The Wildest Birds

They say that after 400 state birds, it gets interesting. The chases are more intense and often times, our treks take us to the far reaches of the state boundaries so that we might try and add one bird. And sometimes that bird isn't even a lifebird!  Here's a look at the crazy vagrants(or not) that have come to visit Arizona. Warning: some of the photos presented today are of really BAD quality!  It just shows that being a birder is a 24/7 kind of job! At number 400......

Prothonotary Warbler State Bird 400

The Prothonotary Warbler hid in the Arizona Cottonwood leaves during a warm spring day.  It wasn't hard to find but it did require a little patience.  This warbler was close to home and obviously a no brainer to chase. 

Nutting's Flycatcher 401(upper right hand corner) The rest are all the similar looking Myiarchus species!

Then came the Nutting's Flycatcher.  I hate this bird.  It's not exciting to me NOR was the crazy drive to Lake Havasu.  To be honest, it was one of the last of my "expected" birds on my state list to find.  When you get to the bottom of the barrel, you do what you gotta do.....rent a crazy monster truck to the top of a rugged road and find this uneventful number. To make things worse with this bird?  It was in a remote area.  While it was beautiful, there were moments I panicked. Never again.....

                                                                   Black Rail 402
To make things worse, we went to find a Black Rail on the same day. When I decide to rip the bandage off.... Of course, I knew that spotting this lifer and state bird was most likely not going to happen because 1) It's a rail. 2) It's a tiny rail. and 3)Birders rarely ever see this bird. Many times it's a count as a heard only bird. So I brought my phone and took this vocal recording of the bird.  After many mosquito bites and hearing the bird, we drove away from the dark Yuma night for another several hour drive home.  

Red-headed Woodpecker 403

Things started to get exciting when this Red-headed Woodpecker made its way into Arizona and hung out in a very hidden and secret location. This bird was closer to home BUT we needed a sturdy vehicle to get there.   Thankfully, we had one!

Pine Flycatcher 404

An ABA first(first time in the US), the Pine Flycatcher, was a hike and a rocky road trip that had us all biting our nails.  After a little sun and heat along with drinking lots of water, we found this female flycatcher making a nest in a sacred glen.  Magic!

Berryline Hummingbird 405

I'd chase this next one, the Berryline Hummingbird, often and dip. And I would always dip on the bird since it came to visit during my international treks.  So while I sat at the hummingbird ramada of Miller Canyon, I was shocked and surprised to see this bird casually fly to the feeder.  There was no plan.  It just happened as it happened. Right place; right time.  The way real birding should happen.

The heat of the summer came and so did a rare Hudsonian Godwit.  This lifer was seen with a scope demonstrating that not all state birds, or lifers, play nice for viewing. 

Hudsonian Godwit 406

On a beautiful trek up to the White Mountains, we finally discovered the American Three-toed Woodpecker!  It only took 5 attempts!

American Three-toed Woodpecker 407

Then.  A major fallout happened from Hurricane Newton.  I paced my classroom after hearing the news about crazy ocean birds dropping from the sky.  During the last bell, I shooed my students out the door and grabbed my umbrella to witness storm-petrels in the desert!  The drive seemed like eternity.  It was an event I'll never forget.

Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel!!! 408

The shadows from the clouds of the hurricane made photography nearly impossible.  We watched helplessly as this Least Storm-Petrel(below) perished in the waters. So adding state birds can also be a sad one. 

Least Storm-Petrel 409

But some birders held hope when we saw a healthy Black Storm-Petrel fly around the ponds of a water treatment plant days after the storm. By nightfall, we believe this bird made it back to Mexico(which isn't too far away).  This bird has occasionally strayed into Arizona as it lives off the shores of Baja California.

Black Storm-Petrel 410

Some state birds don't play fair. Here is the case of the accidental pretty bird. During work (and during yet another storm), we were all having lunch when Margie spots this rusty orange and black bird from the office windows.  "Chris, what is that bird?"  OH. MY. GODS!  A rare Orchard Oriole came to visit and I did not have my camera.  So Margie snapped a shot with her IPHONE.  The bird took off afterwards and wasn't seen again. 

Orchard Oriole 411

A boring bird to add to the state list, the California Scrub-Jay, was more of a technical trek.  I don't really care for those too much but we were able to hear the bird and check it off the list. 

