blackburnian Posted July 23, 2019 Author Share Posted July 23, 2019 (edited) Day 6, Pt. 1 Day 6 started early at Carr Canyon, down near Sierra Vista, in the same area we had been on Day 2. At the bottom of the road, Cassin's Kingbirds, Common Ravens, Ash-throated Flycatchers, and Mexican Jays were common. As we climbed, the birds started to change to more of the typical high elevation species such as Plumbeous Vireo and Yellow-eyed Junco. Some nice views of a large cliffside provided looks at a trio of White-throated Swifts and the trip's only Peregrine Falcon. IMG_2238 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr We had a couple of mountain warblers to clean up, and it wasn't long before we heard our first Painted Redstart. This bird proved difficult to photograph, unlike the nearby pair of Hepatic Tanagers. IMG_2263 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_2300 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_2336 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_2362 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr A bit down the road, we saw a jay in a distant tree top. IMG_2405 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr At first, we assumed it was a Mexican Jay, but upon getting a bit closer, we realized it was actually our lifer Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay. This was exciting as we did not necessarily intend on seeing this bird at this location. IMG_2545 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_2531 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr Edited July 23, 2019 by blackburnian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackburnian Posted July 23, 2019 Author Share Posted July 23, 2019 Day 6, Pt. 2 Shortly after we left the jays, we arrived at the first campground, the main birding location in Carr Canyon. I believe its called Reef CG. We had a very specific reason for coming here, and that reason let itself be known literally the second I got out of the car. Throughout a couple of hours, we would see many of these little reasons, more commonly known as Buff-breasted Flycatchers. IMG_2567 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_2790 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_2803 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr The campground was active with House Wrens, Black-headed Grosbeaks, Western Tanagers, Acorn Woodpeckers, Spotted Towhees, and Painted Redstarts. IMG_2838 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr But it was the flycatchers and the stunning Grace's Warblers that stole the show. IMG_2662 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_2677 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_2681 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_2720 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_2729 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr The drive back down the canyon proved rather uneventful, although we did run into a kinetic flock of Bushtits, our first of the trip, if I remember correctly. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackburnian Posted July 23, 2019 Author Share Posted July 23, 2019 Day 6, Pt. 2 To finish out the day, we headed back to Box Canyon in the evening for try #2 at Lucifer Hummingbird. The sun set yet again on us and we ran out of light before finding the nest or the bird. A singing Five-striped Sparrow and 8 Lesser Nighthawks, as well as the attention-grabbing song of Canyon Wrens were roll-overs from the previous day. But this outing was not a total loss, as we did pick up our first Black-throated Sparrows and Hooded Oriole of the trip. We also ran into a Great Horned Owl after dusk on the drive back to the hotel. IMG_2988 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3036 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3074 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr Day 7 would see some clean-up birding around Tucson and a final attempt at the Lucifer before heading east to Willcox. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackburnian Posted July 23, 2019 Author Share Posted July 23, 2019 Day 7, Pt. 1 We awoke well before sunrise in order to beat the extreme heat that accompanies the lowlands of the southwest because we had one nagging low elevation species we had somehow not seen. To our disappointment, our main spot to look for these was closed so we accepted that we were simply going to miss this very common bird. More on that later. Fortunately, the Tucson sports complex was open. Why were we at the Tucson sports complex, North Ball Park #5, you ask? Because of these: IMG_3163 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3219 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3264 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr Ravens. But only when the wind blew can you see why we were after these: IMG_3195 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3179 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr Chihuahuan Ravens! The white underfeathers are diagnostic. These birds don't usually nest at such low elevation, so it was a surprise to AZ birders when these guys built their nest atop a light structure at the sports complex in the heart of Tucson. The ball park and adjacent park were quite active with other birds such as Vermilion Flycatchers, Abert's Towhees, Lucy's and Yellow Warblers, and Neotropic Cormorants, as well as some Black-necked Stilts. IMG_3209 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3281 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3288 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr Back to that common bird we hadn't seen yet. At the last minute, as it was heating up and hope was fading, we heard the calls of a gnatcatcher for the first time all trip. After a brief false alarm with some Bushtits, we finally located an uncooperative family of Black-tailed Gnatcatchers. IMG_3312 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3348 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackburnian Posted July 23, 2019 Author Share Posted July 23, 2019 (edited) Day 7, Pt. 2 After cleaning up the gnatcatcher, we headed to Box Canyon. This was our last chance to see this hummingbird here and we were desperate and a incredibly frustrated upon arriving. We searched for another hour without success. THANFULLY, two birders arrived looking for Five-striped Sparrow, one of whom was a local who birds the road quite often. He was helping out a friend who is attempting a lower 48 Big Year. Of course, they knew exactly where the nest was. I later learned that almost everyone who found the nest found it the same way- running into others who knew where it was. After a half