We made the scenic, though
sinuous, drive to Rustler Park, up in the Chiricahuas, to search for some high-elevation species. We had our hearts set on finding a Red-faced Warbler, maybe an Olive Warbler...And we also spent an afternoon at the Beatty's, relaxing by the hummingbird feeders, and making the hike uphill after hearing reports that a Spotted Owl had been, well,
spotted nearby. Here are some of the shots I took over the next several days in Arizona. As always, click on a photo for a full, clear view.
Western Tanager
I think it's definitely a worthwhile lifetime goal to see every tanager in the world, don't you?
Pygmy Nuthatch
He has a Daddy longlegs in his bill!
Click on the photo and take a look!
The Pygmy Nuthatch frequently disappeared within the clusters of pine needles,
but every now and then he'd pop into the open and give us a glimpse.
The Yellow-eyed Junco casts his penetrating gaze down upon you!
I fell in love with this wildflower, but never was able to identify it.
Any help, anyone?
Such a captivating design
A close-up of the mystery flower.
Leave your comment below if you know what it is!
Ah, a female Olive Warbler!
You can see the dark cheek patch contrasting with the head and throat.
And what has she got there?
And the Red-faced Warbler!
A contender for one of the country's most beautiful warblers?
Finding the sun
Things are looking up
Red in the face
The Hermit Thrushes are soooo pale in this area of the country.
But you can still make out those reddish tail feathers back there...
Female orioles are terrific identification challenges!
This female shows the hint of a black eye-line, and her head, neck, and breast are all yellow-orange. She has a very gray back, belly, and flanks. Her tail is relatively short, and her bill is sharp and straight.
It's a female Bullock's Oriole!
And that's a Black-headed Grosbeak peaking out from behind the flowers.
Speaking of identification challenges, female tanagers present another one.
This one's yellowish with a gray back and obvious wing bars.
Her bill is shortish and kind of orangey.
It's a female Western Tanager!
This guy presents no such challenge.
It's a striking adult Verdin!
Just basking in the brush
Here's a juvenile Verdin.
He can certainly cause confusion, being so plain and gray,
but look at that short, sharp bill, just like his parent shows in the photo above.
Another look at the juvenile Verdin, showing his short tail
If you click to zoom in, you'll notice his head feathers just beginning to turn yellow!
Is that a juvenile Verdin, too?
No, it's a Lucy's Warbler!
A closer look at the Lucy's Warbler
You can see how the bill has a different shape when compared with the Verdin's above.
And you can see that rusty rump showing beneath the end of the wings.
Male Lucy's Warbler close-up
Now you can clearly see the rusty patch on the head and the white eye-ring!
Black-throated Sparrow
Is there a more dapper sparrow?
When this Common Raven flew by, I was surprised to see he was carrying a poor little critter in his bill!
The raven seemed content.
The lizard less so.
Ash-throated Flycatcher
In this photo, you can see how the edges of the secondary feather stack are white, contrasting with the rufous primary feather edges beneath.
On a Dusky-capped Flycatcher, the secondary feather edges are rufous.
Bullock's Oriole
The black streaking on the back and what looks like a black throat (although that may just be a shadow) suggest this is a young male.
White-faced Ibis in a tizzy
We couldn't get enough of this Magnificent Hummingbird at the Beatty's feeders...
Until we saw this White-eared Hummingbird!
It resembles a female Broad-billed, but that white eyebrow is just so glaring!
The bill on this White-eared is shorter and straighter than on a Broad-billed, too.
His chest and sides show a smattering of scattered green spots, as well, while a Broad-billed would just be a plain, dingy gray underneath.
His tail feathers are green all the way to the end.
On a Broad-billed, the end of the uppertail is black.
He's a rare visitor from Mexico!
He looks like he may be a subadult male.
One of the most exciting birds of the trip!
A three-hour search in Miller Canyon revealed, at last, a Spotted Owl!
He looked left, he looked right...
And finally, for a few seconds, he looked right at me.
