Broad-Billed Hummingbird

It's true. They do have exceptionally broad bills for a Hummingbird. It's not the most striking feature in my opinion, but to be fair I'm not really sure what is. The bird's shimmering beauty is a composite of the iridescent green, blue throat, and prominent red beak.

This specimen was another jewel in the treasure chest that is southeastern Arizona birding.

These birds were photographed at the Beatty feeders in Miller Canyon, Az, on 07/02/2012

The Rufous-Capped Warbler

There have been persistent reports of a group of Rufous-Capped Warblers in the Florida Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains since December of 2011. This unusual visitor from Mexico turns up every few years, but this year they seem to be pretty established in the canyon. They were one of the prime targets of the BiF road trip to southeastern Arizona, and were also among the first and most beautiful birds we saw.

They began their morning foraging with first light. While they did not seem to mind our presence at all. they didn't stay put for very long. Their flighty behavior combined with the dim lighting to make photography tricky, but it did make for a great sighting.

I haven't seen that many Warblers yet, but I imagine that when I die at the ripe old age of 165, having seen every bird in the world, these Rufous-Capped Warblers will still be among the most visually captivating birds I've observed.

Birding in Southeast AZ

I went down to Tucson on Friday evening for some marathon birding with Robert Mortensen, Jeremy Medina, and Geniece Baer. We saw a total of 100 species and I acquired 16 new birds for my Life List. It was one of the single most productive and enjoyable 24-hours periods of birding I've ever experienced, and will definitely be one of the highlights in my birding career for years to come.

Here, avid birders Jeremy, Geniece, and Robert stand atop a bench identifying Cormorants in the lake below. 

As we toured some of the southeastern Arizona hotspots we saw lots of old species, new species, common species, rare species, species that can be found throughout North America, and species that are endemic to this little corner of the state. In short, it was a great trip. I'll try to give a good overview here, and then fill in with more specific and detailed posts through this next week.

Saturday was a full day of birding, and we stayed glued to our binoculars from sun-up to sun-down. It was still dark as we headed towards Florida Canyon, hoping to see the Rufous-Capped Warblers.
We started our hike at dawn, and even with the morning chill it did not take very long for the birds to make their presence known. We heard Rock Wrens, Spotted Towhees, and Kinglets as we climbed up the little gorge. A few Canyon Wrens climbed out to greet the rising sun as we started to follow the little stream running down Florida Canyon, reportedly the preferred habitat of the Warblers.

We were about a 1/4 mile up from the creek dam when we heard warbler activity. The first sightings proved to be Ruby-Crowned Kinglets, and next came a single Olive Warbler. The Rufous-Capped Warblers came out from the scrub oaks soon after and began foraging along the stream, oblivious to our presence.

At one point there were three of the little birds very close to our group. Though being in the dimly lit canyon made photography tricky, it was still a clear-as-day sighting. It was a wonderful experience that alone would have made the Tucson trip worthwhile.

Our primary goal being achieved and with many more places still to go, we began our swift descent back to the car, meeting Acorn Woodpeckers, Cardinals, Towhees and Rick Taylor (!), author of Birds of Southeastern Arizona, along the way.

The Rio Rico ponds, a nice riparian habitat on the way to Patagonia Lake, was our next destination. The ponds were just off of the roadside, and provided immediate sightings of Cinnamon Teal, Pied-Billed Grebes, and Mexican Mallards. Along the woody margins of the water we saw Vermillion Flycatchers, Abert's Towhees and several more Cardinals, and there were Mountain Bluebirds in the adjacent field.

While pursuing some Song Sparrows and Lincoln's Sparrows near the swampy perimeter, I also stumbled upon this solitary Hermit Thrush, a lovely new bird that I probably should have seen long before now. The dense vegetation made auto-focussing impossible and I had to try my hand at manual. (I know, I have a hard life).

We progressed to Lake Pena Blanca, a very quiet and peaceful canyon lake that provides the perfect sort of habitat for the more diminutive birds, such as the elusive Least Grebe, the rarest lifer of the day.

The little lake was also popular with Ruddy Ducks and Ring-Necked Ducks. We heard House Wrens and Bewick's Wrens calling along the shore, and found a little group of Rufous-Capped Sparrows near the exit. Rufous-Capped Sparrows, Rufous-Winged Sparrows, and Rufous-Capped Warblers made for a very Rufousy day.

The next stop was Patagonia Lake, one of the most well-known and fruitful birding spots around Tucson. Although we dipped on the reported Elegant Trogon and Black-Capped Gnatcatcher (so did everyone else we talked to), it was indeed a fantastic birding area, and we continued racking up the life birds.

