A Birding Medley

Birding has been fun as of late.  I've been busy to the point that I haven't been able to blog as much.  The highlights that I've had over the past few months have had a lot of variety to them, and a really good blend.  I'll combine them all on here with a medley of short stories that include great birds and great people.

A focal point expedition came when the great Minnesotans Josh Wallestad and Steve Gardner planned a three day trip to visit Arizona.  You all know Josh if you read my blog, he made TOBY happen!  It was going to be three days of searching Arizona with Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl being our main target.  Josh is sitting on 18 owls for the United States/Canada, and the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl is the epic finale for him.  Josh, Steve, and I thought we would be spending most of our trip trying to locate this small, endangered, and rare owl, and to start things off, we were as serious as can be.  Especially Josh.  Josh has raved and raved and raved and raved and raved and raved and raved and raved and raved about landing this owl.  I "knew" there wasn't going to be any force in heaven or hell that would stop him.

Left to right:  Yours truly, Josh Wallestad, Steve Gardner

It took one lopsided morning of scouring Organ Pipe National Monument without luck for Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (FEPO) and one taste of southeastern Arizona rarities for Josh to cavalier it and say, "Forget FEPO.  I'll just get it in Texas".  I was shocked, freaking shocked.  But I wasn't complaining either.  It was awesome.  Josh wanted to chase a Mexican rarity I had never seen before, and there were going to be attempts at a handful of other crazy birds.  Steve liked the idea just as much as I did.  In fact, I loved Josh's idea.  I found myself saying to myself, "Forget FEPO".

I sat back and watched Steve and Josh talk about which birds they wanted.  It was their trip, I was along for the ride, and their ideas kept on getting more and more awesome.  After ending a day full of birding and succeeding and striking out on multiple birds (including a success of landing Rufous-backed Robin but a Sinaloa Wren strikeout), we went night birding at Madera Canyon.  Visuals of both Whiskered Screech and Elf Owls provided a show.  In particular, the Elf Owl, the world's smallest owl, was most of the show.

The second day of the trip was the major bomb.  We started our day off landing the epic Montezuma Quail for Steve and Josh at Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast.  These secretive quail feed briefly inside of this yard quite often.  It was a thrill lifer for Josh and Steve, and for me, it was the first time I've been able to document Montezuma Quail.  My first Montezuma Quail came in the Greer Area in 2004, and this pair at Ash Canyon were the first ones I've visually seen since.  Better late than never, Mr. 14 years later!

Throughout the trip, lifer after lifer came for Steve, and Josh had plenty too.  Reports and photos of a Fan-tailed Warbler in the foothills of the Chiricahua Mountains is what really made Josh change his mind about FEPO.  Who could pass up a Fan-tailed Warbler.  What was a lifer in the making for me for years turned into a reality.  The Fan-tailed Warbler was being seen in a yard north of Portal, and it was found by the famous Rick Taylor.  To have Fan-tailed Warbler as a yard bird would be something else!  Josh, Steve, and I had a long drive ahead of us, but after 3 hours, we arrived at the house.  Many many birders had been there throughout the day, and after we parked and went to Rick's yard, we saw and enjoyed the Fan-tailed Warbler immediately.  This lasted for an hour.  Point blank views of this Mexican warbler, and my latest life bird.

 A huge thanks goes out to Rick Taylor for finding this bird and to both Rick and his wife for opening up their yard to hundreds of birders.  The Fan-tailed Warbler is a Code 4 in the ABA area.  It is usually quite the skulker of a warbler and stays in thick habitat.  We weren't complaining about it's behavioral change one bit!

From there, we went into the heart of the Chiricahua Mountains and drove up to Pinery Canyon to look for another ABA Code 4 warbler, the Slate-throated Redstart.  This particular Slate-throated Redstart has returned to the same canyon/drainage for the third year now.  Our trio didn't see it during the evening we first tried for it, but we returned in the morning.  Luckily, it didn't take long for this Mexican warbler, who is sought after by many, to make a grand appearance.  In less than 24 hours, Josh and Steve had landed two great warblers that they didn't think they would have a chance at getting before the trip started!

After seeing the Slate-throated Redstart, Josh, Steve, and I went up to Barfoot Park, which is in midst of the highest elevations of the Chiricahuas, to look for the Mexican Chickadee.  Mexican Chickadee is a big deal for ABA birders, and can only be found in two mountain ranges in the United States, including the Chiricahuas.  A range in New Mexico has the Chickadees too, but is access isn't a possibility.  We started looking for the Chickadees in the pine and fir forest in those high elevations.  We got lucky within our first ten minutes and found a few Mexican Chickadees.  It was great for Steve and Josh to get this bird too, and I had a blast as well, because I had seen this species only one other time.

