Wildlife of The Azure Gate Bed and Breakfast - Part XV

Continuing our series on Wildlife of The Azure Gate Bed and Breakfast, the last of the Birds photographed since the beginning of the Pandemic.

Turkey Vulture

Verdin

Verper Sparrow

White-winged Dove

Arivaca Cienegas, Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge - Part IV

Continuing with recent photos from Arivaca Cienegas, Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge.

Black Vulture

Turkey Vulture

Favorite Wildlife Photos from 2018 - XXVI

Here we have a couple of Turkey Vulture photos I really liked (both taken atop Mount Lemmon):

Turkey Vulture

Turkey Vulture

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

Birding Mount Lemmon - Part VIII

Birding very early provides an opportunity to find animals, but also Turkey Vultures "en mass" before they head out for the day. Inspiration Point on Mount Lemmon seems to be a favorite site for Turkey Vultures. When I arrived there were three in one tree and seven in another tree just a few feet away. Here are a couple of photos:

Turkey Vulture

Turkey Vulture

Las Cienegas National Conservation Area - Part VI

And, now photos from the grasslands of Las Cienegas:

Killdeer

Red Tailed Hawk

Turkey Vulture

Western Meadowlark

Red Tailed Hawk feeding Chick along Highway 83 from Las Cienegas

Miscellaneous Birds of Southern Arizona - Part III

Continuing with some of last week's photos:

Stellar Jay

Turkey Vulture

Yellow Eyed Junco building nest

More from Mount Lemmon

Twice this past week I birded the Upper Sabino Canyon Trail which is at the end of Turkey Run Road in Summerhaven. It's a bit different than Incinerator Ridge or Rose Canyon which are my favorite birding spots on Mount Lemmon. Upper Sabino Canyon Trail is almost another 1000 feet in elevation and there you find Aspens and Douglas Firs. The Douglas Firs are magnificent. You get the feeling of standing inside Mother Nature's Cathedral. They appear to reach the heavens they are so tall.

Both days the predominant bird was the Red Faced Warbler. They seemed to be everywhere.They are easier to find than many of the warblers since they prefer foraging in trees and brush less than 15 feet. And, they often don't seem to mind people around.

Here are a few photos from those two trips:

Brown Creeper

Cordilleran Flycatcher

House Wren

Pine Siskin

Raven

Red Faced Warbler

Red Faced Warbler

Spotted Towhee

Townsend's Warbler

Turkey Vulture

Yellow Rumped Warbler

Tubac Hawk Watch

Each March hundreds of Raptors migrate into Southern Arizona from Mexico along the Santa Cruz River. And hundreds of birders gather at Ron Morriss Park in Tubac to watch and count. Of particular interest are three rare hawks to the United States:  Common Black Hawk, Zone-Tailed Hawk, and Gray Hawk. The "official" count is important to understand whether the population of each species is stable or not.

Other raptors are seen as well: Cooper's Hawk, Red Tailed Hawk, Crested Caracara, and Turkey Vulture, (as well as lots of Ravens).

Most of the activity occurs between 8:00 am and 11:00 am. Unfortunately (for me) that is our busiest time of day and busiest time of year at the Bed and Breakfast and so I have been unable to get there in past years. But, yesterday Christine gave me the morning off and I headed down to Tubac.

Getting an early start, I was the second to arrive. At 8:35 the first Common Black Hawk arrived and gave me my best photo of the day. Ten minutes later two Zone Tailed Hawks put on a nice show. 

By 10:00 am there were  a hundred or so people but very little raptor activity. There was a group of 15 or so Ravens, and another group of 15 or so Turkey Vultures.

There were a couple groups of raptors far away on the east side of the Santa Cruz River but I couldn't really tell what they were.

A Cooper's Hawk circled nicely above us and a Red Tailed Hawk joined in with the Turkey Vultures, but by most accounts it was a slower day than the past couple of days. The "official" count from the day before was 59 Common Black Hawks. I haven't seen the official count for yesterday, but I only could identify 7 Black Hawks, 6 Zone Tails, and no Grays up until 11:00 when I headed off. 

Here are a few of my photos:

Common Black Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

Red Tailed Hawk, Turkey Vulture, Raven

Zone Tailed Hawk

Birding Santa Cruz Flats in Arizona: RaptorsAmerican

 I wanted to check out the action at Santa Cruz Flats, about 40 miles north of Tucson. It is a fabulous winter birding spot; lots of raptors, a reliable place for burrowing owls, and oddly enough shorebirds. Although not quite season yet I did find some nice photo ops:

American Kestrel

Crested Caracara

Prairie Falcon

Red Tailed Hawk

Turkey Vulture

Lakeside Park - Part IV: Turkey Vulture

There were lots of "park birds," Great Tailed Grackles, Bronzed Cowbirds, and a variety of common ducks.

Also present though, was a Turkey Vulture sitting in one of the mesquite trees on a hillside above the lake. He too wanted a photo. So I obliged:

Turkey Vulture

Pena Blanca Lake, Arizona

And another day at Pena Blanca Lake:

zone tailed hawk

zone tailed hawk

zone tailed hawk

turkey vulture

gray hawk