We saw plenty of Green-Winged Teal, Double-Crested Cormorants, and a few Bufflehead out on the lake, as well as this single female Blue-Winged Teal trying to blend into the reeds. She was doing pretty well Except for her rather conspicuous patch of blue.

Trails move along the lake shore for a 1/2 mile or so before entering the dense oak and coniferous woodlands where the birding action really takes off. They were teeming with Bridled Titmice, Ladder-Backed Woodpeckers, and Common Ground Doves. It was also a three Flycatcher day with the Gray, the Ash-Throated, and the Hammonds all giving us great looks.

All three of the Flycatchers were new birds for me, and the Hammonds provided a very nice and open pose, a rare courtesy from these busy woodlands birds.

One of the last and most satisfying sightings at Patagonia was a pair of roosting Great-Horned Owls. They can be seen regularly in Phoenix, and we had already driven by one in the early morning. But seeing them in these scrubby woods really lends an ancient and serene quality both to the birds and to their forest.

The last stop of the day was the internationally known Paton House in Patagonia. For decades, Wally and Marion Patton supplied scores of seed and hummingbird feeders at their residence. It is one of the few places in North America where Violet-Crowned Hummingbirds are consistently seen, and it is also a harbor to many other migrating and seasonal birds, often providing the first and last glimpses of species as they travel between the U.S. and Mexico. The Patons have passed away, but the property is still maintained as a small birding Mecca. 

True to form, the house was bursting with birds. We saw Finches, Nuthatches, Sparrows, Cardinals, Pyrrhuloxia, Gila Woodpeckers, Wrens, Doves, Quail, Lazuli Bunting (another first) and, of course, some Hummingbirds. The Violet-Crowned made only a brief appearance, while this jaw-droppingly beautiful Broad-Billed Hummingbird sat for two whole minutes, which we all know in hummingbird-time is about thirty-seven years. 

I wonder who would look at this bird and first think, "Wow! Check out the broad bill on that little guy!" I know more goes into a name than just the initial observation, but it's fun to think about. As the sun set on this wonderful day of birding, the evening light made for some color-saturated Cardinals, and some mournful Pyrrhuloxias.

The unique geography of Tucson draws in the birds, and the birds draw in the people. I had a great time with Robert, Jeremy, and Geniece. We were especially lucky to have Jeremy share with us his knowledge of the area and the birds. I hope to be drawn back very soon.

Birding Synchronicity

It strikes again! You can go for years without seeing a bird, or never see it at all. Then, as the British say, you finally break your duck (an awkward expression for birders, to be sure) and the sightings come left and right. It was just a few days ago that I was perusing through some old blurry photos and I realized I had a new bird on my hands, the Vesper Sparrow. This weekend I'm on a trip down to some of the fantastic Tucson birding hotspots with BiF  Editor Robert Mortensen and BiF Author Jeremy Medina, and one of the first birds Robert and I saw on the drive down was, of course, the Vesper Sparrow!

You can find Sparrows in a variety of habitats, and that's part of their appeal. But I think one of my favorite things about the Sparrows is how they can really enliven and transform a landscape. We can be observing a simple arid dirt lot on the side of the road, much like this one. All of the sudden we notice movement, dare we say a little bit of color. It's not a barren strip of land after all. There are intricately patterned and determined wee birds flitting all over. The Sparrows bring liveliness to these desolate places, and where there is life there is beauty.

This was only the beginning of some excellent birding Robert and I fit in on the way down to Tucson. Soon after the Vesper Sparrows we found Chipping Sparrows, Western Meadowlarks, and the first Lifer of the trip, a flock of Lark Buntings!

We stopped around the Picacho Peak area to scan for some Crested Caracaras. While these regal buzzards were nowhere to be found, the Red-Tailed Hawks and Loggerhead Shrikes were out in force. We also came across Western Bluebirds, Yellow-Rumped Warblers, and some lovely Lark Sparrows.

But best of all, the best birding is yet to come.

Just Another Day After The Office

I had some time after work to go birding by the McCormick Ponds near Scottsdale. Although the bird populations have skyrocketed since I visited in the fall, there was a certain dearth of color on display. Gadwalls, Cormorants, Mallards, Coots, and Great Egrets were the birds of the day, and the green headed Mallards, no doubt glad to be free of migratory duck competition, felt like undisputed prom queens (kings?). The Vermillion Flycatchers, which had been consistently visible last year, were no where to be found, so I set out to practice my in-flight photography.



