It was fun leaving below zero wind chills behind for a few days of mid-60s weather. Tucson has some great places and birds to see. Even the common desert species are exciting to us easterners. Funny how the locals were excited to see a Robin out there--we didn't want to offend, so we obligingly went to see it too.
Here are some of the 1,652 photos we brought home:
Nothing says "Desert" more then this iconic, ubiquitous
Cactus Wren. And they're cute, too.
A
Canyon Towhee proves you're not back home in the East any more.
Oh my! Nothing's cuter than these little
Verdin. They were abundant and found in all sorts of habitats.
The
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is an easy place to see common birds of the desert--plus benches, restrooms, drinking fountains, and restaurants. What more can "senior" bird watchers ask for?
The
Rufous-winged Sparrow is a rather plain bird, but we were excited to find one nonetheless, as extreme southern Arizona is the only place in the USA where you can find them. Most of them stay in Mexico, and those that come into the US are usually not more than an hour over the border.
Wouldn't be right to not include a pic of this "crowd pleaser"
Vermilion Flycatcher. We came across plenty of them on this trip.
Other-world scenery. Like candy for your eyes.
We saw this comical
Greater Roadrunner but missed Wylie Coyote.
This pic brought the giggles out in me--and still does.
White-crowned Sparrows were everywhere this time of year.
Southeastern Arizona is well known in the bird watching community for its hummingbirds. This male
Anna's Hummingbird is just one of the most common examples.
This is only the third time I've ever seen a
Red-naped Sapsucker. Was happy to see it, even though they are nearly identical to our eastern Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers.
Phainopepla were common. They look like a totally black version (with a red eye) of an ordinary Cardinal to me.
Abert's Towhee were common, another iconic desert species. The black smudge on the face and the orange patch on the rear are key field marks.
Cute little
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher were everywhere. Hard to keep in your viewfinder as they hardly ever stop to rest, and when you do get them lined up, they are almost always hiding deep in the bush, making focusing a challenge.
Curve-billed Thrasher is another abundant, iconic desert bird.
The western version of our
Northern Flicker is the
Red-shafted Flicker. It used to be considered a separate species but was "lumped" with eastern Yellow-shafted several years ago. Not sure why.
A cactus. Getting ready to bloom?
I think this is a Monarch. We came across a couple of places where it looked like they were intentionally attempting to provide habitat for them.
Ladder-backed Woodpecker is another bird we like to see when we're out west.
Just to show we're not all about birds, we took a few minutes to visit the San Xavier Mission, a AAA Gem attraction. It was neat.
I can't help but wonder how many man-hours it took to make these sculptures.
Found this prairie dog in the landscaping near the parking lot of the mission.
Here's our complete list:
| species | date | location
|
| 1. | Abert's Towhee | 1/8/2018 | Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
|
| 2. | American Kestrel | 1/8/2018 | Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
|
| 3. | Anna's Hummingbird | 1/8/2018 | Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
|
| 4. | Cactus Wren | 1/8/2018 | Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
|
| 5. | Canyon Towhee | 1/8/2018 | Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
|
| 6. | Costa's Hummingbird | 1/8/2018 | Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
|
| 7. | Curve-billed Thrasher | 1/8/2018 | Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
|
| 8. | Gila Woodpecker | 1/8/2018 | Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
