The Last Stretch of the Year

Bridled Titmouse

Wandering through the elevations of Arizona state, we stop and glance at the various birds around us.

I marvel at the intelligence of the Common Raven.

Ravens, hawks and a condor look like tiny specks against the mighty Grand Canyon.

Along the rim, a Pygmy Nuthatch bops around on the ground looking for food.

We stop and carefully look over the edge.

Winter birds begin to arrive and we see them in great numbers.

Western Grebe

The rains and the cool weather force leaves to change color.

Birds normally secretive in summer, like the Canyon Wren below, pop up for a longer linger.

Birds and berries evoke thoughts of making a holiday card.

I'll be honest.  I am tired.  Exhausted.  So many feelings.  So much stress.

Blue-throated Hummingbird

If it wasn't for friends and birds, I'd think I'd go insane.

A special friend from Wales makes a visit to southern Arizona.  Hello Ms. Bonnie!

We have arrived at the final chapters of this year. There is still work to do, but for now, it's all about the enjoyment of birds.

It has been an amazing year for las Aventuras.  As always, thank you for following the adventure!

This post is dedicated to Barb Padgett who was a strong supporter of Tucson Audubon.  She passed away last week at the age of 65.  I will miss her chats about Star Trek, government and so many other things.  I never met her in person, but I got to know her via Facebook.  Thank you Barb for everything you've done in the birding world.  Thank you for supporting and believing in me. When I see a Yellow-headed Blackbird, I will know that you are with me in spirit.  You are loved by so many people.  Thank you for everything.

Las Aventuras: Arizona Grebes and Loons

One of my all time favorite movies, On Golden Pond, uses the Common Loon as a back piece to the beauty and sadness of growing old together

It's time again to cover Arizona's birding world.  This time we'll focus on the grebes and loons in this state.  While it seems unlikely that this state could even have loons here, we have to remember that these birds do migrate south into the Sea of Cortez and Pacific Ocean. Often times these birds are found in deep bodies of water. Pacific storms are also responsible for their appearances in the state. Without further ado, here are the grebes and loons that can found this time of year in our state. 

Pied-billed Grebe are common and widespread in Arizona all year round.  They even make some fun sounds.

Beginning with the grebes. The first and most common of grebes found in Arizona is the Pied-billed Grebe.  They can be seen all year round in our natural or artificial watering holes in the state. This is one bird you don't really need to chase.  

Note the darker overall tones of the Eared Grebe, which is the default grebe for the state during our winter months and migration

So let's get to the other grebes that birders in this state like to chase.  Two similar looking grebes, the Eared and Horned Grebes can be found in many areas around the state during the winter months.  The Eared Grebe is the default grebe of the state.  BUT there are a few Horned Grebes swimming around the deeper lakes and ponds.  Learn their winter plumage to help ID these often tricky birds.  They have beautiful summer plumage but when we see them here, they usually look like these pics above and below. 

Note the overall whiter tones of the Horned Grebe.  Rare but a regular rarity during our winter months.

Another similar looking grebe species, the Western and Clark's Grebes, are also found in this state.  The Western, again, is usually the default grebe for Southern Arizona BUT if you carefully look through each and every one of those Western Grebes, you might find a Clark's Grebe in the mix:)  

Western Grebes are the default for the state.  But don't assume that they are all Western Grebes

During the winter months, Clark's Grebes usually migrate to deeper waters in concentrated numbers around the Phoenix area and up around the Lake Havasu border. Western Grebes have a weak bill with black below the eye.  Clark's Grebes have a bold bright yellow bill with their dark plumage ABOVE the eye.  They too can be difficult to ID. They even hybridize!  There is still a lingering question in the birder's world.  Are these two species really just one species?

Bright strong yellow bill and black above the eye with lighter plumage make this a good ID for the Clark's Grebe

All of these grebes can be seen in the state every year.  There is a little driving involved but overall, they are not difficult to find.  HOWEVER, the gems of all grebe gems, if such things existed, would be the Red-necked Grebe and Least Grebe.  The Least Grebe is the crowning jewel of Arizona birding.  Red-necked Grebes are common birds for the ABA listers but the Least Grebe is the one that can only be seen just slightly north of the US border. 

Rare and accidental now in the state of Arizona, the Least Grebe. THE grebe high on many birder's lists. 

Several years ago, Least Grebes were common and often found breeding in a place called Peña Blanca Lake.  They are a smaller grebe and can be predated on by bigger fish.  The fisher people of the area, and the state, decided to add Bass to the lake.  By doing so, these fish ate all the little grebes up and today, this bird is very difficult to find.  It is now uncommon to see one.  If they are spotted somewhere, it's often in a remote and far away grassland watering hole.  The grebe usually doesn't stay long and flies off.  If you do spot a Least Grebe, you are fortunate!

