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

Las Cienegas National Conservation Area: White Tailed Kite

Las Cienegas National Conservation Area is about 45 minutes from us and right on the way to (or from) Patagonia, Sonoita, Sierra Vista, Tombstone etc. So it is always a convenient stop.

Here are a few photos taken as I was "driving by."

 First, a White Tailed Kite that unfortunately was already far away when I first spotted him, but kept going further and eventually out of sight:

White Tailed Kite

Western Kingbird

Sunflower and Bumble Bee

Birds of Sweetwater Wetlands - Part III

Continuing with typical birds of Sweetwater Wetlands:

Vermillion Flycatcher

Western Kingbird

Western Tanager

White Crowned Sparrow

Wilson's Warbler

Yellow Warbler

Birding Patagonia - III

12 miles north of Patagonia sits Sonoita, most noted for its wineries and The Cafe. But just north and east is Las Cienegas National Conservation Area which is 25,000 acres of wonderful grasslands and riparian areas.

It has a wide variety of sparrows, kingbirds, mockingbirds etc. It's probably the best place in Southern Arizona to find the beautiful Pronghorn. So after birding Patagonia I drove through Las Cienegas looking for those Pronghorn. And, yes I found a beautiful male (and a female). The male was taking shade in the 105 degree temperature:

Pronghorn

Also along the way a Roadrunner

And since there were literally hundreds of Kingbirds I thought I'd get at least one photo

Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge: other birds

Around Lake Aguirre we found a few other birds, although I was so "focused" on finding and photographing the Spoonbills, I sort of neglected the other birds we saw. I did get a few photos, some better than others, but here are the better ones:

Belted Kingfishers always look a bit odd to me, like a cartoon character with their head and massive bill as big as the rest of their body (well, not quite):

Belted Kingfisher

Then there were some Ibises with some debate as to whether they were "just" White Faced Ibises or the much rarer Glossy Ibis. The White Faced has a red eye and upon examination it does seem like one or more has a reddish eye. Yet some of the eyes appear to be black. Is it possible? Well, I think if the Roseate Spoonbills were sent off course by the hurricanes, why not the Glossy Ibis too? Where their territories overlap they are known to mingle.

White Faced and Glossy Ibis

 A bit of a surprise to see a Prairie Falcon by water, but I guess they need an occasional drink too:

Prairie Falcon

Nearby was a family of Harrier Hawks -- I think the parents were teaching the young ones how to hunt:

Harrier Hawk

 Several Warblers including McGillivray's, Wilson's, Lucy's, and Orange Crowned. Here's the Orange Crowned:

Orange Crowned Warbler

Finally just as we were leaving the Refuge one of many Western Kingbirds caught my eye and wanted a photo taken:

Western 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: Western Kingbird

The Western Kingbird range is mostly West of the Missouri River. It prefers open country and is often seen perched on roadside fences and wires where it can sally out to snatch up insects or to harass ravens, hawks, or other large birds.

It feeds mostly on insects like wasps, bees, beetles, and grasshoppers. But will also eat berries and fruits.

It is well adjusted to farmlands and ranches and can even be found in small towns on occasions. 

Western Kingbird

Western Kingbird

Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge

After wandering around Arivaca Cienegas, I headed over to the main "campus" of Buenos Aires NWR. I was hoping to find some Pronghorn, but with 117,500 acres it is not always in the cards. However, I did find a few things to photograph. One was an Ornate Box Turtle. This is an endangered  turtle and well protected by the State of Arizona. So it was a nice find. Also a Scaled Quail posed for me -- as did a nice Western Kingbird:

Ornate Box Turtle

Female Scaled Quail

Western Kingbird

Bug Eating Birds: Western Kingbird

Western Kingbird

Pena Blanca Lake - Part VI

Lastly, the Kingbirds.

Here is a Western Kingbird photographed from Pena Blanca Lake:

Western Kingbird

Then, I'm not an expert on Thick Billed Kingbirds, but got a photo of what appears to be a Thick Billed:

Thick Billed Kingbird?

Las Cienegas Desert Grasslands - Part IIAmeri

And, finally a few more nice photos from the Desert Grasslands of Las Cienegas:

American Kestrel

Botteri's Sparrow

Cassin's Kingbird

Blue Grosbeak

Lark Sparrow

Western Kingbird

Las Cienegas National Conservation Area - Part VII

The last of the habitats at Las Cienegas is the grasslands. There were lots of sparrows, including: Bairds, Grasshopper, and Botteri's; (probably Sage and Brewer's as well). None of those photos were good enough to display, so I'll give it another try as soon as I can get out.

Loggerhead Shrike

Lark Bunting

Cassin's Kingbird

Western Kingbird

Swainson's Hawk harassing a Red Tailed Hawk