Miscellaneous Birds of Southern Arizona - Part III

Continuing with some of last week's photos:

Stellar Jay

Turkey Vulture

Yellow Eyed Junco building nest

Miscellaneous Birds of Southern Arizona - Part II

Part II of miscellaneous birds photographed last week:

Mexican Jay

Red Faced Warbler

Stellar Jay

Incinerator Ridge

Christine and I headed up to Incinerator Ridge (Mount Lemmon) on Thursday.  It was a beautiful early morning walk with lots of serenading birds the entire time.

There is usually at least one Abert's Squirrel begging for a photo:

And, of course, Incinerator Ridge is the most reliable place in the United States to find the Red Faced Warbler:

A pair of Stellar Jays were showing off their beauty, here's one of them:

And at the top in the brush was a male Virginia's Warbler. The first photo is diagnostic even though you can only see the underside -- but you can clearly see the yellow breast and undertail coverts with light gray belly, which distinguishes them from all other warblers:

Here a little bit better photo. Although with this photo you can't be sure it is a male, nor is it absolutely clear that it is not a female Nashville Warbler. I guess that's why I like the photo above in conjunction with this one:

Stellar Jay at Incinerator Ridge

Another  reliable find at Incinerator Ridge is the Stellar Jay:

Incinerator Ridge, Mount Lemmon

Since Mount Lemmon is right out our back door, it is where I go when I don't have a lot of time. So yesterday, I made a quick trip up to Incinerator Ridge wondering what I might find this early in the season.  It was a bit windy and cold (49 degrees). No real flocks of birds yet, but with a little patience a few nice birds did present themselves:

American Robin

Hermit Thrush

Red Faced Warbler

Raven

Spotted Towhee

Stellar Jay

Western Bluebird

Birding Mount Lemmon - V

More from Birding Mount Lemmon:

Stellar Jay

Spotted Towhee

Tree Swallow

Pygmy Nuthatch

Hermit Thrush

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 Mount Lemmon Again and Again

Some more photos from a quick trip up Mount Lemmon this morning:

Abert's Squirrel

Stellar Jay

Common Raven

Black Headed Grosbeak

Cliff Chipmunk

Red Tailed Hawk

31 Days of My Best of 2014

December 21, 2014

Stellar Jay

Another Birding Trip Up Mount Lemmon - Part IV

How's this for fun. Could pass for a bird from Costa Rica. But, just a slightly nervous Stellar Jay:

Incinerator Ridge, Mount Lemmon, Arizona

Yesterday I spent about 5 hours on Incinerator Ridge, Mount Lemmon. It is a very peaceful spot (mid-week), especially this time of year. Lots of birds, including a Tennessee Warbler that is rare to Arizona.  Here are some photos from the trip:

Stellar Jay

Red Tailed Hawk

Olive Warbler

Tennessee Warbler

Ruby Crowned Kinglet

Yellow Eyed Junco

Townsend's Warbler