Birding with Bria

I took a quick birding trip yesterday morning with my 8-year old (and no longer the baby) Bria to look for a Barn Owl.  My first and only (wild) one I've ever seen was over 6 years ago, so I was pretty pumped about the possibility of seeing one.  We had no trouble finding the tell-tale owl pellets and poop.  The next thing I know Bria was wide-eyed and pointing up, "I see it."  She was very excited about seeing her first owl, what a beauty!

Barn Owl

A nice Western Tanager posed for us too.

The sun was beating down on us as we walked back to the truck, but it was a successful trip.  I can't wait for the forecasted 65 degree weather tomorrow morning.  Happy (official) fall birding to all!

Patagonia Booby

Patagonia Mountains

The drive from Tucson to Patagonia is gorgeous right now.  It's amazing how lush and green everything looks from the recent rain.  But rain isn't the only thing that's blown in recently.  A few weeks ago an immature Blue-footed Booby was discovered at Patagonia Lake, becoming the first documented species of booby for Southeast Arizona.  I finally got a chance to make the trip and it didn't disappoint.

After running into fellow Arizona blogger Laurence Butler, the booby did a fly-by.  For the next half hour I enjoyed watching it fly around the lake, dive for fish, and even scratch an itch in mid-air!  I wonder how long it will stick around, there's plenty of fish to eat.

     

Later I was joined by Will Russell of WINGS Birding Tours.  It was a pleasure talking with him.  He amazed me when he identified a Yellow-billed Cuckoo flying 100 feet away in the sun, a bird I wouldn't have even tried to ID.  We watched the booby make passes with a backdrop of cactus, pretty cool!

 

 

Will and I also enjoyed close views of an Osprey.

We watched one have a face-off with a Turkey Vulture, but not much happened.

My next stop was the Patagonia Roadside Rest Area to try to photograph a Thick-billed Kingbird.  They were very cooperative and even seemed to be wearing their brighter fall feathers.  Check out that massive bill!

A Blue Grosbeak shared a nearby perch.  

There were also a few beautiful Varied and Lazuli Bunting, but they weren't cooperative for photos.

No trip to Patagonia would be complete without a stop at the Paton's yard, the most reliable spot to find the Violet-crowned Hummingbird.

  

The Paton's property is now up for sale.  The American Bird Conservancy, Victor Emanuel Nature Tours, and the Tucson Audubon Society are trying to acquire it to preserve it as a sanctuary for birds and birders.  For more details and a way to contribute, visit here.  

Here are a few other birds that were in the yard.

a young Abert's Towhee

Inca Dove

Western Tanager

Western Tanager

White-breasted Nuthatch

On my way back to Tucson I visited the grasslands north of Sonoita in hopes of finding a Grasshopper Sparrow.  The first birds I heard were Botteri's Sparrow, but then the grasshoppers chimed in and a few even posed for me.

A few Eastern Meadowlark also made an appearance.

I tried to find a Grasshopper Sparrow a little further north for my Pima County list without any luck.  But I did enjoy the views of the mountains.

Patagonia Mountains

Whetstone Mountains

 All in all it was a much needed soul-satisfying day.

Shoot Me Monday

After the fifth time in a few years, I finally got to see my first Mississippi Kite in St. David, AZ.  They're a local summer resident here along the lower San Pedro River.  As I drove to the area where they're known to hang out, I saw a single bird soaring high in the sky.  I barely had enough time to snap a few distant photos as it flew out of sight.  If I had been one minute later, I would have missed it.  Lucky ducky.  

Just in the Nick of Time

Since my son was born on the first of this month, I haven't been out birding (or sleeping much).  You can imagine my bitter bird face when the Rufous-necked Wood-Rail was found 350 miles away.  But I have thoroughly enjoyed spending time with my son before I have to go back to teaching.  I've also had more time than usual to watch the feeders at home and picked up four new yard birds.

This past Wednesday another great bird was found in Huachuca Canyon, a Slate-throated Redstart.  Now 70 miles away is doable!  There are only 8 previous sightings of this bird in Arizona and according to the Nat Geo guide all US records are from the spring.  They say this bird is a molting juvenile which is interesting because young birds rarely travel far.  So where did it fledge?  Well, I knew I only had a one-day window to see this bird since I had my daughters over until last night and I go back to work tomorrow.

I made it to the yellow gate of the canyon at 6:30 this morning and found it closed.  Not wanting to wait for it to be opened, I made the 2 mile hike to where the bird had been reported.  At 8:30 I spotted the bird flitting around on the dry creek bed fanning its tail and putting on a fantastic show.  What a gorgeous bird!

I was able to alert 14 other birders who were able to see the bird.  Imagine my surprise when I learned that one of them was the chief consultant and editor of the Nat Geo guide, Jon Dunn, and that it was a new ABA bird for him.  Pretty freakin' cool!

Unfortunately I've just learned that the canyon is closed until at least next weekend because of bear activity.  I was just in time.  For anyone who was planning on chasing this bird this week, here is the culprit.  Feel free to cuss it out.

Hopefully the bird sticks around and the bear doesn't!

June Birding

As you know, June is generally a slow birding month.  To make matters worse, it has been a scorcher so far this month here in Tucson.  In fact, it's officially been the warmest first half of June EVER!  It was 106 yesterday.  Yuck, I can't wait for the monsoons.

The other morning I was up early and decided to take a walk around the neighborhood to see what birds were around.  I found this cutie enjoying the burgundy desert willow.

Anna's Hummingbird

For Father's Day I took Gaby and the girls to one of my favorite birding spots, Empire Gulch at Las Cienegas National Conservation Area.  The giant cottonwoods in the riparian area are beautiful! 

same spot my dad took me

It's not the best place for photographing birds because the trees block out a lot of the sunlight.  But one pair was cooperative and everyone had good looks.

Summer Tanager male

Summer Tanager female

Other cool birds we saw were Blue Grosbeak, Yellow-breasted Chat, and Gray Hawk.  I also heard a Yellow-billed Cuckoo, but never got eyes on it.  That said, today wasn't really about the birds but spending time with la familia.  It was a fantastic way to begin Father's Day.  Gaby didn't even complain too much about the washboard dirt roads even though she's 8 months pregnant.  And the girls were happy that our little nature exploration counted towards "outdoors time" and "no electronics time."

Another Rarity at a Tucson "Lake"

Yesterday I finally got one of my most sought after birds in Pima County.  It's another bird that I've seen many times in San Diego, but have always missed in Arizona because it's the most notorious one-day-wonder in the state, the Heermann's Gull.  Rarely has one stuck around for more than a day after being found.  It's a casual visitor in the state with most records from late fall.  UPDATE: No gull seen today, another one-day-wonder!

Heermann's Gull | Kennedy Lake | Found by John Higgins

Anyone care to guess what's to the left of that bush?