|
| 9. | House Sparrow | 1/8/2018 | Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
|
| 10. | Northern Cardinal | 1/8/2018 | Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
|
| 11. | Northern Mockingbird | 1/8/2018 | Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
|
| 12. | Phainopepla | 1/8/2018 | Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
|
| 13. | Verdin | 1/8/2018 | Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
|
| 14. | White-crowned Sparrow | 1/8/2018 | Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
|
| 15. | Black-tailed Gnatcatcher | 1/9/2018 | Tohono Chul Park
|
| 16. | Gambel's Quail | 1/9/2018 | Tohono Chul Park
|
| 17. | Hermit Thrush | 1/9/2018 | Tohono Chul Park
|
| 18. | House Finch | 1/9/2018 | Tohono Chul Park
|
| 19. | American Robin | 1/9/2018 | Tohono Chul Park
|
| 20. | Lesser Goldfinch | 1/9/2018 | Tohono Chul Park
|
| 21. | Mourning Dove | 1/9/2018 | Tohono Chul Park
|
| 22. | Rock Pigeon | 1/9/2018 | Tohono Chul Park
|
| 23. | Cooper's Hawk | 1/9/2018 | Christina-Taylor Green Mem. River Park
|
| 24. | Vermilion Flycatcher | 1/9/2018 | Christina-Taylor Green Mem. River Park
|
| 25. | Red-shafted Flicker | 1/9/2018 | Honey Bee Canyon Park
|
| 26. | Red-tailed Hawk | 1/9/2018 | Honey Bee Canyon Park
|
| 27. | Rufous-winged Sparrow | 1/9/2018 | Honey Bee Canyon Park
|
| 28. | American Coot | 1/10/2018 | Arthur Pack Park
|
| 29. | Brewer's Sparrow | 1/10/2018 | Arthur Pack Park
|
| 30. | European Starling | 1/10/2018 | Arthur Pack Park
|
| 31. | Great-tailed Grackle | 1/10/2018 | Arthur Pack Park
|
| 32. | Tree Swallow | 1/10/2018 | Arthur Pack Park
|
| 33. | Killdeer | 1/10/2018 | Arthur Pack Park
|
| 34. | Ladder-backed Woodpecker | 1/10/2018 | Arthur Pack Park
|
| 35. | Northern Shoveler | 1/10/2018 | Arthur Pack Park
|
| 36. | Ring-necked Duck | 1/10/2018 | Arthur Pack Park
|
| 37. | Ruby-crowned Kinglet | 1/10/2018 | Arthur Pack Park
|
| 38. | Ruddy Duck | 1/10/2018 | Arthur Pack Park
|
| 39. | Black Phoebe | 1/10/2018 | Santa Cruz River--Crossroads at Silverbell District Park
|
| 40. | Brewer's Blackbird | 1/10/2018 | Santa Cruz River--Crossroads at Silverbell District Park
|
| 41. | Great Blue Heron | 1/10/2018 | Santa Cruz River--Crossroads at Silverbell District Park
|
| 42. | Greater Roadrunner | 1/10/2018 | Santa Cruz River--Crossroads at Silverbell District Park
|
| 43. | Hutton's Vireo | 1/10/2018 | Santa Cruz River--Crossroads at Silverbell District Park
|
| 44. | Northern Harrier | 1/10/2018 | Santa Cruz River--Crossroads at Silverbell District Park
|
| 45. | Audubon's Warbler | 1/10/2018 | Santa Cruz River--Crossroads at Silverbell District Park
|
| 46. | American Wigeon | 1/11/2018 | Sweetwater Wetlands
|
| 47. | Canvasback | 1/11/2018 | Sweetwater Wetlands
|
| 48. | Gadwall | 1/11/2018 | Sweetwater Wetlands
|
| 49. | Green-winged Teal | 1/11/2018 | Sweetwater Wetlands
|
| 50. | Green Heron | 1/11/2018 | Sweetwater Wetlands
|
| 51. | Yellow-headed Blackbird | 1/11/2018 | Sweetwater Wetlands
|
| 52. | American Bittern | 1/11/2018 | Sweetwater Wetlands
|
| 53. | Lincoln's Sparrow | 1/11/2018 | Sweetwater Wetlands
|
| 54. | Mallard | 1/11/2018 | Sweetwater Wetlands
|
| 55. | Northern Pintail | 1/11/2018 | Sweetwater Wetlands
|
| 56. | Orange-crowned Warbler | 1/11/2018 | Sweetwater Wetlands
|
| 57. | Pied-billed Grebe | 1/11/2018 | Sweetwater Wetlands
|
| 58. | Red-winged Blackbird | 1/11/2018 | Sweetwater Wetlands
|
| 59. | Song Sparrow | 1/11/2018 | Sweetwater Wetlands
|
| 60. | Sora | 1/11/2018 | Sweetwater Wetlands
|
| 61. | Neotropic Cormorant | 1/11/2018 | Sweetwater Wetlands
|
| 62. | Virginia Rail | 1/11/2018 | Sweetwater Wetlands
|
| 63. | Wood Duck | 1/11/2018 | Sweetwater Wetlands
|
| 64. | Chinese Goose | 1/11/2018 | Christopher Columbus Park
|
| 65. | Red-naped Sapsucker | 1/11/2018 | Christopher Columbus Park
|
