Birding Mount Lemmon - Part II

Other recent photos from Mount Lemmon:

Buff Breasted Flycatcher

Grace's Warbler

Hairy Woodpecker

Grace's Warbler

Continuing to share my warbler photos along with information about each species, from my latest book: "Warblers of Arizona, A Guide to Finding and Photographing Warblers in Southern Arizona." 

If you are interested in purchasing it, please email me at exclusivelywildlifephotos.com or info@azuregate.com.

Grace's Warbler

Common Name: Grace’s Warbler

Scientific Name: Setophaga graciae

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Conservation Status: Least Concern though populations have declined by 56% over the past 50 years; current population estimate is 2.1 million

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Size: 4.7 inches

Description: crown, nape, and back is gray; yellow crescent under eye; yellow supercilium; black lores; small black bill; yellow throat and breast; white belly; two white wing bars; variable streaking on flanks; tail dark with white outer feathers

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Male/Female: females and males are similar and difficult to identify

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Range: Southern Nevada, Utah, and Colorado through Western Mexico to Nicaragua

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Migration: very short migration breeding mainly in Arizona and New Mexico

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Season for Arizona: April through October

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Habitat: pine forests from 6,000 to 9,000 feet; spends most of its time in tree tops and rarely perches in exposed situations

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Community Behavior: solitary or mixed warbler and titmouse/nuthatch flocks

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Feeding Behavior: forages mostly in the very tops of pine trees

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Diet: Insects and spiders, though details are unknown

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Nesting Behavior: cup shaped nest among pine clusters 20-60 feet above ground; nest built by female though time to build is unknown; 3 to 4 creamy white eggs with brown spots; two broods per year; incubation and nestling periods are unknown

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Where to Find in Southern Arizona: Mount Lemmon from 6,000 to 9000 feet; Huachuca’s, Chiracahua’s, and Santa Rita’s above 6,000 feet

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Comments: “Discovered” by Elliott Coues in the Rocky Mountains in 1864, naming it after his 18 year old sister, Grace; one of the least known warblers due to its habitat

Garden Canyon, Huachuca Mountains

Catching up a bit from an unusually busy summer.

Christine and I took our daughter and son-in-law to Fort Huachuca. After getting passes for them we headed up Garden Canyon for a hike in Sawmill Canyon at the end of the road.

It was a lovely time and beautiful hike. Lots of butterflies this time of year and seemingly endless supply of Grace's Warblers.

Although my "focus" was on family, I did get a couple of photos to share:

Grace's Warbler

Two Tailed Swallowtail

Best Wildlife Photos of 2016: Grace's Warbler

Up next is Grace's Warbler, a small warbler that lives primarily above 7,000 feet in the tops of ponderosa pines. As such it is not an easy find -- nor an easy photograph. I couldn't decide between two photos I took this year of a Grace's on Mount Lemmon. In the first, the Grace's is nestled in a Ponderosa pine cluster and I love how the yellow breast shines through the cluster. In the second photo the Grace's is perched out in the open (again on a ponderosa pine branch) and I was able to get very fine detail. So here are both:

Grace's Warbler

Grace's Warbler

Mount Lemmon Warblers

It is high season for Warblers now. And there is no better place than Mount Lemmon to find them. Some days are better than others, but this time of year you can usually find several species. Yesterday I photographed six different species, but I've had days with 10 and two day periods with 12. 

Some knowledge of where to look, and what kind of foliage for each species is clearly helpful. But, there is always an element of luck. You can be in the right place at a good time, and you'll often find several this time of year.

It is impossible to predict when a flock of warblers will come through. But when that happens, birding is exciting. For the photographer who waits patiently for an opportunity to photograph one bird, it can also be a bit frustrating when all of a sudden you are faced with many species and you must decide which to photograph.

