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| Hot Kingbird activity on this road!! |
Greaterville Road. Kathie told me about a magical road towards Sonoita where birds were numerous and plentiful. Within a short stretch of road, we encountered dozens of different birds. And it was pretty exciting.
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| Kestrel love! |
We got up early and left for our trip to the Empire Ranch. But we stopped along Greaterville Road before reaching Cienagas. While it was early morning, there was a definite excitement at what we would find. And what a way to get our morning started!
Kathie is great about the numbers and counting how many birds are in the area. While for myself, I love using the camera to capture all the incredible finds in the air. I really love motion in my shots.
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| American Kestrel |
I don't know why, but I thought of
TexWisGirl when I took this shot:) There was a fence, some stars, and colorful tractor in the background. And the reason I saw this? A bird was on it:)
But I noticed a Red Tail Hawk in what appears to be an Oak Tree.
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| Red Tail Hawk |
And then the Blue Grosbeak!!! So many of them and so difficult to get on camera. They love sticking to the grass and are very shy around people:)
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| Blue Grosbeak |
In fact, the best bird spotting was on fence and telephone lines.
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| Vesper Sparrow |
We saw lots of interesting and unusual swallows. Two would be lifers like this bird below.
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| Northern Rough Winged Swallow |
And along the road, a lot of conversation happened about ID'ing kingbirds. I think I have the Cassin's down pretty well now. There were at least 3 types flying around and there were lots everywhere!
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| Cassin's Kingbird |
White chin=Cassin's Kingbird. Beautiful birds!
We spent a long time on the road not aware of how much time passed. That's great birding:)
Eventually we realized we had to get going to Empire Ranch and Cienagas before it got too hot.
Now Greaterville goes on for a long while......and we only touched a small 2 mile distance on the road. It was incredible.
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| Turkey Vulture |
But we'd have more finds as we continued on......
More tomorrow.....
Posts
Great shots Chris. Must be nice to go out with Kathie who knows so much about birds. Not that you don't also.
ReplyDeleteHope you're enjoying the cabin life.
Great collection of birds and photos. Love the flight shots and the kingbirds. Have a great weekend and happy birding!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photographs, wonderful birds. I am greeting
ReplyDeleteYou know what's funny is that every single time I've visited family in Sierra Vista AZ, I've taken that road back. not because it was faster getting home, but rather because it was slower and scenic. Now going was a different matter. I went I-8 east to the Hwy 90 turn off as I was ALWAYS in a hurry to get there. Going home was always sad and this Greaterville Road eased the sadness.
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Greaterville Rd. looks like an awesome place to visit! You have captured so many great birds! Your Cassin's Kingbird shots are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you're having an awesome time :)
ReplyDelete♪彡♪♫°¸.•♫°`
ReplyDeleteBelas fotos.
Muito bonitas mesmo!!!!
Bom fim de semana!
Beijinhos.
Brasil
♪♫♫°✿°`╮
Yes! Birding safari style (from the car) and along fences is always great, and allows for excellent photography.
ReplyDeleteNice work!
you know i love a good fence photo. :)
ReplyDeleteyou get such a great variety of birds that we don't see here. the kingbirds are wonderful!
I love the Turkey Vulture on the pole. Perfect! All those little birds and the amazing hawk are special too. You're getting really good at this Chris. The pictures are GREAT!
ReplyDeleteWow---you did get to see LOTS of birds... I love that Kingbird. Such gorgeous colors. But the Swallow is pretty also --and so is the Grosbeak.
ReplyDeleteI finally saw a Rose-breasted Grosbeak at my bird feeder this week. They pass through here this time of year --and I thought I had missed seeing them. I was so glad to see one.
Have a great weekend and week.
Betsy
How exciting!!! Great shots!!!
ReplyDeleteReading this makes me want to go back!
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