Flycatchers: Part II

Now the Kingbirds: Kingbirds are another group with very similar plumage making it challenging to identify -- especially in poor lighting.


Cassin's Kingbird has a range of the Southwestern States.

Cassin's Kingbird

Couch's Kingbird has a very small US range, primarily Southern Texas.

Couch's Kingbird

Tropical Kingbird has a small range limited to Southeast Arizona.

Tropical Kingbird

Western Kingbird has the widest range covering all of the Western States.

Western Kingbird

Other photos from Sweetwater Wetlands

In addition to the raccoons, I got some bird photos:

Common Gallinule

Common Yellowthroat Male

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Red Winged Blackbird

Tropical Kingbird

Verdin at Nest

Yellow Warbler

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

My Favorite Wildlife Photos of 2017 - 16

Continuing with my favorite wildlife photos of 2017 (in alphabetical order):

Tropical Kingbird

The Tropical Kingbird is not rare, but uncommon to the US. I found this one in what Christine calls "The Alternate Universe", otherwise known as Santa Cruz Flats halfway between Tucson and Phoenix. He let me get very close. Love the detail and the colors.

Sweetwater Wetlands

We had a day without breakfast so I made a quick trip over to Sweetwater Wetlands at 6:00 am. While hoping to find a Bobcat or Raccoon that early the other animal I saw was an unidentified large rodent that scooted across the path in front of me. No photo and not even long enough to identify.

It got hot and muggy quickly so I was only there for about an hour which made it a little too early for many birds. 

I did however find a Tropical Kingbird with a large dragonfly:

Tropical Kingbird

Sweetwater Wetlands

Tried to beat the heat and got over to Sweetwater Wetlands before 6:00 am. Nothing too unusual, although there was a Tropical Kingbird there (along with some Western Kingbirds).

The Tropical Kingbird is one of those rare birds to the United States; the extreme Southeast portion of Arizona the only place in the US. What's unusual is that they are an easier find because they come in larger numbers - like the dozen or so at Santa Cruz Flats the other day.

Here are a few photos from Sweetwater, starting with the Tropical Kingbird:

Tropical Kingbird

Western Kingbird

Vermillion Flycatcher

Bell's Vireo

Verdin

Red Winged Blackbird

Summer Birding at Santa Cruz Flats

If someone were to ask me I'd say Santa Cruz Flats is a winter birding site. And certainly when you think of Raptors (including all five Falcons) and the multitude of shorebirds or threatened Mountain Plovers it is one of the very best winter birding spots.

But, I had to go to Phoenix so I though I'd drive through Santa Cruz Flats and see if there was anything interesting.

I could count the Raptors on one hand. And no Shorebirds or Plovers. But that's not to say it wasn't interesting. The big surprise of the day were a dozen or more Tropical Kingbirds:

Tropical Kingbird

But there were other finds as well:

Roadrunner

Great Tailed Grackle

Ladderbacked Woodpecker

Western Kingbird

I got two other photos but at the time didn't realize that I somehow accidentally hit the wrong "focus" button and ended up with what would have been great photos. Here there are anyway:

Black Crowned Night Heron

Burrowing Owl

Birds on a Wire: Tropical Kingbird

The Tropical Kingbird is widespread throughout the American Tropics rarely coming into the US and primarily Southern Arizona when it does so. Unlike the other Kingbirds (Western, Cassin's, Thick-Billed) they are generally solitary and avoid large flocks.

It usually perches on wires and fences sallying out to capture insects in flight. It will also hover and drop to the ground to pick up insects.

Tropical Kingbird

An Outing

Christine and I had a day off so left early in the morning to do a hike and picnic in Garden Canyon (on the Fort Huachuca Post). We took back roads to get there, driving through the Cienega Creek Preserve, which is a wonderful birding area. Passing through we found several Tropical Kingbirds, and to our surprise a couple of Javelinas. Evidently the flooding had caused some damage to the already 4x4 only road in Garden Canyon, so the Sawmill Trail was inaccessible. However, we did picnic there under one of the covered picnic tables. Then it was off to Ramsey Canyon to hike. Nice hike, but it was rainy and cold so birding wasn't great. In fact, no hummingbirds at all. Still a great place to hike. Here are the photos from Cienega:

Javelinas at Cienega Creek Preserve

Tropical Kingbirds at Cienega Creek Preserve

Lake Cochise

I headed out to the Chiricahua Mountains again with a quick stop at Lake Cochise just to see what was going on there. There were the usual suspects, but also Least Sandpipers and Tropical Kingbirds that were a pleasant surprise. The Tropical Kingbird is rare to the US, and only in Southern Arizona. 

Black Necked Stilt

Killdeer

Least Sandpiper

Low Billed Curlew

Tropical Kingbird

Wilson's Phalarope