 July 26th, 2010  Tags: phoenix, rarities  Aware of the fact that mid-afternoon in July is perhaps not the best time to look for thrashers, I was passing close to the traditional thrasher spot at the intersection of Baseline and Salome near Buckeye, west of Phoenix, so I thought I’d give it a go. I’d never been there before and consequently had never seen Le Conte’s Thrasher. I didn’t hold out that much hope.
Well, it’s probably not a normal experience, so don’t count on it, but to my amazement it took me only 12 minutes to find a calling LE CONTE’S THRASHER, see it fairly well and get a reasonable record shot. It was nothing more than dumb luck, presumably. I got several more views over the next hour or so but saw almost no other birds at all – a brief thrasher which was likely a BENDIRE’S and a couple of Mourning Doves, that was literally it.
I was joined by Susan, Clare, Jenise and Flory in a quest to see hummingbirds in the Huachuca Mountains, and we weren’t left disappointed. On the way a PRAIRIE FALCON flew by near Benson and a pair of SCALED QUAIL prompted an emergency stop near Sierra Vista.
We started at Ash Canyon B&B where we soon racked up BROAD-BILLED, ANNA’S, BLACK-CHINNED, RUFOUS, COSTA’S and a couple of visits by a female LUCIFER HUMMINGBIRD along with a nice variety of other birds at Mary Jo’s feeders, including ARIZONA WOODPECKER, BLACK-HEADED and BLUE GROSBEAKS, SUMMER TANAGER and lots more besides.
At Beatty’s Guest Ranch in Miller Canyon we added BERYLLINE (male and female), WHITE-EARED (male and female), BLUE-THROATED (multiple), MAGNIFICENT and BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRDS, plus the leucistic hummingbird thought by most to be a Black-chinned. The feeders were really buzzing as the rain started to fall. SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHER also put in an appearance.
Eleven species of hummer on a thoroughly enjoyable day spent in fine company. As always, many thanks to Mary Jo Ballator and Tom Beatty Snr. and Jnr. for their dedicated work, bringing the wonderful birds of the Huachucas to us lucky, lucky birders. We truly appreciate it – thank you!
I spent a while in Patagonia today. The Paton house had the usual array of splendid birds. VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRDS visited the feeders very regularly, along with Broad-billed and Black-chinned. Michael had a brief glimpse of what may have been a Calliope before I arrived.
Patagonia Roadside Rest was productive, despite being mid afternoon. Highlights included WILLOW FLYCATCHER, Cassin’s and THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD, a pair of food-carrying VARIED BUNTINGS, four BLACK VULTURES, GRAY HAWK, loads of YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS, calling YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS, etc.
Rio Rico (specifically the usual flooded fields and ponds on Rio Rico Dr, just east of I-19) had Western and TROPICAL KINGBIRDS by the roadside and a SOLITARY SANDPIPER as well as GREAT and SNOWY EGRETS on the pond to the east of the RR tracks.
July 5th, 2010 Tags: patagonia, se az birding A quick trip to Patagonia today yielded some nice birds. At the Paton house a YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO gave us prolonged views. Lots of VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRDS are coming to the feeders, including juveniles, and are an almost ever-present feature at the moment. COMMON-GROUND DOVES were here and there (they’ve really bounced back after a few lean years it seems) as were INCA DOVE, BLUE GROSBEAK, DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER, calling GRAY HAWK and lots more.
Many thanks to Michael Marsden and Donna Knox for all the hard work they do to keep the birds and birders happy.
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Aware of the fact that mid-afternoon in July is perhaps not the best time to look for thrashers, I was passing close to the traditional thrasher spot at the intersection of Baseline and Salome near Buckeye, west of Phoenix, so I thought I’d give it a go. I’d never been there before and consequently had never seen Le Conte’s Thrasher. I didn’t hold out that much hope.
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