Common Loon

Now.  Let's talk about one of my favorite group of birds, the Loons!  "Look Norman, the loons!  The loons!!!"  Growing up in the Midwest, I remember the haunting sounds of the Common Loon on our lakes right at sunset.  It was chilling and quite beautiful.  The first time I heard that there was a Common Loon in Tucson, I nearly messed myself!  Well come to find out, during the months of November, December and January, loons can often be seen in various parts of the state.  Some stay all winter long!  Most require a scope.  There are 5 loon species and 4 of them have been seen in this state.  Let's take a look. 

Unfortunately, this Pacific Loon didn't live long.  It was caught up in storm and was forced to land in this artificial lake in Tucson.  It starved to death.  Today its' body can be seen at the UA's bird collection for record keeping. 

The Common Loon is common.  The second most common?  The Pacific Loon!  So keep your eyes open for this random visitor, especially after a good winter storm! 

Last year, I saw my first Yellow-billed Loon and Red-throated Loon.  These two birds are super rare to the state.  They are really good birds.  If you are a state lister and there's a report on one of these birds, go:)  As far as I know, there hasn't been a confirmed report of an Arctic Loon in Arizona.  But I'm sure one of these days, one will show up:)

Katherine's Landing is a real birder's treat near the border of Nevada and Arizona.  The water is deep and good for Red-necked Grebes and exotic loons:)

I have always enjoyed our searches for these birds because they usually involve water and cold windy days.  These birds aren't usually associated with Arizona but they do occur during migration.  As mentioned before, some even winter briefly in our state.  Until next time.......

Bill Williams National Wildlife Refuge near Lake Havasu is a great spot for Clark's Grebes and Barrow's Goldeneyes during the winter months. 

Windows of Opportunity

Candle burning, map, water and laptop to plan for the next day

Every moment is an opportunity. If you don't use it, you miss out.

Micheal hiding behind some grasses looking for....whatever!

On these far away treks, a lot of mapping and planning go into the search for new birds. Sometimes there are also rare birds that can be found in the various states that are extremely rare to find in Arizona.  Such was the case of the Lesser Black-backed Gull. 

How do you find that one gull within hundreds?  Walk slow so that you don't make them fly.  Then I begin from left to right counting looking at each individual gull.  In the case of the LBBG, I looked for a larger sized gull against the much smaller surrounding gulls.  

With the little time we had left in Utah, our windows were closing to find two new birds to add to that ever growing life list. Our first mission took us to Utah Lake which is south of Salt Lake City.  It was there we were hoping to find the LBBG.  These gulls are common in Europe, but here in Utah, they are a reliable rare visitor. However, this particular gull was an early winter arrival.  Their numbers seem to be increasing each year in the US. Will they eventually become the next House Sparrow or European Starling?  I love gull ID, but my other half, Micheal does not.  So while I sifted through the large numbers of gulls, Micheal spoke with his brother on the phone.

Lesser Black-backed Gull surrounded by the smaller Ring-billed Gulls

Once I found the gull, I tried to get as close as I could without disturbing the birds.  The gull was much larger than the surrounding Ring-billed Gulls.  The legs had a unique yellow color and there was that trademark red spot on the lower mandible.  They are tricky to ID and it's a delicious challenge. Utah Lake was also a great place to ebird.  It was a beautiful ride to the lake through a farmland full of pumpkins. 

Clark's Grebe-not a great photo but one good for an ID

Then it was onto the Bear Migratory Bird Refuge located north of Salt Lake City. This was an AWESOME place and I think my favorite spot to bird.  Here we needed to find Short-eared Owls and Clark's Grebes.  It was a tad early for the Short-eared Owls but one can hope, right?:)  While we struck out on this owl, we did have a great study session ID'ing yet another tricky species.  The Clark's Grebe.  There were hundreds of these birds still present.  These grebes look very similar to the Western Grebes.  So like any good teacher, I sat in the car and had Micheal do ID's on the birds with me.  He's pretty good! Although after awhile, he started mocking me and used my field mark quotes against me. Point taken:)

Western Grebe

During this time of year, it can be somewhat difficult to distinguish between the Western and Clark's Grebes as they can appear similar in the wrong light in their non-breeding plumage.  Let's take an ID look.  Above is the Western Grebe.  The bill is slightly darker and thinner than the Clark's Grebe. The black shading also goes to and below the eye. 

