BIRDS (BirdingPI.com Regional Desert Southwest) Field Station in Tucson, AZ. (Recent weather in Tucson: ranging from sunny with highs of 105 deg F to rainy/monsoon with temps in the 70s deg F; humid.) Lots of great birds in Arizona!
Recent shots from around the field station. First up, the state bird of Arizona, the beautiful Cactus Wren, on or in a cactus:
Wow, Haris’s Hawk! In a neighborhood eucalyptus tree. Note the dark brown coloration, chestnut shoulder patches, white coverts, and white tail tip.
Plenty of hummingbird activity. One of the more common in Tucson, Costa’s Hummingbird. These are all males, or perhaps the same male:
Looks similar to the also-fairly-common Anna’s Hummingbird, but the males have a purple-colored head/throat/gorget (see following shot); Anna’s males – red-colored. (“Gorget:” flaps of elongate feathers that extend off either side of the throat.)
Dove action! Omitting the very common Mourning Dove in favor of two of the local ‘exotics:’
Another ubiquitous desert denizen, the Curved-billed Thrasher:
Yet another desert/southwest ‘likely to see,’ the Lesser Goldfinch (male):
Ducks in Tucson? Yup – plenty of artificial lakes in Tucson, and thereby plenty of birds to take advantage. Here’s a lovely female Mexican Duck (Mexican/Mallard hybrid?) at Sweetwater Wetlands:
Very interesting discussion of Mexican vs. Mallard Ducks by Sibley. Although, recent word is that Mexican Duck is currently considered a separate species from Mallard, interbreeding notwithstanding.
Dateline: July 2022
Lot of recent swallow activity out at Gull Point, Presque Isle State Park. Populations seem highly transient – first Tree Swallow and Barn Swallow, then Bank Swallow. (Northern Rough-winged Swallow spotted in the spring over Misery Bay.)
Mid-week last week, early AM – potentially hundreds of Bank Swallow, with a few Barn and Tree:
Perched on the observation platform rope fence:
Perhaps female Tree Swallow on the right:
Barn Swallow on the left (although atypical coloration?):
Dateline: Late July 2022
Some recent shots of the ornately beautiful Common Green Darner (Anax junius) dragonfly, from Pine Tree Meadows, Presque Isle State Park:
[Editor’s note: A reminder that BirdingPI.com “NSFW” = general squeamish content warning, e.g., overt blood, spiders/ticks/snakes, dead animals, birds eating animals (other than fish), animals eating birds, and so on. Hereinbelow: macro spider content.]
Bonus spider, Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle”). Probably Cross Orbweaver (Araneus diadematus):
Dateline: 31 July 2022
BirdingPI.com team’s been keeping a casual but regular eye on the Thompson Bay (Presque Isle State Park) Osprey platform. Avoiding, however, trekking out to the platform itself #dont_disturb_the_bird.
From across the bay on Sunday, happy to see a parent and two juveniles! (Other parent in flight nearby.)
Above, adult in the middle; juvenile: distinctive, darker/almost-black wings with white spotting up towards the back.
All shots at a very long distance, Nikon D7500 and Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6 lens @ 500mm.