Pictures by Mike and pictures by Bert have been posted on the trip website. These pictures include birds, creatures, and general trip photographs.
http://www.thefilemyrs.com/Birding/Arizona2013/index.htm
Monday, August 19, 2013
Pictures have been posted!
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Mike's Pictures
Mike posted a great set of pictures.
Check out
http://www.flickr.com/photos/78856147@N08/sets/72157635095144677/
Status of pictures
I took over 1800 pictures, most of them birds. It is taking lots of time to go through them and find the few good ones. I will post here when they are available for viewing.
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Post Trip - GPS Tracks
I have posted GPS tracks for each day of our adventure. Assuming you have Google Earth on your computer you can see exactly where we went every day. The track for Monday 8/12 is pictured here.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Home
We are all home safely from a great trip. We saw 181 species of birds including 11 species of hummingbirds (Costa's attached.) Snakes, mammals, reptiles and other creatures were seen and enjoyed.
It was a great trip. Pictures will be posted at www.thefilemyrs.com as soon as possible but it will take some time to sort through the thousands of pictures we took.
Hope you enjoyed following our adventure
Bert, Mike, Ann, Connie
Homeward Bound
Sitting at the departure gate. Philadelphia here we come.
<< Bert >>
Sent from my cell phone.
<< Bert >>
Sent from my cell phone.
Heading home
Getting packed
Getting breakfast
Getting to the airport
I
<< Bert >>
Sent from my cell phone.
Getting breakfast
Getting to the airport
I
<< Bert >>
Sent from my cell phone.
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Heat
Before the trip we often joked about the heat. We convinced ourselves that it would be "dry heat" and not uncomfortable. But realistically heat is heat. We knew it would be hot but that would be the tradeoff for seeing good birds. The image above is from the forecast page of a smart phone app. You will see that here in Phoenix it is a little after 8 pm and the temperature just dipped below 100 degrees. And looking ahead you can see what Phoenix is in store for.
With the exception of a couple of hours the first day and now the last night we spent our time south of here. And the area south of here is slightly higher in elevation and is cooler than the Phoenix area. Most of our days topped out in the low 90s and were relatively comfortable.
Getting ready for cocktail hour
Today was our last day of birding. We went up Mt Lemmon , just north of Tucson, to see some high altitude birds we had missed. It was great to see Red-faced Warbler (photo), Townsend's Warbler, Virginia's Warbler, Mountain Chickadee and other birds.
When we came off the mountain we did a takeout lunch and headed to Avravaipa Canyon Road. It was a neat area but as expected with temperatures over 100 degrees, birds were hunkered down and not to be seen.
We are now in Phoenix, ready to fly home tomorrow.
Tuesday Morning
We will be at breakfast at 6 am and then out of the motel shortly afterwards. This morning we will bird Mt. Lemmon here in Tucson before heading to Phoenix. If we have time we will bird some areas north of Tucson on the way.
Today is our last birding day and we want to use all of our remaining time wisely.
This Hooded Oriole was seen yesterday in the Tucson area.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Monday ends
We went to a sports bar for dinner and ran into a local couple who were in the restaurant where we ate dinner last night. We chatted with them last night and came over to talk to us tonight. That was a nice gesture on their part.
No ice cream after dinner tonight. Everyone was full.
Tomorrow is our last birding day. We will bird Mt Lemmon in Tucson and some other areas. The trip has gone fast.
(This Roadrunner was seen today on Ruby Road on the way back from California Gulch)
Cocktail Hour and Dinner Time
We are back at the motel after a full day of birding. We left the motel at 4 am and after driving about 15 minutes returned to the motel for me to get my wallet which I had forgotten to take. That put us 30 minutes behind schedule. Not the brightest move on my part! Our major goal was getting to California Gulch which the most reliable place in the United States for Five-striped Sparrow. It is about 17 miles of dirt road to get there and then a walk down a steep trail to get to the bottom of the gulch. Once there, after a little work we found several of these elusive sparrows. I struggled to get a picture and while the attached shot is not the best shot I have ever taken of a bird, it is a memorable shot. You have probably read the posts from earlier today which told the timing of our adventure.