Here are some photographs from yesterday:

Grace's Warbler

Hermit Warbler

Orange Crowned Warbler

Painted Redstart

Townsend's Warbler

Wilson's Warbler

Mount Lemmon: Grace's and Olive Warblers

Mount Lemmon is an exceptional birding area. There are over 14 different birding sites each affording good birding with a variety of species. As you go up the mountain you start with Molino Canyon Vista, then Molino Basin Campground, Cypress/Middle Bear Picnic area, General Hitchcock Campground, Rose Canyon Lake, Incinerator Ridge, the hill to the south of Mt. Bigelow Trailhead (across from Palisades Visitor Center), Bear Wallow/Sunset Trail, Sykes Knob Road, Inspiration Rock Picnic area, Alder Picnic area, Loma Linda Picnic area, Summerhaven to Marshall Gulch Trail, and Ski Valley to Sky Center Road. 

As you ascend, the eco zones change offers incredible scenery. You start with the Lower Sonoran Desert filled with Saguaro Cacti. Then at 4,000 feet the Saguaros end abruptly. From here it is the Upper Sonoran Scrub Desert and Grasslands. Then Oak Woodland and Chaparral. Rocky cliffs are next with (balancing rock) hoodoos, always worthy of photos. Then the Oak-Pine Woodland leading to Ponderosa Pine Forests and finally Pine-Aspen Forests.

I will often start with Inspiration Rock, Alder, and Loma Linda Picnic sites up on the ridge at 8,000 feet. The reason is that this is the first place the sun hits in the morning. Experience has shown it to have high birding activity early in the morning.

Yesterday was no different. In fact, I ended up spending so much time at Inspiration Rock that I barely had time for anything else before needing to get back down the mountain. (Though I did make a quick stop at Incinerator Ridge).

The Western Bluebirds were there in great numbers, as were the Gilded Flickers. Throw in a bunch of Yellow Rumped Warblers, Pygmy and White Breasted Nuthatches, Plumbeous Vireos, Yellow Eyed Juncos, Robins, Stellar Jays, Ravens, Turkey Vultures, and my favorite Warblers: Grace's and Olives.

The Olive Warbler is found only in Southeast Arizona and Southwest New Mexico. Grace's extends a little farther north into Southern Utah. Both, though, only at or above 7,000 feet. And both spend their lives in the tops of Ponderosa Pines foraging for small insects among the pine needles.

Needless to say, they aren't as often seen given their preferred habitat. And even when seen, photographs aren't always possible -- or don't always turn out. 

Here are a few photos that I took yesterday of the Grace's and Olives:

Grace's out on a branch

Grace's peeking out from a pine cluster

Grace's nestled among the pine cluster

Olive buried in a pine cluster

Olive a bit more in the open

Grace's Warbler: Right Time, Right Place, and Lots of Luck

Little is known about Grace's Warbler other than it was first reported by Elliott Coues' in 1864. Elliott Coues was a well known naturalist and ornithologist who the small subspecies of White Tailed Deer, the Coues Deer is named after. Coues asked that the bird be named after his sister, Grace.

The summer breeding range of Grace's Warbler is mainly Arizona and Central Mexico, although it doesn't pay much attention to state borders so can sometimes be found in the extreme southern parts of Nevada, Utah, southwest Colorado, and western New Mexico where the elevation is 7000 feet and there are pine trees. It winters in Central America.

Even though its territorial requirements are very precise, little is known of the Grace's Warbler due to the fact that it stays atop 130 foot Ponderosa Pine trees. It's diet is presumed to be insects like other warblers, gleaning from branches and pine clusters.

Since it stays above 7000 feet it is restricted to the Catalina, Huachuca, Chiricahua, and Santa Rita Mountains in southern Arizona. I have found Grace's along the Carrie Nation Trail in the Santa Ritas, Huachuca Canyon in the Huachucas, and Incinerator Ridge on Mount Lemmon in the Catalinas. I have also seen it in the picnic areas at Middle Bear and Hitchcock in the Catalinas.

