Box Canyon, Santa Rita Mountains, Arizona

Although we have the Coronavirus Pandemic around the world, people are still visiting our site. This week we have had visitors from: Romania, Germany, Hong Kong, Canada, France, Czechia, United Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Indonesia, Pakistan, Thailand, Turkey, and Moldova as well as the United States.

Today, I'll show some photos from Box Canyon which is a dirt road up into the Santa Rita Mountains from Arizona Highwy 83 just north of Sonoita to Florida and Madera Canyon. There are some great views, but also great birding.

Here are some photos I've taken there these past two weeks:

Blue Grosbeak

Northern Mockingbird

Blue Grosbeak on Ocotillo

Canyon Wren

Rock Wren

Cassin's Kingbird Singing

Cassin's Kingbird "Hiding"

Bullock's Oriole on Ocotillo

Not very good photo of a Scott's Oriole

Lesser Goldfinch

Lucifer Hummingbird female Drinking from a Western Coral Bean Plant

Arivaca Cienegas, Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge - Part III

More from Arivaca Cienegas, Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge:

Northern Cardinal

Blue Grosbeak Singing

Bullock's Oriole

Great Day Birding Sabino Canyon

An early breakfast allowed me to get to Sabino Canyon by 9:30 am. I hiked up to the Dam (just a tad over a mile) and birded the 200 yards between the dam and the Sabino Creek crossing. Lots of bird song and activity. The surprise was a Yellow Breasted Chat, normally very secretive and more often heard than seen. I was off the trail in the middle of a mesquite bosque standing perfectly still when he came by. At first he was obscured by foliage, but remaining still I waited for a couple of minutes until he found an opening. Then "snap!"

Other nice finds: Male and Female Summer Tanager, and lovely cooperative Yellow Warbler. A Lucy's Warbler that just couldn't stop singing. Oh, and a young male Bullock's Oriole. Here are some photos:

Brown Crested Flycatcher

Brown Crested Flycatcher

Bullock's Oriole Juvenile

Cardinal Male

Lucy's Warbler Singing

Summer Tanager Female

Summer Tanager Male

Yellow Breasted Chat

Yellow Warbler

Yellow Warbler Singing

What Constitutes a Good Day Birding?

So I took a day off to "Bird" in Huachuca Canyon, Huachuca Mountains, Southern Arizona.

Being deaf in one ear, and cochlear implant in the other puts me a a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to birding. I can't identify a bird by its call, nor can I locate it (because only one ear works -- somewhat) by its sound.

So I have to rely on sight. In dense vegetation, that usually means movement. But when moving it's obviously more difficult to photograph.

Nonetheless, I have been reading about the Sinaloa Wren that has been seen in Huachuca Canyon for the last several months. So, off I went.

"Now, a few words on looking for things. When you go looking for something specific, your chances of finding it are very bad. Because of all the things in the world, you're only looking for one of them. When you go looking for anything at all, your chances of finding it are very good. Because of all the things in the world, you're sure to find some of them."

Daryl Zero, The Zero Effect

Did I find the Sinaloa Wren?? NO. I thought for a moment I did, but it was a Bewicks Wren. But, further up the canyon I found a Pacific Wren. The PW is also rare to Southern Arizona, so I was quite please with that find. The only problem was that he moved too quickly in and out of the vegetation and then gone in another minute. So no photo. I also saw but didn't get photos of a male Elegant Trogon. 

So one of the keys to finding AND photographing wildlife is to put yourself in the place with the most potential. That doesn't guarantee success though. You need some luck. I've sat in spots with great potential for hours and didn't see -- or photograph so much as a LLB (little brown bird).

However, toward the end of the day I found a large rock in the middle of the creek on which to sit and contemplate life's mysteries. There was some cover so I was inconspicuous. Within one minute a Swainson's Thrush came to bath; then a Yellow Rumped Warbler; then a Hepatic Tanager; then a Bullocks Oriole; then a Townsend's Warbler. All in the space of about five minutes. Both Potential and Luck.