We are debating what to do for dinner. We stopped in Patagonia and had a nice lunch and at this time none of us are hungry. We might just have a cocktail hour and not go for dinner. But later, if there is an ice cream place in the area…………
Lunch
Mike
Lunch time in Patagonia
After getting the Five stripped Sparrow we stopped at Pena Blanca Lake to recheck for the Least Grebe we missed yesterday. We missed it again.
Then we bolted for the Patagonia Roadside Rest to look for the Thick-billed King bird and the Northern Beardless Tyranulet we missed yesterday.
Success on both of them!
<< Bert >>
Sent from my cell phone.
Then we bolted for the Patagonia Roadside Rest to look for the Thick-billed King bird and the Northern Beardless Tyranulet we missed yesterday.
Success on both of them!
<< Bert >>
Sent from my cell phone.
California Gulch
<< Bert >>
Sent from my cell phone.
Sunday winds down
It was a good day of birding with many highlights including this Grasshopper Sparrow seen in the grasslands
We started at Sierra Vista this morning and headed west through the Coronado National Monument. After enjoying that area we went to several stops in the Patagonia area and then on to Pena Blanca Lake for our last stop of the day. Besides the great birds (Gray Hawk, Violet-crowned Hummingbird, etc) we also saw a Black-tailed Rattlesnake and a Gray Fox.
As usual the birding was better in the morning hours and things got quiet in the heat of the Arizona August afternoon. But that is to be accepted. We only had a high of 92 degrees but the humidity is unexpectedly high.
Tomorrow is one of the big adventures of the trip - to California Gulch for the Five-stripped Sparrow. In order to be on territory as the sun comes up we will be leaving the motel in Green Valley at 4 am.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
End of the birding day
This picture is of the star of the hummingbird show today at "The Patons". It is a Violet-crowned Hummingbird seen at the feeding station at the former home of the Patons in Patagonia. It is the most reliable location in the United States to see this species.
Early Sunday Morning
It looks like it will be another bright sunny day here in southeast Arizona. We have to this point avoided all the "monsoon" thunderstorms and we hope that continues for the next couple of days.
As we left the birthday/family party last night we were given a huge amount of pastries and desserts. They will be the basis of this morning's breakfast as we get ready to be packed up and have the vehicle moving by 6:30 am.
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Saturday ends
We had a great time with Connie's brother's wife's family. It was more of a family gathering than a birthday party. More food than you could imagine! Fun time!
We leave Sierra Vista in the morning and head south and west. We will visit many of the famous birding spots around Patagonia. Hoping for Gray Hawk!
Early Saturday Evening
After spending 3.5 hours getting the vehicle tire issue resolved by Budget Car Rental (they came up big) and then having the disappointment of having Garden Canyon, home of the Spotted Owls, closed it was great to sit and watch 10 feeders full of western hummingbirds. Including this Lucifer Hummingbird!
Tonight we are off to Connie's sister-in-law's sister's birthday party. It was nice they invited us.
Sitting Here
A little down time in the middle of the day while we wait for Budget to bring a replacement vehicle. We just got back from filling the gas tank and going through a car wash. It certainly needed it!!
A quick count of species shows we have seen 156 species going into this morning and I know we added at least two species to that list at San Pedro House this morning.
After we get the replacement vehicle we will head to Fort Huachuca to see if the canyon have been reopened to visitors. I am betting that they have not been but some other members of the trip think they will be. We will find out.
The attached picture of a male Calliope Hummingbird was taken yesterday in Miller Canyon.
Tire!
Unfortunately the tire was not repairable and we do not feel safe driving around without a spare. Budget is replacing the vehicle. It has been a hassle but these things happen. Everyone is safe and it only a tire problem.
As I wrote this Budget made arrangements to have another vehicle here in by 12:10. It is now 10:35 so that is super!
San Pedro House
Connie
Saturday morning
We are off to do some local birding here in the Sierra Vista area. We expect to start with a walk at San Pedro House and then play it by ear. The canyons in Fort Huachuca, a traditional location for Spotted Owls, have been closed due to bear activity. We hope they open them today. But if they do not there are lots of places around here to visit.
