Fun Birding Tours in SE Arizona with Birding Guide Richard Fray » urban tucson

Sweetwater Wetlands, Anza Trail at Carmen

Richard — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 11:36:53 +0000

For the fifth year in a row, a GRAY HAWK has chosen the Arivaca Road exit on I-19 at Amado as it's wintering area. It's probably the only one in the U.S.A. at the moment, but it certainly didn't make itself difficult to find today. It's a shame more birds don't take this approach when it comes to revealing their whereabouts... [...]

Agua Caliente Park, Mt Lemmon

Richard — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 06:31:22 +0000

Summerhaven was very birdy, with BAND-TAILED PIGEON, lots of YELLOW-EYED JUNCOS, WESTERN TANAGER, MAGNIFICENT HUMMINGBIRD, several family parties of CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, a few VIRGINIA’S WARBLERS, ROCK and HOUSE WRENS feeding young, HERMIT THRUSH, AMERICAN ROBIN and SPOTTED TOWHEE. [...]

Lesser Nighthawks

Richard — Fri, 20 May 2011 06:20:53 +0000

At both parks, the LESSER NIGHTHAWKS were hawking for a minute or two before alighting on the pavement. I couldn't get close enough on foot but as soon as we adopted the cover of the car, I was able to drive slowly up to the grounded birds and get pretty decent photos. [...]

Richard’s Photothon 2011

Richard — Wed, 04 May 2011 06:26:56 +0000

It was a difficult day with strong winds all morning, making photography of wind-blown warblers and the like somewhat tricky. Despite the weather I continued my year-on-year improvement and got photos of 116 species. I saw/heard another 14 for a total of 130 for the day. Here are some highlights... [...]

Birds of Fray Birdathon 2011

Richard — Sun, 01 May 2011 06:39:54 +0000

I ended on a total of 144 species. At Willcox, six CASPIAN TERNS, 18 RING-BILLED GULLS and three FRANKLIN’S GULLS were the obvious stars. On the shorebird front, single SEMIPALMATED PLOVER and WILLET were among hundreds of peeps. PRAIRIE FALCON and SWAINSON’S HAWK were overhead. [...]

AveVentura Birdathon 2011

Richard — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 23:15:41 +0000

The AveVentura team - Robert Merideth, Linda Stitzer, Kathy Jacobs, Susan Randolph, Ed Tobin and I - took part in this year’s Birdathon in aid of Tucson Audubon Society. We ended with the team’s best ever total of 123 species. Here are some highlights... [...]

April Workshop: Sweetwater

Richard — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 06:20:04 +0000

The swallows were phenomenal, with hundreds of TREE and smaller numbers of CLIFF, NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED and VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS all swarming just over the water's surface, peeling off and flying within inches of us. It was an fantastic experience and we stood for two hours, enjoying the show and getting photos. [...]

Crossroads Park, Sweetwater Wetlands

Richard — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 05:15:33 +0000

The TENNESSEE WARBLER was in the same willows as previously reported. The swallow show was remarkable, with great clouds of them stretching the length of the river. The majority were TREE SWALLOWS, with NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED the next commonest followed by VIOLET-GREEN and CLIFF SWALLOWS. [...]

Never mind the Bullock’s…

Richard — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 01:17:57 +0000

I joined Ed Tobin and Laura Stewart in the evening to look for Ed's two male BULLOCK'S ORIOLES again. At around 5:00 one of these fabulous birds came down for grape jelly. Ed has since told me he now has three male orioles coming to his little paradise in midtown Tucson - wow! [...]

Sweetwater, Ft Lowell Park

Richard — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 06:21:08 +0000

There were plenty of highlights as Tucson's best birding site continues to impress. My favorites were four male BULLOCK'S ORIOLES, although the HARRIS'S HAWKS are always in with a shout. BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRDS have joined the ANNA'S and were seen in a couple of spots. LINCOLN'S SPARROWS were plentiful, especially around the Hidden Pond at dawn. [...]

Santa Cruz River, Cortaro to Ina

Richard — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 06:45:42 +0000

The ‘Bird of the Day’ prize was shared between a reptile and a mammal – a splendid but skulking Bobcat was almost eclipsed by a turtle, a Spiny Softshell, which was a first for me and was something I’ve long wanted to see. [...]

Santa Cruz River at Cortaro Rd

Richard — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 06:55:37 +0000

The first bird I saw was the stunning drake WOOD DUCK. This was followed by a SWAMP SPARROW at the river’s edge near the huge concrete culvert. Eventually the TENNESSEE WARBLER showed, silently foraging in the usual patch of willows. [...]

Sweetwater Wetlands

Richard — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 22:53:28 +0000

The highlight was the continuing female BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER, which we encountered in a cottonwood just east of the very SW corner of the wetlands. Another couple had seen it moments before right on the other (north) side of the ponds, so it’s still zipping about like crazy. [...]

Santa Cruz River at Cortaro

Richard — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 23:15:25 +0000

We found a wintering YELLOW WARBLER amongst hundreds of YELLOW-RUMPS. A couple of COOPER'S HAWKS were cruising by, including this juvenile which perched on the railing just as the sun went down. [...]

TAS Field Trip, Urban Tucson

Richard — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 06:23:29 +0000

A quick stop at Sam Lena Park was productive. The rubber-lined pond had 12 HOODED MERGANSERS (4 males), a SPOTTED SANDPIPER and another GREAT EGRET, while the concrete-lined pond hosted a COMMON MERGANSER and a small flock of BUFFLEHEADS. A GREATER ROADRUNNER was a big hit. [...]

