October 29th, 2011   Tags: , , ,

Golden-crowned Sparrow

Golden-crowned-Sparrow-Pena-Blanca-Lake-11-1029-03Whilst birding at Pena Blanca Lake with Jean and Sterling Weaver and Sue and Dave Schwardt of New York, I was pleased to pick out a GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW among White-crowned Sparrows and other birds coming in to drink and bathe. I managed to get some distant record shots of this rare visitor from the West Coast. [...]

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October 29th, 2011   Tags: , , , , ,

Pena Blanca Lake, Paton’s

Yellow-rumped-Warbler-Pena-Blanca-Lake-11-1029-01At Pena Blanca Lake, at least ten LEAST GREBES, drake WOOD DUCK, pair of REDHEADS, LESSER SCAUP, GREEN HERON, SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, juvenile BLUE GROSBEAK, couple of LAZULI BUNTINGS, three each of INCA and COMMON GROUND-DOVE, lots of RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS and hundreds of sparrows. Quality birding! [...]

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October 23rd, 2011   Tags: , , , ,

Rufous-backed Robin

Rufous-backed-Robin-Santa-Cruz-Flats-11-1022-10Whilst birding with Peter and Marianne Hosford in the Santa Cruz Flats south of Eloy, Arizona, I was lucky enough to find a RUFOUS-BACKED ROBIN, a rare visitor to the U.S.A. from Mexico. They are usually found at fruiting trees in riparian or other lush areas, but surprisingly this one was feeding on the ground in a small pecan grove in an area of cotton fields, sod farms and hostile, sparse desert. [...]

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October 22nd, 2011   Tags: , , , , ,

Sweetwater, Pinal Air Park & Santa Cruz Flats

Lark-Sparrow-Santa-Cruz-Flats-11-1022-04Considering the early date, the Santa Cruz Flats were awesome! We found a handsome FERRUGINOUS HAWK along Picacho Highway, and as we watched it disappear over the fields a WHITE-TAILED KITE crossed our line of sight. Two CRESTED CARACARAS were perched up distantly in a hedgerow. Elsewhere we found a PRAIRIE FALCON and a couple of BENDIRE’S THRASHERS. [...]

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September 3rd, 2011   Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Target birding in SE Arizona

Thick-billed-Kingbird-Patagonia-Roadside-Rest-11-0903-04We made a brief stop at Montosa Canyon where we saw FIVE-STRIPED SPARROW, soon followed by the family party of BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHERS (we counted at least six) and a showy VARIED BUNTING. What a great birding site this is. Three major targets, all found and photographed in 20 minutes! [...]

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