Desert Kingsnake

We've had 10 different snakes over the years of running The Azure Gate B&B. We know the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake lives on our property. And we sometimes see the little ones -- about the size of a pencil. The one we see the most of, however, is the Desert Kingsnake. This is a very beautiful snake as you can see from the photos. I found it cooling off in one of our bird baths by the office:

Ash Canyon B&B

It's always fun to stop at Mary Jo's Ash Canyon B&B whenever I am in the Huachucas. The other day was no different. Here are a few of those photos from Ash Canyon:

Acorn Woodpecker

Bewick's Wren

Black Headed Grosbeak

Cassin's Kingbird

Pine Siskins everywhere

Western Tanager

White Breasted Nuthatch

The Elusive Northern Goshawk

The Northern Goshawk:

"Northern Goshawk is the largest and scarcest of the North American accipiters, making it sought after by birders. They nest in coniferous forest across northern North America. Although they are typically not seen south of Pennsylvania during summer, they nest throughout the mountainous areas of the western states and into Mexico. Even though widespread they are never dense. Goshawk is notoriously aggressive toward intruders near their nest, and defend them relentlessly and loudly! Biologists conducting nest research are wary and wear protective gear or face bloody consequences.

Unlike the other accipiters, Goshawk eats mammals (including squirrels and hares) equally as much as birds (i.e. flickers, jays, Grouse, Ptarmigan). They are seldom encountered except at a few hawk migration sites... They are vocal, emitting a loud, screaming "Kak-Kak-Kak...", slower, louder, and deeper than Cooper's Hawk. Females approach the size and bulk of Red-tailed Hawk, but males not much larger than female Cooper's Hawk."  Information taken from Hawk Watch International.

There has been a pair of Northern Goshawks that have nested in Miller Canyon (Huachuca Mountains) for several years. And for several years I have tried to find them without luck. But persistence can pay off. And it did this year. The female never left her nest, but the male would perch from one tree to another. Here are some photos:

More Birds from Mount Lemmon

In addition to the warblers in the last post, here are some non-warbler birds taken on Mount Lemmon this past week:

American Robin

Hermit Thrush

Yellow Eyed Junco

House Wren

Red Tailed Hawk

Spotted Towhee

Western Bluebird

White Breasted Nuthatch

Wild Turkey

This Week's Warblers

Just now catching up from a very busy season and then getting out for a few days photographing. I'll start with nine warblers I have been able to find and photograph this past week.

The first is a Hermit Warbler that -- acting out its name -- did not want to be photographed. I did the best I could. The others are quite a bit better.

Hermit Warbler

Common Yellowthroat

Olive Warbler Female

Painted Redstart

Red Faced Warbler

Wilson's Warbler

Yellow Breasted Chat

Yellow Rumped Warbler

Yellow Warbler

More from Sweetwater Wetlands

As I began working on Today's blog post I noticed what countries were visiting today: United States, Canada, Aruba, Brazil, Colombia, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Jordan, Russia, Ukraine, India, and Australia - people across five continents. People interested in wildlife regardless of nationality, race, religion, or politics.  Thank you all for visiting The Azure Gate Blog.

Yesterday, I had a little time so headed over to Sweetwater Wetlands -- a good weekend birding site.

Most of the attention is usually paid to the waterbirds in the wetlands themselves. However, the mesquite trees, willows, cottonwoods, and brush provide wonderful warbler habitat. Yesterday was no different as migration is starting to show in big numbers.

Here then some photos from yesterday:

yellow warbler

mallard ducklings

cinnamon teal

common yellowthroat

wilson's warbler

unable to identify warbler, possibly a young yellow

Birding Saint Gertrudis Lane, Tumacacori, Arizona

One of my favorite birding spots is the Juan Bautiste de Anza Trail just north and south of Saint Gertrudis Lane in Tumacacori.

Susie and Steve (guests of ours) and I headed down after breakfast a couple of days ago in hopes of relocating the reported Sinaloa Wren and Rufous Backed Robins. No luck with either but we did find it very "birdie," and came away with some nice photos:

Bewick's Wren

Bridled Titmouse

Northern Cardinal

Common Yellowthroat

Grey Hawk

Swainson's Hawk

Wilson's Warbler