We're reading Peter Pan, among other books, in my 4th grade class right now. In the story, the children delightedly discover that with a happy little thought and some pixie dust, they can fly. Birds have it even easier. They can fly happily, or in a state of fear, hunger, mindless habit, etc. And they don't need any contaminating pixie dust like those moths and butterflies either. If only a happy thought and a spritz of dust were enough to generate nice in-flight photography...
It's a work in progress, I guess what they call a labor of love.

The Mallards were reveling in the ponds, probably content in knowing that they were the most beautiful birds to be seen, an unusual if somewhat unfair recognition for them.

Although Gadwalls are still very pretty and intricately plumed ducks, it says something about their style that the black beak is perhaps their most striking feature. Why is it that the Mandarins and Wood Ducks have developed such extensive plumage to attract a mate, and yet the Gadwalls remain in their stately grays and browns?

I'm really bad with the shorebirds, but I believe this is a non-breeding Spotted Sandpiper. He didn't look too sure of himself either as he skulked along the water's edge. It's kinda far away but I like his pose here and the concentric water ripples behind him.

Even the little peeps get moving pretty quickly, and I didn't quite get the right focus before he was gone.

It was kind of a brown bird day, but that's just as well. It was some good photo practice and got me geared up for this weekend's trip down to southeast Arizona, where the birds and colors abound.

Vesper Sparrow

These are some older photos, taken back in late July of 2011. At the time, I thought I was observing some adolescent Sparrow something or others. Since the photos were kind of blurry I largely ignored them and moved on. Upon review though, I think I'm looking at some Vesper Sparrows, which I've never recorded before! This is better than finding 5 dollars in the back pocket of those pants you haven't worn for 2 years...

Wednesdays with Audubon, Chapter 11

We left a soggy and stagnant Audubon stuck for 5 days without a favorable wind as he travelled through the Labrador Islands. I can only imagine the excruciating frustration of heading out on an epic, expensive trip of Summer birding, and having to spend 5 days inside a cramped boat. Salvation came the morning of June 29th and they set off towards American Harbor (I'm not really sure what or where that is).

Along the way they passed many small and rocky islands, almost all of which were dominated by a single nesting species, be it the Common Puffin, Razorbilled Auk, or Cormorants. They travelled some 50 miles in choppy seas before dropping anchor. Tired of his forced drawing for nearly the last week (forced in the sense that there was nothing else to do), Audubon was quickly off the boat and exploring this new, more diminutive portion of the Labrador coastline. He collected a few specimens, including the "Shore Lark (Horned Lark) and spent the afternoon pondering the identity of a dead, starved, and semi-frozen "snowbird" that he had never seen nor heard of before.

They spent the next few days mostly collecting the eggs of the Common Cormorant and American Ring Plover that nested near the shore. I wonder at times why they wanted so many eggs. What does one do with several hundred dozen cormorant eggs, other than drink eggnog while eating omelets topped with scrambled eggs and a small side of poached eggs.

Anyway, Audubon's painting of the Cormorants is beautiful.

On July 2nd Audubon took several men to begin a more thorough exploration of Labrador, which captivated Audubon with it's peculiar and specialized landscape: "The country, so wild and grand, is of itself enough to interest any one in its wonderful dreariness. Its mossy, gray-clother rocks, heaped and thrown together as if by chance, in the most fantastical groups imaginable, huge masses hanging on minor ones as if about to roll themselves down from their double-looking situation into the depths of the sea beneath. Bays without end dot the landscape, sprinkled with rocky islands where in every fissure some bird or another retreats to secure its brood."

The focus for July 4th and 5th was on the Great Northern Diver and Red-Necked Diver with Audubon acquiring his first specimens of these Loons as well as some unexpected Ptarmigan, which one of the more impertinent sailors tried to sneakily eat in the night, for which he was soundly beaten in the morning.

On July 5th Audubon also made an interesting observation about the breeding and molting birds up in Labrador: "The Scoter Ducks, of which I have seen many this day, were partially molted, and could fly only a short distance, and must be either barren or the young bachelors, as I find parents in full plumage, convincing me that these former molt earlier than the breeding Ducks. I have observed this strange fact so often now that I shall say no more about it; I have found it in nearly all the species of the birds here. I do not know of any writer on the history of birds having observed this curious fact before. I have now my hands full of work, and go to bed delighted..."

I wonder. Is this really the case with Scoters and other breeding waterfowl? Do the young or non-mating birds molt at a different time than the parent birds? Interesting stuff either way.

Recharging in Glendale

Pops and I headed down to the Glendale Recharge Ponds today, with no particular aims or goals beyond having a nice morning full of birds (one of the best sorts of mornings). The ponds have been very low the last few times I visited, but today they were quite full and teaming with waterfowl.

