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

Las Cienegas National Conservation Area

One of my favorite places in Southern Arizona is Las Cienegas -- the home of Empire Ranch -- and about 50 western movies of old.

It's a great place for sparrows, kingbirds, and meadowlarks. They're everywhere. There is the Cottonwood Pond which can attract some rarities (Black Bellied Whistling Duck and Rosette Spoonbill to name a couple).  It also has a wonderful riparian wetland called Empire Gulch. And it's not just birds. Over the years I've seen Pronghorn, Deer, Javelina, Coyote, Rattlesnakes, Jackrabbits, and Black Tailed Prairie Dogs. 

Here are some photos from my trip earlier this week:

Belted Kingfisher

Black Tailed Prairie Dog

Pronghorn

Raven

Red Tailed Hawk

Vermillion Flycatcher

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