This all happened no more than 30 feet in front of me. I expected great photos. And, while I did get some great ones I was disappointed that all the Bullock's Oriole photos were slightly out of focus:

Bullock's Oriole

 Here, though, are some of the ones that turned out well:

Hepatic Tanager

Yellow Rumped Warbler

Townsend's Warbler

Swainson's Thrush

So, by and large a GOOD DAY BIRDING!!

Tomorrow, maybe a few more photos from my trip to Huachuca Canyon.

Bullocks Oriole

Next up on my alphabetical showing of "5" Star Photos is a Bullocks Oriole. The Bullocks is a very colorful bird that eats insects, berries, and nectar. It's range is the Western United States. It is often found near habitat edges including riparian, woodland, and scrub forests. They breed here in the Southwest, preferring cottonwoods, mesquites, and willows. What I like about this photo is "the stare." He's out in the open, I am at close range, and he's looking me straight in the eye. And, again, nice contrasting --  and muted background.

Bullocks Oriole

Orioles

It is also high season for Orioles. The Baltimore and Orchard Orioles are essentially in the eastern half of the US. while the Bullocks Oriole is in the western half. The Hooded and Scotts Orioles are found only in the Southwest. So, in Arizona we commonly have the Bullocks, Hooded, and Scotts. Occasionally, the Streak-backed Oriole and Audubons Oriole are sighted here in southern Arizona. (Both have been reported this year). While the males are fairly easy to identify, the females are a little more challenging. 

The Taxonomy -- classification of birds, while scientific, is not something that ornithologists around the world completely agree upon. There are Old World Orioles (Africa, Europe, Asia, and Australia) and New World Orioles. Curiously, they are unrelated. New World Orioles are related to "Blackbirds" even though their plumage is much more like Old World Orioles than Blackbirds.

Most of the Orioles in the US are migratory and only here in the Summer. That's true (for the most part) even here in Southern Arizona. Orioles are essentially insect feeders, but will also eat fruit and nectar. I use a modified hummingbird feeder (larger ports and perches), jelly, and a nut/bug mix to attract them. I have those feeders out from March through September.

Male Bullocks Oriole

Female Bullocks Oriole

Male Hooded Oriole

Female Hooded Oriole

Male Scotts Oriole

Female Scotts Oriole

Ash Canyon Part IV

Staying with my photos from Ash Canyon for a couple more days. Today, some orioles. Both the Bullock's and the Scott's came by, often sitting in the trees behind lots of leaves and branches. Every once in a while I got a clear shot. Here is the result: 

Male Bullock's Oriole

Male Scott's Oriole

More from Patton's in Patagonia

And, lastly, for now, odds and ends from Patton's and the northern fields outside of Sonoita.

Bullock's Oriole

Five Striped Sparrow

Rufous Winged Sparrow

Pronghorn

Patton's in Patagonia - revisited Part II

I have always liked the Orioles. Especially since the Washington Senators moved out of Washington for the second time back in 1969. But, it wasn't until moving to Tucson that I found other kinds of Orioles. The Bullock's Oriole is a migratory bird found throughout the Western US during the summer months. The Scott's Oriole, also migratory, found throughout the Southwestern US during the summer months. And, the Hooded Oriole, found only in the extreme Southwestern US (again in the summer). We occasionally get the Hooded Oriole passing through the Azure Gate. We had one just last week which I was unable to photograph. Here's a photo of a Hooded Oriole I took here last year on one of our feeders:

Although I went to Patton's in Patagonia yesterday hoping the migratory Violet Crowned Hummingbird had arrived (see yesterday's post), I was pleasantly surprised to find both the Bullock's Oriole (male and female) and the Scott's Oriole (male) very willing to be photographed. First up, a Bullock's female that was catching bees from a honey jar:

Next, a Bullock's female sitting on an iron rod which held a couple of hummingbird feeders:

The next two photos are Bullock's males showing their wonderfully colorful plumage:

And, finally the Scott's Oriole (male). The Scott's Oriole would come down and drink from the hummingbird feeder too, but would then fly up into the tall trees. They seem to like the Sycamore's that typically line the Patagonia Creek. Once in the tall trees they would jump around climbing higher and higher, making photographing them more and more of a challenge. The Bullocks, on the other hand, seemed perfectly content to be in the lower branches of the trees. Here's the Scott's: