Driving to Las Vegas

Our next destination was Las Vegas, where we would stay with Cyndi's Dad and second Mom. It was a long drive through the desert, but we stopped a couple of times to enjoy the environment.

The scenery changed from Saguaro to these Joshua Trees.

Here's an overview.

And, closer up, you can see many kinds of desert plants grow here.

Many of the cacti were in bloom, and Cyndi took a lot of photos!

Here are some of my pictures of the cactus blooms.

This next plant is Bladder Pod, and I later learned that the plant stores carbon dioxide in the pods on the stem, so they can use it whenever they need it.

There were many kinds of wildflowers along the way.

Most exciting for me, though, was noticing this bird ... one I had never seen before, the Harris's Hawk. We stopped and tried to walk back to get a better view of it, but it would have none of that and flew off as we walked along the road.

Madera Canyon

Birders from all over the world travel to enjoy the birding at Madera Canyon. It's a beautiful destination, and has unique birds that everyone wants to see. I wondered before I went if I would be able to tell the Mexican Jay from the others, as they did look similar in the bird book. When I got there I found that there were only Mexican Jays, so it was not a problem at all.

On our last day there some Blue Grosbeak showed up. This one is in front of a Mexican Jay.

The Wild Turkeys frequent the property, and can also be seen down by the creek.

The Painted Redstart fans its wings and tail in what I suppose is a territorial gesture. They're hyperactive and don't sit still for a photo very often.

The Bridled Titmouse is sort of like a Chicakadee with a crest.

Every evening the resident Elf Owl pokes his (or her) head out of the hole in the utility pole where it sleeps by day. It is quite dark by the time it appears, and I felt lucky that this hand-held shot came out at all. I had a tripod, but was using it for my scope, and alternated between enjoying the view of this small owl (North America's smallest) and trying to take a photo.

It took me a while, looking in the Sibley's guide to birds to figure out this one, since I'd never seen it before. It is a Rufous-crowned Sparrow. Those sparrows sure can be difficult to identify.

The tall Sycamore trees are habitat for Orioles and Tanagers and many more.

This one is the Hepatic Tanager. The Hepatic Tanager was one of four types of tanager I saw on this trip.

One of the much-sought birds is the Flame-colored Tanager. This is one of the very few that visit the United States. It has been returning to this area for four years now.

Acorn Woodpeckers were everywhere, and they work as a family unit, collecting acorns and storing them for winter consumption.

This next one is distinctive, as it is the only brown-backed woodpecker in the United States. It is the Arizona Woodpecker.

Hummingbirds

Of all the birds southeast Arizona has to offer, most often spoken of are the hummingbirds. The lodges on public lands (small inholdings on the National Forest) put out feeders to attract great numbers of hummingbirds every day (and thus great numbers of birders as paying guests every night).

One homeowner at the edge of the Nature Conservancy's Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve has for many years put out hummingbird feeders and welcomed the public to her yard. Though Marion Paton has passed away, her legacy is being well cared for. The rules for visitation remain the same, "If the gate is open, guests are welcome. Leave a few dollars in the donation box to help defray costs."

As you can see from this sign where we stayed, the hummingbirds are a main attraction. Cyndi commented that there's a "No Vacancy" sign because we've got the room already. Well, there's more than one room, but they get booked far in advance.

Some of the hummingbirds I photographed there can be found in Idaho, like this Black-chinned.

Photographing these birds was challenging. They showed off the iridescent colors best in sunshine, but most preferred to come to a feeder that was out of the hot sun. I imagine they burn their tongue if the nectar is too hot.

When this Magnificent Hummingbird hovered just so, the throat briefly lit up a beautiful aqua, contrasting with a purple head. In any case, this one is a very large hummingbird, so stands out from the crowd even without the colorful show.

Without the iridescent color (the feathers are not pigmented, they only show the colors when struck by light at the correct angle, and can even change color in the light ... sometimes golden, sometimes green, sometimes purple), identifying the birds can be difficult. I believe this one is a Broad-tailed.

A few of the hummingbirds wear a complete hood of color. The Anna's wears a magenta hood.

The Costa's, here seen in the Saguaro National Park, resides in the desert and wears a purple cowl that terminates in a large, droopy mustache on each side of the throat.

One of the hummingbirds rarely seen in the United States is the Violet-crowned. I asked the birders in the Paton's yard how I would recognize it, and they educated me that there's only one kind of hummingbird that could be seen there with a white belly, the Violet-crowned.

When it first arrived, though well-hidden behind the feeder, I could still see how it got its name (and the white belly did stand out from the rest of the hummingbirds).

It was quite a regular visitor (as it has been for some years now). I stood in the hot sun for a while (too long, perhaps) waiting to get this photo of it in the sun.

It seemed to me that by far the most common hummingbird there were the Broad-billed, which are iridescent blue and green from head to toe with a wonderful red bill tipped with black. They could be found everywhere, even away from the feeders. (It was nice to see rare birds come to feeders, but that's just a short step away from captivity or dependence in my opinion; so I honestly prefer to find the birds in a natural habitat, doing what comes naturally to them.)

Cyndi and I enjoyed hiking on a lot of trails, and I'll post more in future blogs about some of the places we went, and tell more of the cactus and wildflowers. For now, though, I'll just share this one trail picture, which was a short walk from our cabin. We were in the "sky island" of the Santa Rita Mountains, southeast of Tucson. It is wild there, so wild that one morning Cyndi opened the drapes to see a cat (perhaps Bobcat) stalking the Wild Turkeys by the creek. Mount Wrightson dominates the range, and we could see its distinctive shape from all sides as we camped in various locations over the following week.

I'm not such a "purist" though, that I didn't greatly enjoy standing for hours waiting for the perfect pose at the feeder. And, I do have a feeder outside my window at home.

The shade gave nice even lighting, but the sunlight gave the opportunity for a faster shutter speed and caused the colors to shine in all their glory.

There is a kind of hummingbird called the White-eared, and it looks similar to the Broad-billed which is so very common in southeast Arizona, but it has a broad white line extending over the eye curving backward down the neck, contrasting greatly with a black cheek. I asked the hummingbird watchers at the Paton's feeders how I would know if I saw that, since they look so very similar to the Broad-billed in my opinion. They advised, "You'll know it when you see it."

Well, I guess because there is still doubt in my mind, this next photo is most likely just a Broad-billed with a white supercillium and dark cheek. I thought I knew it when I first saw this photo. Now I'm not so sure. I'll ask for comments from those who know hummingbirds better than I do. I think the supercillium is not broad enough to be a White-eared, and believe this is just a wonderfully colorful Broad-billed.

Hmm. That bill seems relatively shorter and straighter. But, the crown and chin would be more violet on a White-eared. Hey, this was supposed to be relaxing ... .

It's a beautiful hummingbird. Let's leave it at that.

PS An Arizona birder of some ability has reassured me that this is a Broad-billed Hummingbird.

Getting There is Half the Fun

Cyndi and I recently took a trip to southeastern Arizona, to see a new place and to experience the many birds that can only be found there within the United States. Some birds live in Central America and Mexico and the very northern edge of their range brings a very few of them to Arizona and Texas. For instance there is only one species of hummingbird east of the Mississippi River (the Ruby-throated), but in southeastern Arizona as many as 14 have been seen over the years.

We drove. It was a long drive. By the time we returned home we had gone over 2,500 miles. All along the way we enjoyed looking at how the geology and plant life changed (as well as the birds, of course).

We first headed for Utah, and before we crossed the Idaho border we stopped where the Juniper trees grow and saw birds both familiar and new.

The Brewer's Blackbird can be found throughout Idaho, but this one posed beautifully in the sun.

The Juniper Titmouse has a limited range in Idaho. I saw them once before in California, but this was the first time I found one in Idaho!

We spent a night at the home of Cyndi's brother, then continued south, passing through some amazing Utah scenery on the way.

After dark we arrived at the Grand Canyon's south rim, where we camped for the night. In the morning we awoke to the view that so many travel so far to marvel at. This was my first time to see it.

Flitting around the treetops, below us in the Grand Canyon was this Black-throated Gray Warbler.

Though we greatly enjoyed seeing the canyon and the birds in the National Park, we continued on to our destination, Madera Canyon and the Santa Rita Lodge, which is known for the hummingbirds and wildlife and hiking trails to be found nearby.