California Scrub-Jay 412

Another stormy (do you see a pattern here?:) and fun day out after work had me using my cell phone to snap a picture of the Common Tern.  I don't always bird with my camera now.  Sometimes I just want to be a birder with binos and not bring that heavy camera. 

Common Tern 413

The furthest and most stressful bird of the year, the Lesser Sand Plover, had me in suspense for a couple weeks.  It was a state first/lifer that required MANY hours of driving.  Thankfully, it waited for us before disappearing into the unknown THE NEXT DAY!  Talk about luck! Afterwards, we slowly birded our way back down to Tucson visiting with friends and not wasting gas on one bird. The whole trek took 3 days long.  

Lesser Sand Plover 414

While not ABA countable, I'm counting this one.  Monk Parakeets have been breeding in this state for awhile and if the birds breed successfully, I count them. For the ABA listers out there, I actually got my countable Monk Parakeet in Florida several years ago. If it's one bird group I enjoy the most, it's the parrots/parakeets.  So I have been studying their populations around the US for quite some time. There were several AZ populations of the Monk Parakeets years ago but then they mysteriously disappeared.  Over the years, we have tracked down their disappearance and in the process, have also relocated their last breeding colony. Several colonies were taken out by wildlife management as they were considered invasive.  And the neighbors didn't really appreciate the noise:) This is a bird of interest for me in this state.  I'll continue monitoring the small? population.  There are rogue birds discovered every year in strange places around Phoenix.  

Monk Parakeet 415

After finding the Pacific Wren 2 years ago, it was time to locate the Winter Wren.  Easy. But the little buggers are tricky to capture on camera as they act like little mice with wings!

Winter Wren 416

Then a Christmas miracle happened.  A happy male Long-tailed Duck came to visit for quite some time.  And he made many birders happy:) It was strange observing this one in the sunny Phoenix area.  Back home in Wisconsin, they love the icy waters! But this one had a taste for the desert:) A true "snowbird"......

Long-tailed Duck 417

The Rose-throated Becard was tricky.  I tried once for this bird in Arizona but it hung out in a remote area. I dipped! And I had to have my car aligned after driving on that washboard of a dirt road! I've seen the bird many times in Mexico and Guatemala but never in the US!  This year several RTBE were seen along the DeAnza trail and I was able to add this bird to my state list.  It felt good!

Rose-throated Becard 418

The Mexican bird species all played nice for me this year.  Normally the elusive Green Kingfisher doesn't like to hang around for a pic.  But thankfully two stuck around this winter in Patagonia for a photo shoot.  Finally!

Green Kingfisher 419

I didn't chase a Palm Warbler outside of Tucson because I knew one would eventually come to me.  All I had to do was be patient.  It has been a good year for adding warblers!

Palm Warbler 420

And more recently, I finished with yet another "FINALLY!" as we spied this Tennessee Warbler.  State birds after 400 are not easy and it gets trickier as we climb the ladder towards the top.  There are no prizes other than the smiles and satisfaction that happen when we find difficult birds. I should also mention that I wouldn't chase many of these birds without the help and support of friends like Brian, Magill, Gordon, Muriel, Kathie, Jeremy, Janine, Babs, Micheal and so many others. Let me put it this way.  When you are dealing with remote areas, always...ALWAYS bring a friend for safety. I now sit at 421 and wait. Who will the next state bird be?

Tennessee Warbler 421

On the 12th Month....

One step at a time. One month at a time.  One bird at a time.  It's time to take a look back on this years very often slow trek to the top, finding birds. 

We began in January.  It was a good start to the year finding 4 new lifers in one month.  That's almost unheard of these days. The birding was fun and the temps were wonderfully COLD!  I love birding in the cold weather.  On a rare snowy day in Sierra Vista, I found my exciting lifer, the American Bittern.  Then it was off to Lake Havasu where we found another cool bird, the Yellow-billed Loon.  These two bird species are favorites of mine and I had been really looking forward to observing them in the wild. Then, on a windy day, I chased the McCown's Longspurs.  I like grassland birds, but I had a nasty headache from the blustery conditions in Green Valley while helping birders target these two longspurs. If I were ever a paid guide, I think my strength would be finding grassland birds.  Another bird, which was less exciting, was the Barrow's Goldeneye.  All birds are awesome BUT some birds are more exciting to find than others.