Short-tailed Hawk

Richard — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 04:45:56 +0000

After 45 minutes the SHORT-TAILED HAWK appeared. We got good views in flight and then watched as it folded its wings and stooped at full speed at a Northern Mockingbird, just missing its intended prey. We spent the next 20 minutes watching this rather beautiful little hawk. [...]

Tucson CBC

Richard — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 06:48:21 +0000

For my second CBC of the season, I was joined by my friend Ed Tobin for my sixth Tucson count.

Once more I covered the same area, a portion of very nice foothills homes roughly bordered by Orange Grove to the south, Magee to the north, Campbell to the east and Oracle to the west. [...]

December Fun Birding Workshop: Tucson Parks

Richard — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 06:47:00 +0000

We watched in mild horror and awe for the next few minutes as the BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON manipulated the duckling into a position where it could swallow it whole, head first. Disgusting, yet compelling viewing! And this ‘National Geographic’ action was taking place for all to see in the local park… [...]

Tucson Loon

Richard — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 05:31:24 +0000

As I pulled up in the car I could already see the COMMON LOON on one pond and a group of ducks on the other, which proved to be five HOODED MERGANSERS, including two smart drakes. The only other bird present was a single RING-NECKED DUCK and a WESTERN GREBE. [...]

October Fun Birding Workshop: Sweetwater Wetlands

Richard — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 04:19:07 +0000

The main attraction soon became evident, a gorgeous little TRICOLORED HERON which picked off small fish around the edge. Ed and I settled down to watch and were eventually rewarded with outstanding views. [...]

Sweetwater Wetlands, Tucson

Richard — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 06:35:32 +0000

The mesquites and palo verdes were teeming with birds, which included an interesting low-elevation HERMIT WARBLER, BLACK-THROATED GRAY, MacGILLIVRAY'S, ORANGE-CROWNED, several WILSON'S and scads of YELLOW WARBLERS, a family party of COMMON YELLOWTHROATS, an immature male BULLOCK'S ORIOLE and both WARBLING and CASSIN'S VIREOS. Wow! [...]

Great Horned Owl

Richard — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 06:03:56 +0000

My friend Marie called this afternoon to say there was an owl in her pine tree. And so there was - a recently fledged juvenile GREAT HORNED OWL. This 'teenager' is presumably from a local nest and is trying to establish a territory for itself, having been 'kicked out' by mom and dad. [...]

Black-crowned Night-Heron, Cooper’s Hawk

Richard — Thu, 13 May 2010 07:54:06 +0000

Whilst on my photothon last week I encountered a couple of birds that I couldn't resist spending a few minutes photographing, even though I was supposed to be on a mission to get quantity of species, not quality. [...]

Richard’s Photothon 2010

Richard — Tue, 11 May 2010 10:47:42 +0000

After a decent effort last year where I photographed 105 species, I took my photothon even more seriously this year and aimed for 110. I decided on a new route, spending more time in the car to reach more sites, so even though I would be in the field less I'd be exposed to more birds. And it paid off. I saw/heard a total of 127 species and somehow got photos of 114! :D [...]

Mt. Lemmon: May Workshop

Richard — Sun, 02 May 2010 06:25:11 +0000

We started with a ZONE-TAILED HAWK over Tucson with another over Catalina Highway. Moving up to Rose Canyon Lake, an adult COMMON BLACK HAWK was circling overhead. Nice! Next up was a male NORTHERN GOSHAWK which flashed through the pines near the entrance kiosk and perched up for prolonged views. Very nice! [...]

AveVentura Birdathon 2010

Richard — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 07:26:39 +0000

After three hours we'd passed 50 species with highlights including a pair of AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES in a mulberry in the grounds of Roger Rd Treatment Plant with a male WESTERN TANAGER nearby, a flyover PRAIRIE FALCON and HARRIS'S HAWKS and CEDAR WAXWINGS everywhere. [...]

Great Horned Owls

Richard — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 05:22:11 +0000

We were treated to memorable views of a pair of Great Horned Owls. Obviously feeding young, both birds were out before it was fully dark. One dived into the desert undergrowth with an audible thud, but came up empty. Later, one flew across the road right in front of us, carrying prey to their nest. Very cool! [...]

Silverbell Lake, Sweetwater Wetlands

Richard — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 06:49:34 +0000

The first birds we saw were six Neotropic Cormorants which allowed close approach as they rested on a concrete boat landing. They eventually hopped into the water and did a circuit of the lake in a tight pack, diving and resurfacing simultaneously as they hunted for fish. [...]

Ft Lowell Park, Tucson

Richard — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 06:23:19 +0000

I was showing Ed a line of sapsucker wells in a tree when a fine male Red-naped Sapsucker appeared to demonstrate. Several Western Bluebirds were in the next tree, as was a Yellow-rumped Warbler in almost full breeding plumage. We also found our second interesting nest, a Great Horned Owl hunkered down on a mess of twigs. [...]

Madera Canyon, Reid Park, Woodland Rd

Richard — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 06:22:04 +0000

The various ponds at Reid Park produced several interesting birds: an early Tree Swallow, a Belted Kingfisher, 16 Canvasbacks, Lesser Scaups on every pond and the highlight, four Hooded Mergansers, two females, an immature male and a fine adult male. [...]