Although the ducks were far out on the ponds and very shy, there was an excellent array of species. We saw Wigeons, all three Teal, Shovelers, Ring-Necks, Pintails, Eared Grebes, and my first Buffleheads. Some Canada Geese stopped by later in the morning, and they had several Snow Geese tagging along, or so we thought.

The ponds are all enclosed by canals and spillways, and it was along some adjacent telephone wires that my first photographic quarry made its appearance. This Belted Kingfisher was sitting rather contentedly with a crawfish in her beak. She seemed determined not to try and swallow it until after we had gone. Since we were determined to wait and see, she eventually took off in search of a more private dining area.

There were many waders along the pond shorelines. The Greater Yellowlegs and Least Sandpipers were the most abundant, but there were also Black-Necked Stilts, Egrets, Dowitchers, and a few Great Blue Herons. We also stumbled across a homicide scene of sorts, where scattered feathers of increasing size and blueness led us to some grisly remains.

We set up our police tape and began to investigate, wondering if this was the same perpetrator as in the infamous Wellington Massacre in Florida last year (in fact, some of the similarities, like seeing a Kingfisher just before, were uncanny!). Coyote tracks led down the muddy shoreline, and we followed until the identity of the victim was certain.

But it was not an afternoon to be dominated by the macabre. The Canada Geese and Snow Geese had drifted into camera range, so we took the rare opportunity to better examine the Glendale waterfowl. Good thing too, for that group of Snow Geese had among them two Ross's Geese, another new bird for the Butler team!

The Canada Geese tried their best to shield their conspicuous companions, but when two of the white geese swam side by side they made for a very nice, if still distant, comparison.

Although its plumage is nearly indistinguishable from the Snow Goose, the Ross's Goose is noticeably smaller and lacks the black lips (for lack of the proper word) along the beak. I doubt I could pick a Ross's out of a whole flock of Snow Geese, so it was very fortunate to have such a nice control group, as it were. 

With the sun rising high and winter still refusing to happen, Pops and I returned to the car and headed back into Phoenix proper, stopping by Grenada Park to see if the Redhead drake was still around. 

He was indeed, and what was a new bird for me on Wednesday became a new bird for Pops on Saturday. It's been a wonderful winter for ducks, and this is definitely one of the most beautiful I've seen so far.

Another first for Grenada Park was this female Lesser Scaup. As I've mentioned before, the Lesser Scaup are not nearly as common in Phoenix as many other migrants, and she brought the total number of different waterfowl species at Grenada to seven--pretty good for a pond that's about the size of a large swimming pool.

Some frolicking, off-screen Mallards provided the fun little splash in this picture, and if you enlarge the image you can see the Scaup has her nictating membrane shielding her eyes.

Redhead

There are many birds with confusing or even misleading names. The Redhead is not one of them. This mighty handsome duck was one of the few holdouts I had still not seen this winter, and was one of the ducks I have been wanting to see the most. It seems to have a similar body and beak coloration to the Ring-Necked Duck and Lesser Scaup, and but it's sighted less frequently than its other diving-duck relatives.

There were several reports of Redheads throughout Phoenix these last couple months, and yet I continued to strike out in my search for this handsome bird. The most recent report mentioned a solitary duck at the Kiwanis Park in Tempe, AZ. I stopped by after work and could not find the fowl, which made me 0 for 3 in my specific attempts at a Redhead this year.

I took a detour to Grenada Park after work on Wednesday,  and for some reason that I can't quite explain, I was feeling lucky. Maybe it was some residual fillip from the Phainopepla sightings last weekend. It may have been the sense that Redheads were somewhere in the area, and since I hadn't visited Grenada in a while they might've creeped in. Whatever the reason, I felt good about my prospects, and sure enough there was this sleepy male floating all by his lonesome.

This is the first Redhead I've seen and, needless to say, the only one that I've seen or heard of at Grenada Park. In fact, I've never seen other migrants but Ring-Necks and Wigeons (the two most common) at the Park, so this was a great bit of fortune.

As I sat down to get on a better level with the duck, it actually perked up and started to head over my way--a probable indicator that he has been at Grenada long enough to learn about people coming by and feeding the birds.

I had to disappoint Mr. Redhead in that regard, but he did not disappoint me (which is not to say that I ate him)! They're such striking birds in all of the pictures and field guides. Even with the cloudy skies and murky pond water, the definition and color on the Redhead were outstanding.

The Redhead is stunning, especially with the vivid orange eye. I'd never before noticed the black detail on the beak. There's a nice outline at the base of the bill, and a curious black stripe though the nostrils. I'll definitely have to try back for some more time with this beautiful bird.

**Here are some more recent photos, taken on 02/11/2012