hour wait, we saw the most earned and satisfying lifer of the trip, a female Lucifer Hummingbird, sporting the long, downcurved bill that make them so recognizable. IMG_3377 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3379 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr lucifer copy by Ryan Justice, on Flickr After an informative chat with the two birders (who got the sparrow by the way, we heard one as well, the third time in three visits to Box Canyon), we and the Big Year birder tried the nearby Florida Canyon for Black-capped Gnatcatcher, another national rarity that is regular in SE AZ. But I was not really expecting to see this bird on the trip, as they are difficult to find even where they are regular. This was true at Florida Canyon, especially seeing as how it was after 11, the time in which they usually disappear until late evening. Happy with the Lucifer, I didn't care too much about missing this bird at first, but over the course of an hour waiting at Florida Canyon the prospect became more enticing. We even heard what we thought may have been one, but never could get eyes on it. Needing to head east, we left, without a gnatcatcher. I had seen the previous day, on eBird, one had been seen at Leslie Canyon NWR, an extremely small piece of land an hour south of the Chiricahua's, but had no intention of going, as they are not usually seen there, as well as the fact that I was totally unfamiliar with this location (that also happened to be out of the way). But as we neared closer to the turn to the direction of the refuge, I couldn't resist one hail mary effort at the bird. It was late evening before we arrived. It was totally dead, aside from a brief look at a Black Bear. We couldn't even find the trail where the bird had been seen. We drove for probably 20 miles before asking a park ranger where we even were. It turns out, we had left the refuge after mile 1, as the refuge proper is very small. We turned around, thinking this little ventures as a total loss. But, somehow, on the return drive, we spotted the trailhead (totally missed it the first time). We walked down a little ways, having no idea really where to go. There were no birds around at all, just thousands of little ants covering the trail. Tired and ready to sleep, we were ready to give up. I pulled out my phone, briefly called a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, as I figured all gnatcatchers sound generally the same, as a means to try to stir ANYTHING up. Immediately a gnatcatcher came in out of nowhere, calling and agitated. I quickly stopped what I thought was futile playback, and tried to get optics on the bird. To our absolute amazement and shock, we were looking at a Black-capped Gnatcatcher. IMG_3424 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3426 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3428 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr The diagnostic white undertail: IMG_3435 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3447 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_5628 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr It was a very satisfying day of birding, with the hummingbird and our third Code 3 rarity of the trip, which also happened to be our second new gnatcatcher of the day. Day 8 we visited the famous Chiricahua's. Edited July 23, 2019 by blackburnian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackburnian Posted August 3, 2019 Author Share Posted August 3, 2019 Day 8, Pt. 1 Day 8 would be our last day in Arizona before moving onto NM and then CO. We started early just a couple miles from our hotel in Willcox at the famous Willcox Lake. It was the first real water we had seen all trip so we added a ton of new trip birds including White-faced Ibis, American Avocet, Wilson's Phalarope, Mexican Duck, Ruddy Duck, Cinnamon and Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, a late American Wigeon, in addition to a ton of Black-necked Stilts and Black-crowned Night-Herons. IMG_3510 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3474 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3494 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3497 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3504 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3538 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3551 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3565 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3571 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3612 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3619 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackburnian Posted August 3, 2019 Author Share Posted August 3, 2019 Day 8, Pt. 2 Some more photos of the aforementioned birds: IMG_3633 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3680 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3646 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3690 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr While all the waterbirds were a welcome sight, we came here for the localized population of Scaled Quail. It didn't take too long for one to fly across our line of sight and into some thick vegetation. IMG_3696 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3701 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr But the real excitement of the morning came in the form of almost stepping on a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, an animal I desperately wanted to see on this trip. IMG_3709 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackburnian Posted August 3, 2019 Author Share Posted August 3, 2019 Day 8, pt. 3 After a successful morning in Wilcox, we headed about an hour and a half east into the famous Chiricahua's, one of the most biodiverse places in the U.S. The mountains themselves are relatively remote, and somewhat difficult to access. We took the forest road from the western side, which eventually spit us out at the tiny town of Portal. When we got into decent looking habitat (large evergreens, the habitat in the Chiricahua's is closer to that of Mt. Lemmon), we pulled over and started looking for our target, the Mexican Chickadee, a bird that can only be found in the Chiricahua's, which is part of what makes the mountains special. But distractions included a large feeding flock that contained the most cooperative Cordilleran Flycatcher in history, Red-faced Warblers and Painted Redstarts, Hairy Woodpeckers, Bushtits, and many, many House Wrens. IMG_3755 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3765 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3775 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3781 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3816 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3845 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3909 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr Amongst the chaotic feeding flock, our target eventually showed itself, as chickadees so often travel with large feeding flocks like this one. Mexican Chickadee: IMG_3872 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3876 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr 1 of 2 targets down. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackburnian Posted August 3, 2019 Author Share Posted August 3, 2019 (edited) Day 8, pt. 4 The search for target #2 in the Chiricahua's (which also happened to be the last lifer in AZ) brought us to the Cave Creek Research Station, or more accurately, their hummingbird station. It was unbelievable. Their were hummingbirds everywhere, probably upwards of 70. Rivoli's, Black-chinned, and Broad-billed made up most of the bulk, but our target Blue-throated Hummingbird was also rather abundant. Note: the first two pictures show a rather strange bird that was behaving unusually (hanging on the side of the feeder). It had us stumped for a bit but we figured it was a young Blue-throated simply trying to learn how to drink from a feeder. Feel free to confirm this or add thoughts. IMG_3958 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3964 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3972 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_3978 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_4114 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_4000 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_4043 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_4048 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_4086 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_4100 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_4161 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_4170 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_4132 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_4177 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_4186 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr Our last birds in the AMAZING state of Arizona included Black-throated Sparrows, Say's Phoebes, and Western Kingbirds in Portal. It was an unforgettable experience. IMG_4189 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_4281 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_4319 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_4331 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr Edited August 3, 2019 by blackburnian 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackburnian Posted August 12, 2019 Author Share Posted August 12, 2019 Day 9 Day 9 was by far the most unsuccessful day of the trip, so I will keep this brief. It was mostly a travel day through NM and up to CO Springs. We did bird for a couple of hours near Albuquerque and missed all of our targets including Gray Vireo, Black-chinned Sparrow, Crissal Thrasher, and Juniper Titmouse. We only managed a ton of Black-chinned Hummingbirds, Rufous-crowned Sparrows, and Woodhouse's Scrub-Jays. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackburnian Posted August 12, 2019 Author Share Posted August 12, 2019 Day 10, Pt. 1 We awoke early, excited for our first day ever birding in CO. Before moving on to Rocky Mtn. NP, we needed to clean up a couple of birds around CO Springs. Following an eBird tip, we eventually found ourselves on Squirrel Creek Rd., a seemingly obscure country road through the beautiful CO grasslands. Before even getting anywhere near the eBird coordinates, we heard and then saw our target, Cassin's Sparrow. This particular bird was putting on quite the aerial show. There were many Lark Buntings skylarking in addition to the Cassin's Sparrows. IMG_4496 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_4499 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_4521 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_4523 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr The road turned out to be not only beautiful, but very birdy. In addition to the Cassin's Sparrows and Lark Buntings, Western Meadowlarks, Swainson's Hawks, and Black-billed Magpies were common. A Red-headed Woodpecker made an appearance and a small country pond held Gadwall and Cinnamon Teal. IMG_4551 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_4589 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr The real excitement of the morning came when we stumbled upon a stunning Golden Eagle sitting on a power pole. This is a bird we really wanted to see, as we had only ever seen them once before, and at a distance as well. We had brief, but spectacular views, although the pictures didn't come out. Just mere moments after the Golden Eagle left our view a beautiful, ghostly Ferruginous Hawk zipped by. Seeing those two species in quick succession was one of the highlights of the trip. IMG_6510 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_4600 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_4602 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackburnian Posted August 12, 2019 Author Share Posted August 12, 2019 Day 10, Pt. 2 After the Squirrel Creek, we headed back into the west side of CO Springs, where it borders the Rockies, in an attempt to find a Virginia's Warbler. We searched for over an hour without luck, although the forest was alive with Spotted Towhees, Plumbeous Vireos, Cordilleran Flycatchers, Warbling Vireos, and one Ovenbird. IMG_4665 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr Just as we were losing hope, we heard a warbler song coming from high in a pine, a Virginia's Warbler, our last warbler lifer of the trip. IMG_4707 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_4744 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr Having gotten both of our targets around CO Springs, we headed north to Estes Park, a sleepy mountain town at the base of the mighty Rocky Mtn. National Park. We booked small cabin for the night, and headed into the park, but not before the trip's first Prairie Falcon swooped by. I'm just going to go ahead and say it: Rocky Mountain National Park may be the most beautiful place I've ever been. I loved every second I spent there. Both the scenery and the birds were spectacular and I cannot wait to go back. The first place we pulled off and birded was a small boardwalk surrounded by wetlands called Beaver Meadows. Here we found incredibly cooperative Wilson's Warblers and Lincoln's Sparrows. IMG_4774 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_4813 