The three of us had a great trip and it was a ton of fun.  Steve got about 34 lifers, Josh 18, and yours truly, 1!

Left to right:  Yours truly, Josh Wallestad, Steve Gardner

Something that has been really fun for me is showing Dara Vazquez and Jeff Ritz owls at night, as well as showing them some of the techniques I use to find owls.  We've owled several times at the Lower Salt River Recreation Area, and each night has been epic.  Each night we have had wild horses and coyotes to deal with, but each night we cut through the herds and cut through the pack to get to our owls.  The best way to start off was to go with Western Screech-Owls, and Western Screech-Owls we got!

Here Dara and a Screech are seeing each other for the first time!  Jeff was right alongside Dara (insert Jeff to Dara's right)

Once April hit, the owl team shifted our focus to Elf Owls.  One night we only heard one and could never see it.  I planned the outing a little early for the Elf Owl's arrival, but we still had a lot of fun.  All it took was to go back two weeks later, more in mid-April.  And that night, an Elf Owl pair put on a show for Dara and Jeff!

A drake Barrow's Goldeneye wintered at Lake Pleasant this year and chilled with female Common Goldeneyes.  I don't think I mentioned it on my blog yet, but I want too, because it's cool.

Caleb "The Boy" Strand found a Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet at the Higley Ponds in Gilbert during the winter, earlier this year.  I don't think I mentioned it on my blog yet, but I want too, because it's cool.

For the second time ever, I got to see Eastern Bluebirds in Maricopa County, earlier this year.  I don't think I mentioned it on my blog yet, but I want too, because it's cool.

Earlier this year, I enjoyed a Northern Saw-whet Owl at Gilbert Water Ranch.  I don't think I mentioned it on my blog yet, but I want too, because it's cool.

Gordon Karre and I went to Slate Creek Divide recently.  We found a Northern Pygmy-Owl.  It was cool, but was really high up!

And every once in awhile, you may get the crap scared out of you when birding.  Gordon and I both had our turns of it that day.  It led me to investing in two sets of snake gaitors/shields.

Northern finches, such as Cassin's Finches, lingered into lower reaches of Arizona for a significant amount of time this year.  Also noteworthy was a small flock of Evening Grosbeaks at Mount Ord.  Cool looking bird, huh!?

Dara Vazquez is one of the fastest birders in Maricopa County to reach 300 species so quickly.  She is an amazing birder.  Her 300th species for the County was a Golden Eagle soaring over Mount Ord, and I happened to be birding with her on that epic day to see her reach that milestone!

Speaking of Eagles, I have another eagle story.  While I was in a very remote section of the Mazatzal Mountains, I looked up to see an eagle flying over the area.  It was flying low, and I initially thought it would undoubtedly be a Golden Eagle.  I snapped photographs away instead of looking through my binocs because Golden Eagles don't fly low very often.  Well, it turned out to be a younger Bald Eagle.  I rarely see Bald Eagles in wilderness areas such as this and well away from water, which means it was the Explorer Bald Eagle!

Migration is truly a great thing to enjoy in birding.  Anything can happen at anytime.  Shorebirds are an example of this, and seeing shorebirds in spring is a great event.  Wilson's Phalaropes in breeding plumage are memorable.

This is a Common Black-Hawk I photographed in Gisela, Gila County.  Gisela is a great spot and I've found some cool birds there.  As I planned on doing a full expedition, the place became windy to the point that I was violently getting blown around.  If I couldn't function, how could birds.  In the midst of it all, this Black Hawk stood it's ground.  I still don't know how he did it, but he should be saluted.  

A stretch of mountain terrain in the Slate Creek Divide area (west by over a mile of the main area people go) has always looked promising and I've been curious to explore it.  Last year, Felipe Guerrero found a pair of Montezuma Quail that were only 500 feet away from the Maricopa County line in this area.  A record of this quail in Maricopa would mean an official first County record!  Dara came on the trek with me and we explored a spot in Maricopa County while scouring a steep ridge-line.  This is a spot that hasn't been covered by birders.  The habitat looked good for quail in many places.  It is a rugged area, but there are more Douglas fir, pine, and oak canyons that probably have more surprises that have yet to be unlocked.  We didn't find that Maricopa County record Montezuma Quail, but we found a singing Red-faced Warbler to start off the day in the usual area that we bird at Slate.  Red-faced Warbler is a big deal in Maricopa County.  The warbler was incredible to see, Dara and I were on Cloud 9, and perhaps they will soon return to Slate Creek Divide again as breeders in Maricopa County!

Here is an overview of one of the canyons that we scouted and looked over from the ridge-line.  It looks treacherous, but it also looks awesome...