We still need to get fixed the tire, which is now the spare tire, that has a leak. It is not a good idea to drive around with an unusable spare tire. As I write this Budget Customer Care has not opened for the day. Hopefully this issue will resolve itself quickly and easily.
Tire Changed
Budget Rental Roadside Assistance came up big and within an hour of placing the call the service man was on site changing the tire. We are ready to roll in the morning but we will need to deal with repairs to the tire.
Friday Evening
We had a great dinner with Connie's brother Chas and his wife Shirley. Good Mexican beer and good food. On the way home the low tire pressure warning light in our vehicle went on. We have a slow leak in the right rear tire. I am waiting for Budget Roadside Assistance to come and change the tire. But there could be issues with getting the tire fixed. The closest Budget location is in Tucson. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Stay tuned.
Friday, August 9, 2013
Friday winds down
This afternoon we located some Harris's Hawks (see photo) in a residential area south of Sierra Vista. Then we took a "little" ride up Carr Canyon. None of us had ever been up there and it was certainly not what we expected. It was a twisty rocky road that went up several thousand feet. As the guide book said "not for the faint hearted". Not very birdy but we did see Buff-breasted Flycatcher.
Tonight we are having dinner with Connie's brother Chas and his wife Shirley who live in this area. Then we will be out in a canyon for some owling. We do not expect to see anything new but we might get some good looks tonight.
Mid-day Friday
<< Bert >>
Sent from my cell phone.
Miller Canyon
<< Bert >>
Sent from my cell phone.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Thursday
We left Portal this morning and after hitting a couple of local spots we headed back up the mountains to Onion Saddle and Barfoot Park. It is fun to look for feeding flocks and then pick out the species in the flocks. We then drove down the west side of the Chiricahua Mountains and entered Sulphur Springs Valley. Our major destination was Whitewater Draw, a lake and marsh, but it was not very birdy.
We are in Sierra Vista tonight and will be here for three nights. It is good to get back to a location with WiFi Internet access.
The attached picture of Acorn Woodpeckers was taken at our lodging in Portal
Thursday Morning
We are leaving Portal and will be in Sierra Vista tonight. Our plan is to head over the Chiricahuas to give ourselves a few more hours of birding at higher elevations.
We are getting great looks at great birds.
Yesterday we saw Vermilion Flycatcher and Painted Redstart. Two of Arizona's most colorful birds.
<< Bert >>
Sent from my cell phone.
We are getting great looks at great birds.
Yesterday we saw Vermilion Flycatcher and Painted Redstart. Two of Arizona's most colorful birds.
<< Bert >>
Sent from my cell phone.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Morning in Portal
<< Bert >>
Sent from my cell phone.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Portal!
Elegant Trogan, Hermit Warbler, Olive Warbler, Zone-tailed Hawk, Sulphur - bellied Flycatcher, Grace's Warbler, etc., etc.
Today we birded up in the mountains, tomorrow out in the flat lands.
<< Bert >>
Sent from my cell phone.
Tuesday morning
We are in Portal getting ready to bird the surrounding mountains. We have seen over 105 species do far and should see a whole new group today.
The feeders here are full of hummingbirds and we are learning lots of new field marks.
<< Bert >>
Sent from my cell phone.
The feeders here are full of hummingbirds and we are learning lots of new field marks.
<< Bert >>
Sent from my cell phone.
Monday, August 5, 2013
Lunch in Wilcox
Connie
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Mid-day Sunday
We birded the Sonora Desert Museum and the Saguaro National Park this morning. Now we are headed to Madera Canyon for hummingbirds and owls.
<< Bert >>
Sent from my cell phone.
<< Bert >>
Sent from my cell phone.
Arrived
We have arrived! Saw our first target bird, Rosy-Faced Lovebird - seen well and a lifer for three of us!
Connie
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Day One Winds Down
<< Bert >>
Sent from my cell phone.
Arrived
We have arrived! Saw our first target bird, Rosy-Faced Lovebird - seen well and a lifer for three of us!
Connie
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Gettin' ready
A few of my essentials for our trip are coming together.
Let's see, ready for sun, bugs, walkin' the trails, hunger pangs, happy hour
and most of all......Arizona birds!!!
<< Connie >>
Heat
<< Bert >>
Sent from my cell phone.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)