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_4787 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr After this, we climbed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackburnian Posted August 12, 2019 Author Share Posted August 12, 2019 Day 10, Pt. 3 And boy did we climb. But as we neared 10k feet, the weather began to change. Eventually, we were in a full on snow storm, in the middle of June no less. But it was beautiful. The snow-covered mountains were jaw-dropping. Common Ravens, American Pipits, and White-crowned Sparrows made up most the inhabitants of the snow fields. A hungry Coyote was also hunting the fields, allowing cars ridiculously close. It was by far the closest I've ever been to one. IMG_5111 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_7222 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr But we were at Rocky Mtn. for two birds, which also happened to be my two most wanted of the entire trip: White-tailed Ptarmigan and Brown-capped Rosy-Finch. I've always been fascinated with high elevation birds, and these are two of the prime examples. The first place we pulled off was a random one. We saw a bunch of people slipping on a massive ice field while walking out to an overlook and figured it looked fun. It was cold. Really cold. Once we made it to the overlook, we noticed the first of hundreds of Yellow-bellied Marmots, as well as some brave Yellow-rumped Warblers and a Steller's Jay. IMG_7128 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr As we were looking over the alpine tundra, we noticed a small, brown bird right in front of us. To our absolute amazement, without even trying, we found a female Brown-capped Rosy-Finch! Another bird, a male, popped up near it, and we enjoyed this pair for a good-half hour. It was my favorite bird and experience of the trip (until the next day). IMG_6979 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_7014 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_7077 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_7171 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_7180 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_7188 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr The ptarmigan did not prove so easy. As we got closer to the top, Medicine Bow, the premiere spot for ptarmigan maybe in the lower 48, the weather worsened. We tried to wait it out in the gift shop at the top, but eventually decided to head out into the trail in the storm. Visibility was incredibly poor, and the temps were in the low 30s. We spent two cold, long, wet hours on the trail searching aimlessly for the well-camouflaged Ptarmigan without success. Tired and defeated, we headed back down the mountain, with a plan to try again in the morning. The only other birds on the trail were pipits, White-crowned Sparrows, and a couple of Mountain Bluebirds. IMG_5185 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_5196 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr On the return trip, we did stumble upon several large herds of Elk, which are always cool to see. They were even present just outside our window at our rental cabin in Estes Park. IMG_5222 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_5227 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_5253 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_5272 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr Overall, a exhausting but rewarding first day in CO. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackburnian Posted September 20, 2019 Author Share Posted September 20, 2019 Day 11, Pt. 1 I'm sorry it's been so long. I recently started college so I haven't had time to finish this report up. After spending the night in a rustic cabin in Estes Park, we awoke early to get to Medicine Bow as early as possible to look for ptarmigan. We were prepared for hours of intensive searching in bad weather. We stopped for some breakfast in town, where a curious magpie was hanging about. IMG_5324 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr As we entered the park and started up the mountain, we found the trip's first Clark's Nutcrackers and Canada Jays. IMG_5409 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_5420 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr As we drove very slowly through the snow fields, I was scanning out the window for any movement. Just as we approached Medicine Bow, we stopped, and as I was scanning the tundra, my dad heard a clucking sound just outside the car. He yelled "LOOK, RIGHT THERE!!!" I jumped out of the car to see what he was talking about and there it was. A beautiful, stunningly calm White-tailed Ptarmigan was standing right on the SIDE OF THE ROAD. Moments later we realized there was another directly in front of us. A truck came barreling up the road. We yelled stop. He hit the ptarmigan. It happened very quickly. We don't think he made direct impact because the bird was able to fly off with the other out of sight. It was a lot of different emotions in a short amount of time. Despite the idiot driver hitting the bird, it was certainly my favorite bird of the trip, and maybe that I've ever seen. IMG_5464 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_5468 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_5487 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackburnian Posted September 20, 2019 Author Share Posted September 20, 2019 Day 11, Pt. 2 After a successful morning and our last lifer target within the park gotten, we were able to casually bird some other areas of the park without much pressure. Birds seen in these couple of hours in the park include Mountain Chickadee, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Wilson's Warbler, Lincoln's Sparrow, MacGillivray's Warbler, Vesper Sparrow, and Green-tailed Towhee. The park proved to be an incredible place to bird and just experience in general. As we were leaving, it offered one last moment of excitement when we spotted a moose feeding on the forest edge. What a special place. IMG_5569 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_5593 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_5713 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_5743 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_5771 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_5789 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_5858 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_5882 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_5849 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr IMG_5800 by Ryan Justice, on Flickr 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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