During the Global Big Day for birding on May 5th, I covered more of the Mazatzal Mountains in Maricopa County.  I covered a new drainage area that has Douglas fir, pine, and oak.  The habitat wasn't too extensive, but was still awesome.  A few Dusky-capped Flycatchers called in the canyon, giving the county another drainage that they can be found in.

Upcoming and young birder Jared Conaway, Caleb, Dara, and I went to Desert Botanical Garden the other day to look at a lowland Flammulated Owl.  Dara had seen it earlier in the day, and she kindly invited us to see it and show it to us.  The Flam was tucked deep into the tree it was roosting in, and it was awesome to see one in the lowlands.  Flammulated Owls are probably common migrants in the lowlands and are very hard to detect.  By the way this one well hidden, it shows why they remain elusive!

Caleb "The Boy" Strand and I went on a big trek for a Gila County birding day to the Sierra Ancha Wilderness and Roosevelt Lake.  The Boy makes the birds obey him.  The Sierra Anchas are a blast, and most of our time was spent there.  One canyon provided some awesome birds...

The best highlight in the canyon was a pair of Spotted Owls.  Caleb and I located them right along the trail, and it was epic!

Any day when a Spotted Owl is spotted is a great day!

In the Anchas, Red-faced Warblers and migrant Olive-sided Flycatchers were bouncing around just as much as a beach ball at a Nickleback concert.

Yesterday on May 19th, Caleb "The Boy" Strand and I were back at it again.  Unlike the canyons and forests of the Sierra Ancha Mountains, we went to the lowlands of Yuma County.  Yuma is a county I'm not too fond of due to a lack of high elevations, but there are some great spots.  The Boy likes to bird migrant traps, such as Dateland.  The many trees around Dateland make the place a perfect migrant trap, and I think we've all lost count of how many rarities have been found there.  We were after a rare Kentucky Warbler that was found by McCreedy during the morning.  We looked for four hours without luck.  Even though we didn't find Kentucky, The Boy will be The Boy.  Caleb spied a rare Baltimore Oriole, which was a female.  Not bad!

Spring is coming to a close and summer is right around the corner.  Everyone here in Phoenix is about to get grilled.  Over these next months, I hope to do more high elevation birding, lots of intense owling, and maybe photograph a Buff-collared Nightjar.  What will the summer bring for all of you?  Make sure you make some time for some good birding!  That's all for now guys, don't know when I'll be back with the next post.  But I'll leave you with one more photograph of a Spotted Owl...

When Everyone Gets A Lifer

This most recent Friday, March 9th, 2018, I teamed up with my friends Caleb Strand, Mark Brogie, and Ellen Brogie for a birding trip down to several locations in the always anticipated southeastern Arizona.  The primary goal we set for the trip was for Mark and Ellen to find their Rufous-capped Warbler and Black-capped Gnatcatcher lifers.  If we would succeed at finding those two species, doors could possibly open to look for a few other key species in the famous Arizona region.  I don't go to southeastern Arizona very often, but I love it when I do.

Mark and Ellen Brogie are a snowbird couple from Nebraska who have spent the last few months here in Arizona.  They are well known birders in Nebraska.  Mark is Nebraska's top lister and has achieved many great things in Nebraska birding.  Caleb and I were excited to show Mark and Ellen some new birds for their life list, some that they wouldn't ever see in Nebraska.  And if you have read my blog, you all know who Caleb "The Boy" Strand is, he's pretty cool too ;)

The four of us met up very early and left the Phoenix area at 5 A.M. for the bird pursuit.  Our first stop of the day was at the birder tromped Florida Canyon.  Thousands of birders make the climb up this canyon annually to see the coveted Rufous-capped Warbler.  Besides the warbler itself, the flowing stream through Florida Canyon brings a worthwhile experience.  Florida is a narrow canyon and is surrounded by desert and shrubby vegetation.  Groves of riparian trees and Madrean oak fill the canyon in places.  Mark, Ellen, Caleb, and I found ourselves walking up and down the canyon for over an hour without much in the way of bird life to start the day.  Once the sun really hit the canyon, more and more birds would become active.  It took awhile, but after some time, the energetic sounding song of the Rufous-capped Warbler echoed across a side of the canyon.  The four of us pursued the warbler through thick and thin.  Most of it was thick.  We listened to the warbler for a long time while trying to get visuals.  Listening to it was even fun.  After a lot of work and pursuit, the Rufous-capped Warbler eventually sat at eye level and close to Mark, Ellen, and I, giving us great views.  Caleb watched it and listened to it as he scoured a cliff above the location.  It was great to catch up with this bird again, and seeing Mark and Ellen get a lifer the way they did was even better.  After a lot of climbing and bushwhacking only to see the warbler vanish the first few times as we tried to lay eyes on it, resulted in an ending that rewarded us for our efforts.