That brings me to yesterday's birding trip up Mount Lemmon. My photographs of Grace's at Middle Bear picnic area have never been great because I'm always standing 100 feet below them. Those photos are mostly "belly shots." But at Incinerator Ridge, you can be eye level to mid or top portions of the Ponderosa Pines. And such was the case. Right time, right place, and as luck would have it, a Grace's Warbler landed and perched no more than 15 feet from me (for about 5 seconds) before flying away. But those 5 seconds gave me an opportunity for a photo. And I was pleased with the result (you can see the Ponderosa Pine needles in the background of the photo):

Grace's Warbler

Warblers of Southern Arizona: Grace's Warbler

Continuing my series on Warblers of Southern Arizona, in alphabetical order, next up:

Grace's Warbler

Distinctive Identification Marks: yellow chin, throat, and breast; yellow arc under eye; yellow supercilium; white behind eye; black streaking on side; white wing bars; 

Frequency: Uncommon

Season: April through September

Range: Arizona and New Mexico

Habitat: Tree Tops, usually Pine

Feeding Behavior: Gleaning: perched bird takes prey from branch

General Behavior: Usually hidden among pine needles 

Where to Find: Mount Lemmon; Highest elevation in the Huachucha's, Santa Rita's, and Chiricahua's.

Chance of Finding: While this warbler is listed as common it is infrequently seen. There are several reasons for this. 1) they are usually only found above 7000 feet; 2) they are either solitary or one among a small flock of warblers; 3) they  stay in tree canopies often 60 to 80 feet off the ground; and 4) they are usually buried in the pines; and 5) they rarely perch on exposed branches. This reduces the chance to 5-10% even in its preferred habitat. The best strategy is looking down into canyons from the trail or road which can put you closer to eye level.

Lousy Photo but Good for Identifying

Warblers of Mount Lemmon: Summary

Many warblers are hard to find, let alone photograph. Some like the Grace's and Olive's stay in the tree tops some 40 to 80 feet off the ground. They can be completely hidden by leaves or pine needles. Your only hope is to see them fly from tree to tree.

In other cases, such as the Painted Redstart, Lucy's, Nashville, Wilson's, they like brush and can even be seen on the ground at times. 

As for identifying them, sometimes that too can be challenging. Case in point, the Olive Warbler. For those people with a fine ear (and memory) hearing becomes the best way to distinguish  a female Hermit Warbler from a female Olive Warbler. That's if the birds are vocal. But trying to identify a female Olive by sight in real time? Not very likely. Even with good photographs of both an Olive and a Hermit it is difficult. I have on several occasions come home thinking I have an Olive photograph when after careful study concluded it was a Hermit.

Nonetheless, for a birder or photographer spending a few hours in the wilderness of Mount Lemmon can be exciting when a mix flock of Warblers rolls through a canyon. We are used to spending an hour and not seeing anything -- then all of a sudden there are so many birds you don't know what to try to photograph first.  

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I've been trying to concentrate on Warblers of Mount Lemmon. Here's a summary of what I've photographed in the past three weeks:

Black Throated Gray Warbler

Grace's Warbler

Hermit Warbler

Lucy's Warbler

Nashville Warbler

Painted Redstart

Red Faced Warbler

Townsend's Warbler

Virginia's Warbler

Wilson's Warbler

Still Another Trip Up Mount Lemmon

As I mentioned I am focusing on Mount Lemmon this summer trying to find as many different Warblers as I can. I had been hoping for a Grace's but it had eluded me until last Friday. I was able to get several photos although none were "sellable." Finding the Grace's once should help me find more in the future. I know what to look for now. They seem to prefer tree-tops. Mostly the ponderosa pines with an occasional foray into the oaks. But all 30 to 40 feet off the ground. So, when I go next time I'll try to get up on the side of the mountain so that I am at a better angle. Here then, is the best I got:

Grace's Warbler