Texas Times: A Warbler Blitz

"If I was going to get started in birding, what is the best way it can interest me?  What is the catch about it?"

A hiker asked us why about our upcoming pursuit when he saw us packing backpacks and many supplies to camp up in the mountains for a night.  Our conversation overshot and carried over to other people and they realized that we were taking a tasking hike with a certain bird in mind.

We all took turns telling him why birding was awesome, and I remember telling him something similar to this:  "What's fun about birding is that it's like a constant treasure hunt.  You can find cool birds, take many trips to different places to see different birds, you develop friendships with people along the way, you learn new things everyday, and at any given time you can find anything that is common to really rare.  I tell people who have an interest in getting started to buy a field guide, look through it, and select a handful of birds that interest you and make it a goal to see some of those standout birds.  After that, the others start to become more interesting too".

Caleb, Josh, David, and I were in the big parking lot at the headquarters of Big Bend National Park.  It was getting close to 6:30 P.M. that evening on April 29th, 2019.  We were about to embark on an adventure up into the Chisos Mountains from the park headquarters, which is a 4.5 mile one way hike.  Camping supplies were being transported with us too, as we were taking a trail to the Boot Spring Trail to eventually camp out at Boot Spring after an arrival well past dusk.  Our beforehand activities were making more people look over other than the first hiker who originally asked us what we were doing.  He might have passed along what we were doing to his group.  Birding must be attention grabbing for some, as more people started asking us questions.  They were a group of hikers and they had a filming crew with them.

I don't remember what David and Josh were doing, but Caleb and I got asked a few questions, and we looked over to see that people had camera gear and while one guy was asking us questions, another one was filming.

He asked, "What is it your looking for and what are you doing to look for it?"   I answered, "We are hiking up for the night, camping, and are hoping to see the Colima Warbler.  It's a pretty small bird, and many birders come up here for it".

He continued to ask, "Why is this bird so special to make birders want to come up here for it?"  Caleb chimed in with an informative answer and said, "Colima Warbler is mainly a Mexican species that barely enters into the United States in this part of the Chiso Mountains in Texas as well as smaller numbers that reach the Davis Mountains.  The Davis Mountains aren't accessible for much of the year, which makes this hike up into Boot Spring the choice for almost everyone seeking this bird.  Birders will do crazy things to see birds with limited ranges, and this hike is a famous one for birders".

Caleb said it all, and I can't remember exactly what else we were asked.  The people who talked to us were very interested in our birding pursuit, and seemed thrilled to have the interest of ours be a part of what they were putting together.  They followed that by taking Caleb and my picture, and asking for our permission and signature to be on the show they were filming.  We were glad to have our pursuit be a part of something, and hopefully they'll end up using our short interviews.  I asked them what show it was they were filming for and they answered, "It's this show called Vice.  And good luck with seeing that bird".

Seeing a group of people who were outsiders to birding take interest in our hobby and see what was interesting about it was awesome.  They were amazed that one bird would bring so many people from afar to one place in hopes of seeing it.  Speaking of that bird, it is indeed called the Colima Warbler, and all four of us were determined to get our chances of enjoying it.  Like Caleb said in front of the guys, the Colima Warbler barely enters into the United States in the two mountain ranges in the southern edge of west Texas, and the Chisos Mountains give 99% of chances as the Davis Mountains are hard to access.  The bird's main habitat lies above 5,000' and consists of oak woodlands, pinyon-juniper and shrubby hillsides, and it may also be found in narrower canyons like the Boot Canyon we would camp out at that has mixes of oak, maple, cypress, and some Douglas fir.  We had a 4.5 mile hike ahead of us to Boot Spring for this bird, a hike that is steep in parts and has a lot of switchbacks as one ascends to the habitat were the warblers are sought out.  This is a famous hike among birders.  It's easy for some, but for most it is a challenging hike.  And most birders will attempt the hike because they want to see a Colima Warbler.  Caleb pointed out that he often hears birders referring to the hike as "The Colima Death March".  I love the assigned name to the hike, and I was pumped that my buddies and I were going to attempt the "Colima Death March".

We bought plenty of food for the hike back in Alpine, Texas, and we finished up packing our needed gear at the headquarters parking lot and started hiking up into the Chisos starting with going on a trail that went through the Chisos Basin.  Between the parking lot and beginning stages of the hike, some of the birds we encountered were Mexican Jay, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Scott's Oriole, and the striking Varied Bunting.  What's interesting about the Mexican Jays is that they are a different subspecies than the ones that are found in Arizona, and they are darker colored and they sound a bit different too.

A loose sleeping bag I was carrying that was tied onto my backpack came loose and it wasn't possible to stay tied.  I didn't mind to carry my sleeping bag up for the entire hike, and David was carrying his the entire way.  Josh had a compact sleeping bag with him, and Caleb had a hammock he was bringing along.  We each had our flashlights and warm gear.  Before the hike and following a Facebook post I made talking about our hike, I had a birder comment about nearly dying of hypothermia back in the day on the same hike due to a huge thunderstorm that unexpectedly came over the mountain.  Thankfully there weren't any threatening clouds over us for such a storm to happen, but we did go prepared.

I've also heard stories of Mountain Lions stalking birders and hikers who venture into the Chisos Mountains during their Colima Warbler pursuits.  By reading the Big Year novel, there is one such example.  I've also talked to a birder who has had a personal encounter with a lion who acted sketchy on the trail.  I saw the hike as a chance to hopefully see the elusive creature for the first time in my life, and I knew that our death march of four would be a little sketchy to a lion.  Big Bend National Park doesn't hesitate to let people know about Mountain Lions and Black Bears as they go up into the wilderness.

Climbing further into the mountains, we hiked trails that went up through the Chisos Basin before we would reach the higher elevations of the Boot Canyon Trail.  The climb was fun but tiring at times, and we would takes breaks along the way.  White-throated Swifts buzzed overhead.  A few Zone-tailed Hawks scoured ridge tops.  Acorn Woodpeckers sat on bare branches in the open.  A "whit" call that was poorly heard was either a Dusky or Gray Flycatcher.  Mexican Jays continued to sound off.  A handful of Black-crested Titmouse seen and heard reminded me of what Josh said earlier in the day in the Davis Mountains, "Tommy, they will be everywhere".  Songs of Canyon Wrens and Scott's Orioles are always welcome tunes to hear when they decide to play.

Black-crested Titmouse

Mexican Jay

The hike would take a little longer than we thought it would.  Stopping and taking breaks was necessary at times, and we constantly talked about birding adventure.  It takes longer to get dark in Texas than it does in Arizona, and it didn't really get dark until after 9 P.M.  Our flashlights came into good use for over a mile before we would reach our camping point at Boot Spring.  The calls of several Mexican Whip-poor-wills starting up as they'd begin their night is one I enjoy listing to as it reminds me of an intriguing peace.  We would tally up to fourteen of the nightjars from the start of the Boot Camp Trail to the .8 mile of where we would camp out at.  Once at the campsite I was about ready for sleep.  Before hanging up our backpacks to be bear proof, we had peanut butter and honey sandwiches for dinner.  Camping is always awesome, and is one of the best ways to enjoy birding.  Caleb and Josh would try owling and scorpion hunting briefly.  They tried to play Flammulated Owl a few times without luck, but as David and I sat back at camp, we thought it was an actual Flam calling.  Not cool, Josh and Caleb.  David and I did try and fool them that we had a Spotted Owl before the Flam calls were discussed, but our joke didn't come close to working.  One owl that did call before we got to sleep was a Western Screech-Owl.  I was tired but anxious about the next day, because I knew we would start looking for Colima Warbler, as well as some other awesome rarities...

The fourth full day of the trip, April 30th, would come in back-and-fourth throughout the early 12 A.M. through 3 A.M. hours of the night.  I was having a hard time falling asleep during the span.  The time was passed by looking up at the stars and moon above, and by listening to several Mexican Whip-poor-wills singing.  It seemed as if they had decided to camp around us themselves, because they wouldn't stop singing from the same close by spots the entire night.  I loved it, and here is a video recording of the serenading song that I took of the Whips singing up in the Chisos Mountains.

I ended up getting some decent sleep before it got light out and birds would start singing.  We birded around the camp spot for a few minutes before hiking down the Boot Spring itself, where most of the interesting birds reports were being seen from.  We heard a few Oreothlypis warblers calling, which could have easily been Colima Warblers as that is the genus they are in, but we weren't able to get any visuals on the calls.

Before our trip, we knew that other than Colima Warblers, Boot Spring was also hosting a territorial Slate-throated Redstart.  It was exciting to have this bird be a possibility on the side of Colima Warbler.  As I have seen this bird in Arizona a few times with more distant views, I was hoping for a closer view in Texas.  A Dusky-capped Flycatcher was also reported near Boot Spring, which is another rarity for Texas.  Once we made our way towards Boot Spring to look for these birds, we could hear the Slate-throated Redstart singing loudly from a distance.  Caleb and I got ahead of Josh and David, and it didn't take long for us to see the Slate-throated Redstart singing near the top of a tall tree.

Slate-throated Redstart

After waiting with some patience, I was hoping the bird would come down and sing a lot lower.  But when a life bird comes into play, I can be very impatient.  As I listened to the Slate-throated Redstart right near me but yet still high up in the trees, Caleb went ahead of me and I followed him a few minutes later.  Once I caught up to him, he told me he heard and saw a Colima Warbler up a short distance that was in a more shrubby setting along with some juniper habitat.  I walked to the spot he had it and could hear the Colima singing.  It wasn't far off of the trail, and after I made a few pishing sounds, the warbler flew in and gave me a few decent views.  The sight of a Colima Warbler in front of me was awesome and quite hard to believe it was happening at first.

Colima!

Caleb went back to get Josh and David and they walked by the singing Slate-throated Redstart at first because it continued to stay high up in the trees.  We all searched for Colimas were Caleb had found the first.  One bird sang up in the direction from a slope on the opposite side of the trailside slope we were on and this one had to be accessed from a drainage.  It wasn't long before we were bushwhacking up towards it.  The drainage was thick and steep after awhile, and the Colima we pursued gave us a few fleeting glimpses once we caught up to it.  I decided to go back while the others continued on and up the steep drainage.

The tall trees and narrow canyon at Boot Spring was thrilling for me.  I went back towards the Slate-throated Redstart again and not much changed-it was still too high up for the views I wanted.  After walking back up the trail again for a short distance, I encountered my second Colima Warbler of the day.  It wasn't very cooperative for photos, but a close binocular look was awesome.

One of the fun things about the trip was that the four of us would bird as a team much of the time, but at other times, we would go off to ourselves and enjoy what we wanted to enjoy individually.  At this point in the Chisos, I wanted to look for and see Colima Warblers in a much lazier way than the others were willing to do.  I ended up going back to the spot where Caleb originally found the bird singing, and I hiked down the trail further past that point.  Josh and Caleb were along that stretch, and the trail went along what was mostly a dry creek and it had steep slopes on both sides of the trail and creek.  Several Colimas could be heard singing past this point.  Caleb did what Caleb usually does and climbed one of the steep slopes and disappeared for awhile, and Josh and I waited in hopes that the Colima we heard singing nearby would give us some awesome views.  This time around, patience proved to work best and Josh's eagle eye spied the bird eventually perched and out in the open, with a perfect view!

Colima Warblers are similar to Nashville and Virginia's Warblers, but are noticeably larger, have a brownish back and flanks and have have darker orange-ish yellow undertail coverts.  April and May are the best times to look and find this bird when they are singing.  Josh and I were content with our views after this one and we focused on other birds after.

One of the cool things about David is how much he enjoys warblers.  He stayed in the drainage the others climbed up to for a long time, and he eventually filled an entire frame up with a perfectly crisp Colima Warbler photograph.  While Colima was a lifer for all of us, Josh, Caleb, and I had all seen Slate-throated Redstart in Arizona.  This was David's shot at getting it as a life bird, and when he was looking at this Boot Spring Slate-throated Redstart, the bird came in lower for a few brief minutes and David as able to get a great photo of it too.  It made me want to get a better view and photograph.  After climbing up a steep slope to get more level and close to the fir that the Redstart was singing from, I finally managed to get a few shots of this species!

Our scattered group continued to be out and about enjoying what we wanted to enjoy in Boot Spring.  I ran into Caleb as he was birding down in a drainage, and he heard the Dusky-capped Flycatcher calling a few times.  When we all ended up in the same spot again, we listened for the Dusky-capped for awhile without any further luck.  Besides rarities, there were other awesome birds at Boot Spring.  White-throated Swifts were prevalent in places as they resembled torpedoes overhead.  Blue-throated Hummingbirds are rather common in the Chisos, and we encountered five of them.  Dusky and Cordilleran Flycatchers represented the empids in the area.  Mexican Jays and Black-crested Titmice were loud and numerous.  Bewick's Wren was abundant, and a close up Canyon Wren is always a good highlight.  A Painted Redstart was neat to see after seeing the Slate-throated Redstart, and other warblers present included MacGillivray's, Yellow-rumped, Townsend's and Wilson's Warblers.  Hepatic and Western Tanagers were both present, as were plenty of Black-headed Grosbeaks.

Painted Redstart

Black-crested Titmouse

Canyon Wren

Blue-throated Hummingbird

Cordilleran Flycatcher

After spending over four hours of birding at Boot Spring, we had the champion lunch of peanut butter and honey sandwiches before making the hike back down for 4.5 miles towards the Big Bend National Park headquarters.  On the way down we encountered a few more Colima Warblers and awesome views of the cliffs and mountains surrounding the trail.  Our Texas first Golden Eagle made it's appearance on our way down, as did Virginia's and Grace's Warblers.  By the time we reached the parking lot of the headquarters, we were close to dead.  It called for some sitting down and soda before going back on the road again to drive again for hours to bird the Texas Hill Country.

Townsend's Warbler

Black-crested Titmouse

Looking up at the Chisos while drinking before heading out of Big Bend National Park was a reminder of why the passion and hobby of birding is as great as it is.  We successfully completed the "Colima Death March" while going on a warbler blitz in a place none of us have ever been before.  Birding takes us places, there's no doubt about that.

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...