Clark's Grebe

The Clark's Grebe has a stronger and brighter bill.  The first picture on this blog post clearly shows the white above the eye making the ID a snap. For this photo(above), it wasn't so clear to me right away.  However the bright and stronger bill, overall whiter plumage and slight white spot between the eye and bill point to a non-breeding plumaged Clark's Grebe.  The birds have also been known to hybridize.  Oh oh! Fun, right?:) 

California Quail

We had one last window left in Salt Lake City.  It would be the last place we could find the California Quail.  I researched and mapped everything out the night before.  I had three plans, but I wanted to take the one that had interesting things to do around it.  And so we went to Liberty Park in Salt Lake City.  

What a gem of a city park! 

While we walked around this park, we enjoyed the good breezes and lovely pond area.  

California Quail

And while we had a lot of great birds, we weren't seeing our target, the California Quail. 

So on a hunch, and overall curiosity, we explored the Tracy Aviary next door. This is a lovely area for families to explore and learn about Utah's amazing birds.  There were several birds from other countries, but overall, the aviary does highlight the local waterfowl, raptors and owls.  As for my hunch, it paid off.  Working at the Tucson Botanical Gardens years ago, I remembered that Gambel's Quail loved to hang out in our native gardens.  Tracy's Aviary had that same perfect habitat for these quail. When I heard that typical quail cluck clucking, I knew we were going to hit the jackpot. 

Northern Pintail

We had a whole covey run back and forth between the vegetation.  At one point, during their Raptor Free Flight Program, their Red-tailed Hawk swooped down at one of the quail.  WOW!  

Of course, birds are the main reason why we explore.  But don't think for one minute that we didn't enjoy a glass of wine or visit a place to have dinner or just....explore.  People have told me, including my family, that I exhaust them during a vacation. Again, there's always so much to see in such little time! (I have a very strong wanderlust.:) 

White-faced Ibis

Utah was an experience and one that we'll remember for a long time.  I'm not sure we'll ever return, but it was fun exploring their interesting culture. For people who love rock formations, etc, this is a great state to explore. Rocks can be fascinating, but I love the wildlife that live around these areas more.  And one of my favorite birds, the Ring-necked Pheasant was on almost every count!  LOVE those birds. 

Either way, we both were looking forward to our visits in Colorado and New Mexico.  We both love these two states very much. Colorado is an American favorite.  And New Mexico is America's best kept secret.  Every time we go, we explore a new location and just fall in love with the state even more. 

Monument Valley National Park-pretty but not very birdy and full of tourists. 

We drove through the rocky canyons of Utah and headed towards our next destination, Gunnison, Colorado. Until next time friends.....

Surf's Up!

Black-crowned Night-Heron

Right now, the watering holes around Arizona are hot with migrating waterfowl from the north.  Birders are rushing to these areas to pick up a rare bird or two for their checklists.  

Thousand of tiny bugs catch the last light of the day.  

Over the past week, I've left work and headed straight away to our local parks and watering holes to see if I can catch a gull, duck or rare goose. 

Ducks and more ducks!  Ring-necked Duck, American Coots, American Wigeons and Domestic Ducks are just some of the characters who show up for their picture.

The light diminishes quickly now.  By the time I arrive to my destinations, I have about one hour to bird before it's completely dark. 

Coachline Pit Ebird Hotspot

In many ways, birding around water areas is very relaxing.  I grab my binoculars and just scan the waters.  Birds float past, fly overhead or just simply appear out of nowhere from beneath the water's surface when I stand in one spot. 

Western Grebe

Recently, Arizona has seen a great number of rare birds zip through the area.  

Clark's Grebe-my first decent photo documentation of this tricky bird.  Note orange colored bill and dark above the eye.  The above pic shows how similar the Clark's and Western Grebes are.  In Pima County, a Clark's Grebe is a rare gem. This bird was seen at Sahuarita Community Lake

There have been amazing birds like the very rare American Tree Sparrow, White-winged Scoter, Purple Finch, Bonaparte's Gull, etc......

When the report of a Surf Scoter surfaced, I drove 2 hours to go find it!  And so I sifted through every American Coot floating around the boat launch until I caught sight of my target bird. 

Say's Phoebe

With the cool temps and even cooler breezes off Saguaro Lake, I sat on a rock and watched my lifebird float past me nearby the shore.  There she was.  Something special.  A gem.

Saguaro Lake

Scoters tend to stay in the deeper waters.  Most people count them with their scopes from shore.  When I heard that this bird was hanging out near the shore, it was a no brainer.  The Scoter at this moment trumped everything else being seen in the state. 

Redhead

I watched this bird chase coots and dive into the water. She was magnificent and made Year Bird 456.  Next time you are at a park, check to see if a swan, duck, grebe, coot, scoter, heron, gull or sandpiper has stopped by.  You never know who is going to show up:)

Female Surf Scoter

While on my road trips this week, I've been listening to Rose Ave's new album.  I can't stop humming the tune to this song!