Arivaca Cienegas, Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge - Part V

Arivaca Cienegas can be very birdie first thing in the morning. However, it can get hot by 10:00 am this time of year so birds are less vocal and not as often seen. 

Either that or they are practicing "Social Distancing" as you will see in the following photos:

Ash-throated Flycatcher

Bewick's Wren

Lucy's Warbler

Phainopepla

Summer Tanager

Vermillion Flycatcher

Yellow-breasted Chat

Tanagers

Continuing with Tanagers:

Western Tanager Male

Western Tanager Female

Western Tanager Juvenile Male

Summer Tanager Male

Summer Tanager Female

Hepatic Tanager Male

Hepatic Tanager Female

Huachuca Canyon

Christine and I got away to hike Huachuca Canyon on For Huachuca. Here are a few photos from our visit:

Bridled Titmouse

Plumbeous Vireo

Spotted Towhee

Sulphur Bellied Flycatcher

Summer Tanager

White Tailed Deer

Las Cienegas National Conservation Area - Part V

Other photos from Empire Gulch:

Anna's Hummingbird on Nest

Anna's Hummingbird putting feathers inside her nest

I love this photo which shows the gulch -- along with a Blue Grosbeak

House Wren

Lucy's Warbler

Pipevine Swallowtail

Sacred Datura

Male and Female Summer Tanagers

Saint Gertrudis Lane, Tumacacori Part VII

And finally some miscellaneous photos from the Santa Cruz River:

Summer Tanager Male

Vermillion Flycatcher Female

Broad Billed Hummingbird Female

 As I was standing on the near side of the river I noticed a bird sitting in a tree on the other side. I took a photo only to realize after taking the photo is was "just" a dove -- which we have hundreds of at any point in time here on our property. However, when I uploaded the photo from my camera I noticed that it was actually an Inca Dove -- as opposed to a Mourning Dove or White Winged Dove. So I was pleasantly surprised. I realized that there was something compelling me to take the photo even though I didn't know what it was at the time:

Inca Dove

And finally, a bird flew into one of the trees along the river giving me less that a second to snap the photo. Usually I take the photo first and identify it second. The problem was he was gone before I could identify it. Again, it wasn't until I got home and uploaded the photos that I realized what I had:

Blue Grosbeak Male

Best Wildlife Photos of 2016: Summer Tanager

Here is a photo of a Summer Tanager that I like taken at Huachuca Canyon in the Huachuca Mountains. Again it is the green background the lets the brilliant red color of the bird stand out:

Summer Tanager

New Photos: Summer Tanager

The Summer Tanager is always a nice find. Here are two, both from Huachuca Canyon:

Summer Tanager

Summer Tanager

Empire Gulch -- next on the List

Empire Gulch is usually quite birdie given the spring that keeps water in the Gulch for about 200 yards. There were some nice finds to:

Hooded Skunk

Black Head Grosbeak Male

Summer Tanager Male

Western Tanager Female

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