Let's begin. January, 2016 I began the year with 706 observed bird species in my life.  And then it began as I added American Bittern, Yellow-billed Loon, Barrow's Goldeneye and McCown's Longspur

In February, the Rusty Blackbird continued.  It took 3 attempts to find this bird and eventually it happened.  I love blackbirds a lot and adding this lifer was a thrill for me.  Thanks to Brian for the encouragement to keep chasing it. 

Rusty Blackbird

Then March arrived.  I was SO looking forward to our trek out to California.  And all of it was a complete joy.  I love the ocean.  And I love all these birds.  The landscape was gorgeous and so was the ride out to Catalina Island. 
So in March, I added Yellow-chevroned Parakeet, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Black Turnstone and Spotted Dove.

In April, I began lacking the energy needed for chasing birds.  It was starting to get hot outside and the idea of standing in the desert sun was not my idea of fun.  I almost didn't go but thanks to Magill's encouragement, I went.  And I got myself a random lifer, AND RARE!, warbler for the state.  April-Prothonotary Warbler

If April was hot, May was even hotter.  I wasn't thrilled about hearing a Black Rail.  I would have liked to see the bird but it's a difficult one to see in the wild.  We chased the ABA first, Pine Flycatcher.  Thanks Jeremy for driving!  They were hot days and the only way I survived was by drinking ice cold water in my camelpack. Not my idea of fun birding.  While the excitement level was high, I was looking forward to birding in Wisconsin during the month of June in cooler temps. May-Black Rail, Red-headed Woodpecker, Pine Flycatcher

Then June came.  I didn't go anywhere exotic, but I did find myself enjoying the cooler temps of Lake Michigan with my people.  I missed being around the Wisconsin birding crowd. It was a tight study in a window of 3 weeks.  During this trek with Gordon, we landed the most lifers including rare gems like the Kentucky, Cerulean and Kirtland's Warblers.  Many were a lot of fun to look for.....except maybe the Mourning Warbler due to the intense cloud of mosquitoes. 
June-Yellow-throated Vireo, Kentucky Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Sedge Wren, Wood Thrush, Scarlet Tanager, Acadian Flycatcher, Blue-winged and Golden-winged Warblers, Kirtland's Warbler, American Woodcock, Little Gull, Mourning Warbler, Winter Wren and Alder Flycatcher.

In July, it was back to the heat.  I didn't want to return to Arizona but I had to save money.  I didn't think anything was going to come my way.  That is, until a Hudsonian Godwit flew into Arizona.  This is where I began to change as a birder.  

California Scrub-Jay

I could see that my days for chasing year birds in Arizona were coming to an end. I saw the massive crowd of birders and realized that it was time to move forward in my life as a birder.  I chased the Godwit because it was a lifer.  The weather was miserable and so was my attitude. At this point, I began taking my name off of the top 100 ebirders in Arizona and the US.  This was not a game for me, nor is birding a competition. ABA added the California Scrub-Jay and Townsend's Storm-Petrel as separate species ....and I added two more birds to my lifelist in July making it three lifers. July-Hudsonian Godwit, Townsend's Storm-Petrel and California Scrub-Jay

Hudsonian Godwit

Then August came.  And for a brief moment, I remembered the fall like temps of the North.  And I remembered how much I loved birding.  After many attempts of searching for this bird, it finally happened.   August-American Three-toed Woodpecker

American Three-toed Woodpecker

I was truly expecting ZERO lifers in September until Hurricane Newton came our way.  The sky turned dark and gray.  It was rainy and cool.  And I felt alive.  I also felt like something magical was going to happen.  And it did!  The eye of Newton broke up close to home, introducing me to a new species from the Galapagos Islands!  RARE!  Storm-Petrels are another favorite of mine and so my blood was pumping after finding three different species here in the desert!  THIS was the BEST birding day of the year for me. And it will go down as a historic day in birding for the state of Arizona.  September-Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel

Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel

My life at this point was overrun with overtime and work.  But the saving grace was a trek out to Monterey, CA where I'd be out on the ocean for several days.  This month would land me several important lifers and bring me closer to completing my birding chapter in California.  This was another fun California trek with Debi Love Shearwater. October-Pigeon Guillemot, South Polar Skua, Black-footed Albatross, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Lesser Sand Plover, Buller's and Flesh-footed Shearwater




