Wildlife of The Azure Gate Bed and Breakfast - Part VII

Continuing with wildlife photos I've taken here at The Azure Gate Bed and Breakfast since the Pandemic started and we began "staying at home":

Harris Hawk

Lark Sparrow

Female Lesser Goldfinch

Lesser Goldfinches feasting on Saguaro Blossoms

Male Lesser Goldfinch

Lucy's Warbler

Mallard Ducks enjoying our Swimming Pool

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

Finches: Part I

Some interesting numbers.

Since we started our Bed and Breakfast we have had guests from all 50 states, all Canadian Provences, and 38 countries around the world.

We have had over 4,000 guests, and "plated-up" over 22,000 breakfasts.

Our Blog has been visited over 300,000 times by 141 countries around the world.  So far today, countries visiting our Blog include: the US, Philippines, Ukraine, France, Canada, Poland, Ireland, South Korea, Portugal, Australia, Cyprus, Guatemala, and Ireland.

It certainly has been a wonderful and rewarding journey.

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On to Today's Post. Continuing with photos from my new book on Birds of Western United States, we come to Finches.

We will start with Lesser Goldfinches which are restricted to the Western US. 

There is a subspecies whose back and nape are black often referred to as either Texas Goldfinch or Arkansas Goldfinch. They are less common in Arizona than the Lesser Goldfinch. (See photo below).

Lesser Goldfinch Male

Lesser Goldfinch Female

Lesser (Texas or Arkansas) Goldfinch

Boyce Thompson Arboretum

Christine and I headed up to Flagstaff over the past weekend to see our grandson in the musical "Chicago." On the way we stopped at Boyce Thompson Arboretum. We hadn't been since 2011 and so had forgotten just how amazing and beautiful it is.

While I had my camera, I spent more time just contemplating its beauty rather than looking for birds to photograph.

I did come away with some photos, but they don't do justice to this wonderful place.

Turkey Vulture

Wilson's Warbler

Great Blue Heron and Turkey Vulture

Lesser Goldfinch

Harris Antelope Ground Squirrel

Canyon Lizard

Pipevine Swallowtail

Queen Butterfly

Cactus Flower

Birds of Sweetwater Wetlands - Part II

Continuing with typical birds of Sweetwater Wetlands:

Lesser Goldfinch

Red Eared Slider (I know it's not a bird, but I like this tiny one)

Red Winged Blackbird Female

Roadrunner

Tropical Kingbird

Verdin

Mount Lemmon Yet Again

Note:  Yesterday, someone from Botswana visited our Blog.  Botswana is just one of 18 countries in Africa that visit our site; a total of 124 countries around the world. And, even though there is so much "unrest,"  in the world, sometimes someone from Israel and someone from Iraq, or someone from China and someone from Taiwan, visit our Blog on the same day - maybe even the same time.  There is one thing people around the world have in common: a love of nature. 

On to today's post:

I wanted to take one more pass up Mount Lemmon before the migrants leave to see if I could get a better MacGillivray's Warbler photo, but I may not have made it in time.

As usual, I did get some nice photos even though none were that little warbler I wanted:

Cliff Chipmunk eating a nut.

Lesser Goldfinch among the wildflowers

Red Shafted Northern Flicker

Short Tailed Hawk

Townsend's Warbler

Western Bluebird

Yellow Rumped Warbler

Zone Tailed Hawk

Birding Mount Lemmon - II

Continuing with photos from Mount Lemmon over the past two weeks:

lesser goldfinch female

western bluebird female

stellar jay

spotted towhee

red shafted northern flicker

Birding Tanque Verde Wash

Well, I have some catching up to do. I visited several of the local birding spots: Tanque Verde Wash, Fort Lowell Park, Sweetwater Wetlands, and Christopher Columbus Park.  Then, yesterday drove to   Organ Pipe National Monument.

So, starting with Tanque Verde wash -- and in no particular order:

Male Lesser Goldfinch

Vermillion Flycatcher

 There was a large flock, 50 or more Cedar Waxwings flying among the very tops of the Cottonwood Trees. There are about 10 in this photo:

Cedar Waxwing

This Sharp Shinned Hawk let me taken a large number of photos. Then I left him right where he was sitting. (After saying "Thank You.")

Sharp Shinned Hawk

Huttons Vireo