Fun Birding Tours in SE Arizona with Birding Guide Richard Fray » phoenix

Fun Birding Workshop Rarity Chase

Richard — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 06:58:06 +0000

There were a few contenders in the days leading up, but we settled for heading north and going to see a GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL discovered by Tommy DeBardeleben at Glendale Recharge Basins in western Phoenix. My second new gull in Arizona this week! [...]

Black-legged Kittiwake

Richard — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 01:39:05 +0000

News of a rare bird here in Arizona always gets my attention, but sometimes it leaves me with a dilemma. This was one such occasion. The rare bird in question was a Black-legged Kittiwake, a genuine seabird with no business being inland at all. But, whilst extremely rare in Arizona, it's a fairly common bird around Britain's coastline and I've seen thousands in places like the Shetland Isles. [...]

Buckeye thrasher spot, Santa Cruz Flats

Richard — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 06:58:31 +0000

We couldn’t rustle up a Le Conte’s Thrasher but we did find four BENDIRE’S and a single SAGE THRASHER as well as 20+ SAGE SPARROWS, an ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHERS, a SANDHILL CRANE and flyover TREE, BARN and an early CLIFF SWALLOW. [...]

Central Arizona

Richard — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 05:07:01 +0000

We started at the thrasher spot near Buckeye but it was already raining and blowing a gale when we arrived and our only decent bird was a single CRISSAL THRASHER. [...]

Phoenix Birding

Richard — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 06:10:20 +0000

The general birding was great. Birding from the car allowed close approach and photos of a number of birds. Chief among these were five BURROWING OWLS in a quarter-mile stretch of road. There were a good few HORNED LARKS around, several SAVANNAH SPARROWS, tame AMERICAN KESTRELS and a couple of different PEREGRINE FALCONS. [...]

Buckeye Thrasher Site

Richard — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 06:51:58 +0000

Well, it's probably not a normal experience in July, 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. [...]

Gilbert Water Ranch, Boyce Thompson Arboretum

Richard — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 06:23:06 +0000

I met Neill and Karen again, today at Gilbert Water Ranch in Phoenix, where we spent a pleasant morning with the great variety of birds to be found around the ponds.

We started by studying contrasting birds – roosting Turkey Vultures and busy Anna’s Hummingbirds. Pond 7 was the place to be, with Great and Snowy [...]