In November, I did not find any lifers.  However, I have been adding old files into iNaturalist and I wanted to verify an ID on this hummingbird below.  I had labeled it a White-necked Jacobin, but the ID had never sat quite right with me.  When a birder is unfamiliar with new birds, it can be difficult.  To make it worse, I wasn't truly a birder in 2011. I was more like a bird photographer. I had only started getting interested with the birding challenge after this trip to Panama.  So technically, I added a tick on my list by adding this beautiful Snowy-bellied Hummingbird.  So November wasn't really a bust:)  When a birder can ID a bird with certainty, it then makes the bird a lifer even though I saw this bird back in Boquete in June of 2011. 

Snowy-bellied Hummingbird

And finally December.  It has been a long month and I was beginning to think that I wasn't going to add any new birds to my list.  However, several days ago I was able to add on Thayer's Gull and Eastern Screech-Owl during my visit to Wisconsin.  

Eastern Screech-Owl

This has been a hard fought year for some tough birds.  The rarity highlights include the Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel, Pine Flycatcher and Lesser Sand Plover.  We'll see you back next year, but for now I'm wishing everyone a wonderful and Happy New Year!

Petrel-ized!

Hurricane Newton sky photos from WIKI and AccuWeather.  Note how the storm covers a wide area from the Galápagos Islands in South America to Mexico. 

 I'm not sure how this all started.  But I was supposed to take a week off from blogging.  Apparently that wasn't going to be the plan.  In an event like no other in my life, I, along with many Arizona birders, experienced fallout from Hurricane Newton this past week. 

The storm is predicted during this time period to hit Arizona.  Birders are watching carefully. 

 It started off as an innocent storm around the equator and developed into something larger.  Forecasters began to warn us that this storm was heading straight towards us, the desert dwellers.  I've lived here for 20 years now and have never seen anything like it. Sure, we've had tropical storms but not quite like this one. I paced my house worrying about the torrential rains.  In fact, when the storm was about to hit us, I felt a bit of anxiety.  Would the rain shoot through our windows again like it had earlier this month?  People were saying to expect horizontal rain(the worst kind of rain if you're a homeowner).  The night before the storm I couldn't sleep because I was worried.  I didn't want to drive through flooded streets to get to work and had seriously considered taking the day off.  Looking back on it, I should have taken the day off, but not because of the flooding. 

Hurricane Newton crawls up the Sea of Cortez and is heading straight for Southern Arizona

 I awoke to a gentle and wonderful rain on Wednesday.  There were cool temps and the storm was a much needed gift for the desert.  Instead of the predicted 3 inches of torrential rain in a few hours; it was spread out over the entire day. But there was something more happening.  We watched as the eye of the storm fell apart over Southern Arizona. 

The track hits parts of Mexico causing flooding and damage to various towns along Coastal Mexico.  Some rain bands enter into nearby Chiapas

If you've seen the movie(or read the book), the Big Year, you'll remember a scene that mentions "major fallout". I always wondered what that would be like to experience. I would soon find out and become part of a rare national event that usually happens in other states. Who would have thought Arizona would ever experience something like this?! As predicted, the eye of Hurricane Newton fell apart over several key watering holes in Southern Arizona while we were all working.  It began with a few terns which wasn't anything big. But then there were reports of Storm-Petrels and Shearwaters!  People were stuck in meetings, classrooms, making dinner or in bad traffic when the reports started coming into the "birding newsroom".  Holy cow!!!! NEVER IN MY LIFE did I expect to see these incredible ocean birds here in the desert!

"X" marks the spot and we know where to look thanks to local predictions

This is where I take over with my photos.  Someday, I may own a satellite to plot charts and graphs, but not today:)  So from the ground, here's the Christmas miracle that happened for so many birders in September.  This will easily be one of the biggest events in Arizona history with new ABA records for the state and for the country. For example, an ABA first, the Juan Fernandez Petrel of South America flew over a birder in his driveway!  This gadfly petrel breeds off the coast of Chile on the islands of Robinson Crusoe and Alejandro Selkirk.  I swear I'm not making these names up.  He was lucky enough to snap some nice photos of the bird.  Another amazing sighting was had by Laurens Halsey who found a Wedge-tailed Shearwater!  