Rufous-capped Warbler in Florida Canyon.  Pima County, Arizona.  3/9/2018

This Rufous-capped Warbler sang constantly for us once it started singing.  Listening to it before we could finally see it was fun too.

Rufous-capped Warbler is very distinctive among North American warblers.  Its rufous crown and ariculars, striking white supercilum, yellow throat and breast, and long and slender tail easily separate it from others where it has shown up in Arizona and Texas.

Caleb Strand navigating the steep terrain.

Ellen and Mark Brogie enjoying the Rufous-capped Warbler!

After Florida Canyon, we went to Proctor Road near the entrance to Madera Canyon.  Our main target here was Black-capped Gnatcatcher.  It didn't take us long to find a pair of the Gnatcatchers and note their key vocalizations and field marks.  They were moving fast, and it was difficult to photograph them.  

It was awesome that we got Rufous-capped Warbler and Black-capped Gnatcatcher as quickly as we did.  It meant that we could move on to other locations and try for more southeastern Arizona rarities.  The next bird that we opted for was a Sinaloa Wren.  This Sinaloa Wren was found adjacent to the Santa Cruz River along the De Anza Trail stretch just south of Santa Gertrudis Lane.  If we could find it, this would be a third lifer of the day for the Brogies.  Caleb and I had both seen Sinaloa Wren, but only once.  My previous observation, which took place in 2013, contained good audio experience but a horrible view.  Birders have been seeing this wren near a toy children's bicycle left out on the trail.  It took us a few minutes, but we found the bicycle, and ironically, the wren perched right above the bicycle as we were walking up!  The wren quickly went into denser cover.  We would see it on and off after twenty minutes or so of watching.  During that time, I had a few great views of this Mexican rarity, and finally, a diagnostic photograph I have always wanted of it.

Sinaloa Wren!  My first decent photograph.  Santa Cruz River, south of Santa Gertrudis Lane.  Santa Cruz County, Arizona 3/9/2018.

Visually, what makes a Sinaloa Wren?  You can see it in this photo.  The tail is a rufous color, and it contrasts with the bird's brownish back.  Another good indicator are the black-and-white streaks on the cheeks and sides of the neck.  

We also looked for a hoped for one out of five Rufous-backed Robins that were being seen along the trail.  After so much success, we dipped on the robins, which would have been a lifer for Ellen.  We left the Santa Cruz River shortly after to head to Patagonia Lake State Park to chase a mega Arizona rarity that had shown up a few days prior, a Carolina Wren.

Carolina Wren is a colorful wren on the eastern United States.  While Mark and Ellen have seen this bird, they liked how rare it was for Arizona.  Caleb and I were stoked to chase Carolina, as it would be a life bird for both of us if we could land it.  We arrived at the famous Patagonia Lake State Park around 3:45 P.M., and headed over to the vicinity of the Visitor Center and the eye-catching and high arching pedestrian bridge.  An inlet of the lake flows into this section of the park, and the bridge goes over the inlet.  Tall reeds surround both sides of the inlet.  We walked over the tall and high arching bridge.  Once reaching the west side of the bridge after officially crossing, we heard some noise in the reeds immediately.  While we knew there were plenty of Marsh Wrens and Common Yellowthroats around, we waited to find out what this noise might me.  It was crazy, because it turned out to be that Carolina Wren.  Just like that!  We were in disbelief.  Carolina popped out into the open and gave us great views.  It was a great lifer for me to get, and it has completed my Wren list for the United States and Canada.  A Carolina and Sinaloa Wren both in the same day was truly a lot of fun!

Carolina Wren!  My 540th life bird.  Patagonia Lake State Park, Santa Cruz County, Arizona, 3/9/2018.  Bird was originally found by Matt Brown.

Key field marks for Carolina Wren include long supercillum, bright reddish-brown back, white chin, and all buffy on the front side of the bird.

We closed the day out by hiking along the Birding Trail within Patagonia Lake State Park.  Many birds were active.  We stumbled across a few more Black-capped Gnatcatchers and got to watch and study them further.  What I didn't know was how many different vocalizations they give.  I was impressed when Caleb pointed out those vocalizations to us: one of which sounded like a call that Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet gives, and the other sounded like call the Western Kingbird gives.

Black-capped Gnatcatcher.  Patagonia Lake State Park, Santa Cruz County, Arizona.  3/9/2018.  In this picture, key field marks for this species are the long bill length as well was the black in front of the eye was well as the black stripe above the eye.

The day was a huge success for us.  We had a long drive home and got back to Phoenix late, but it was sure worth the time and fun!  Thanks Mark, Ellen, and Caleb for the great time.