And this is the "X" which also included nearby Peña Blanca and Patagonia lakes.  

It's not everyday you get to see these gems, but I wasn't prepared for what I'd see.  You see, "fallout" is actually pretty sad.  While we were observing some of these poor seabirds finally touch water; there were some that were actually dying right before our very eyes. That's the "feeling" reaction I had to the initial observations. But then everyone is shouting out birds and trying to get an ID before they disappeared. That's the adrenaline part. It actually felt like a true pelagic except that we were on firm ground.  And no one was throwing up:) 

Black Storm-Petrel at the Bensen WTP

Throughout the week, we had a possible FOUR species of Storm-Petrels!!!  We quickly learned how to ID between the white-rumps and brown-rumps and everything else in between which included such topics as wedge-shaped tails vs forked tails. It was an exciting and challenging ID contest. 

Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel during a brief moment of sun at the Amado WTP

But there was one species of Storm-Petrel that confused everyone.  It had a white-rump and a square tail.  It looked like a Leach's Storm-Petrel but not quite.  For hours, people took notes, videos and photos of these birds in flight.  Still.  What Storm-Petrel species was it?!! Several California birders chimed into the AZ conversation and we were shocked by what they were saying. 

This week, I landed Least, Black and my lifer Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel. Top: Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel, Middle: Black Storm-Petrel and bottom from left to right, Ashy Storm-Petrel and Townsend's Storm-Petrel(these were the ones we had to rule out from the top two) 

A Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel!  This is a Galápagos Island species! Mind blowing. This storm was really a wonderful outdoor classroom experience.  By the next day, all the Storm-Petrels were gone or dead. It was like this major event never happened. Many Maricopa birders(the Phoenix crowd) and others were bummed as they tried desperately to find just ONE Storm-Petrel.  In an answer to their prayers, the bird gods gave them one incredible view of a Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel in the heart of their lands. There, in their 100+ degree temps, they had marvelous views of this exciting bird. James McVay, who we've met on this blog, discovered the bird at a random park in Mesa. He was the guy doing a big year with his pops last year. Anyhow, the Maricopa birders really had the best views of anyone in this state. They had great lighting and really close and unobstructed views of this very special bird. Then, by the next day, this bird too had vanished. 

Hard core birders from left to right.  Wonderful birding guide Laurens Halsey is focused like no other.  Big year contestant, for Arizona, Brian Johnson is in the middle and the emergency rare bird contact person, Debra Finch is on the line with another awesome bird guide, Chris Benesh, describing the chaos that is happening around us as if it were a play by play for a football game.  In the background, another great bird guide Richard Fray goes over notes with other birders.  Yes folks, Arizona is the real deal when it comes to birds.  You'll never find a better group of birders in this country.  Many of us, including myself, have grown from their knowledge and expertise while "working" out in the field.   Not seen is Chris McCreedy who is trying to cover and record the flight patterns of the Storm-Petrels and other "interesting" birds seen over the waters. 

Final thoughts.  There were two sides of birders that showed themselves to the birding community.  The science crew and the "save-the-whales birds" crew.  Some were saying let them naturally die so that we can study and preserve them. The other half tried to save them.  And like all things with opposite views, both were accomplished.  I had a box just in case. Here is a local new's report about the fallout.  It was a wonderful experience to watch Mother Nature in action.  

Observing the Black Storm-Petrel from the Benson WTP.  It's a tricky area to bird because the hours are not posted.  Thankfully the people at the water treatment plant extended the hours for many birders.  

The birders here did an incredible job laying out a "net" to try and find rarities. Some birders, like a woman named Pat, hoped that Storm-Petrels would fall from the sky into her backyard. We can't all be lucky like Brian Gibbons with his amazing Juan Fernandez Petrel find(that is seriously the worst name for a bird). One day Pat.  One day......

Coachline, a lake once more!

Anyhow, during the next day at 4 AM(and before work), I covered the Northwest corner of Tucson at Coachline while others went to all the other watering holes in Southern Arizona.  All of our findings were relayed thanks in part to Andrew Core. It's wonderful being part of a team.  I'm not done with Storm-Petrels or Shearwaters just yet:)  Stay tuned for more fun...in about two weeks or so.  Hopefully, I can relax for awhile before things pick up again.