Bulletin #86 – SE Arizona #4

David McDonald Photography
Friendswood Texas
July 24, 2009

Bulletin #86 – SE Arizona #4

Hello friends,

I returned to Tucson AZ for another weekend of birding and photography to try and finish up on the areas birds. They are many summering migrants, which would be lifers for me.

I used my 2 previous guides for this trip.

Matt Brown is in Patagonia AZ. His web site is
http://www.actwin.com/toaph/lifebirds/index.html

Melody Kehl is in Tucson AZ. Her web site is
http://ebiz.netopia.com/outdoor

Both guides I recommend highly. I have used them twice each. They know where the birds are and can maximize your time and effort.

Well, we have looked at warblers, hummingbirds and flycatchers in Arizona over the last 3 bulletins. The next ones will deal with all the rest of the birds from other families.

I had a photographed 2 species of hawks on this visit to AZ.

The first is the Gray Hawk (Asturina nitida). This bird occurs along the US-Mexico border. The adult shown here is all gray with a striped tail that he fanned for me while I was taking his picture. The second photo shows a nest with the top of the head of a baby just visible.

The other was the Zone-tailed Hawk (Buteo albonotatus). I had found this bird for the first time in west Texas at the end of April, but here I had the bird perched and adjacent to his nest. The striped tail can be seen in the first photo.

I got better photos of 2 species of owls as well. The Whiskered Screech-Owl (Megascops trichopsis) is a resident of higher elevation in the mountains of SE Arizona.

I got improved photos of an Elf Owl (Micrathene whitneyi) is the smallest North American owl. Here is one a wire and the second is in the nest hole in a power pole

I finally got some photos of the 3 quail species that have eluded me on multiple occasions. The Gambel’s Quail (Callipepla gambelli) is a generally common and tame bird that has frustrated me to even find, on my first two trips to Tucson. On this trip, I found a family group in the parking lot of a McDonald’s, where I had stopped to eat!

The first photo shows a beautiful male with the black face and belly patch. He also has a curved black feather on his head. The female in the second photo lacks the black face and belly patch. The baby in the third photo is mostly brown and has a rudimentary feather sticking up on the top of his head.

The Scaled Quail (Callipepla squamata) has eluded me on at least 6 prior trips to look for it. I have seen the birds running through the scrub, but have never been able to get any photo. Finally one perched on a fence post about 150 feet away to allow this distant photo.

Lastly, is the phantom Montezuma Quail (Cyrtonyx montezumae). I waited for this bird a whole day in west Texas where they feed them, but he was a no-show. I finally had a brief glimpse before he scurried away. The photo isn’t the greatest, as he is missing his beak, but the black and white patterned face of the male is discernable. This will have to do until I can get a better photo of this enigmatic bird.

The last bird for this bulletin is the dapper little Bridled Titmouse (Baeolophus wollweberi). I have previous photos of this bird, but this is the best one yet. I spent about 8 hours at Madera Kubo B&B in Madera Canyon, where they have multiple feeders and thus was able to get several improved photos.

The last lizard on this trip was a Sonoran Spotted Whiptail (Cnemidophorus sonorae). This 10” lizard is dark brown on the back with longitudinal yellow stripes. It has spots on both the dark brown and the thin yellow stripes. Interestingly, like several species of whiptails, they are all females and reproduce asexually.

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonaldemail: davidkmcd@comcast.net

photos copyright 2009 David McDonald

To have these trip reports sent to your email, please email me at the above address and ask for subscribe.

Bulletin #85 – SE Arizona #3

David McDonald Photography
Friendswood Texas
July 19, 2009

Bulletin #85 – SE Arizona #3

Hello friends,

I returned to Tucson AZ for another weekend of birding and photography to try and finish up on the areas birds. They are many summering migrants, which would be lifers for me.

I used my 2 previous guides for this trip.

Matt Brown is in Patagonia AZ. His web site is
http://www.actwin.com/toaph/lifebirds/index.html

Melody Kehl is in Tucson AZ. Her web site is
http://ebiz.netopia.com/outdoor

Both guides I recommend highly. I have used them twice each. They know where the birds are and can maximize your time and effort.

The Tyrannidae family (Tyrant Flycatchers) may well be the largest of the bird families with about 430 species – all in the new world. It includes birds such as kingbirds, pewees, phoebes etc. A number of these occur in Arizona. I found and photographed all the species that I needed on this trip. In general most of the flycatchers we see in the ABA area are rather drab colored.

The empids are small flycatchers that are distinguished by having both an eye-ring and wing bars. The first is the Buff-breasted Flycatcher (Empidonax fulvifrons). I had seen this bird in west Texas 2 months ago, but the photos were not great, so he was on my list for AZ. He has the orange-buffy breast.

The other empid is the Cordilleran Flycatcher (Empidonax occidentalis). This bird nests in the mountains of the west. Most empids are very similar looking and are best IDed by voice. Here is the bird showing his tear drop shaped eye-ring and the second photo is on the nest feeding babies. If you look closely, you can see two mouths wide open.

There were two kingbirds as well. Here is the Cassin’s Kingbird (Tyrannus vociferans) with the dark gray throat.

The other was a life bird for me, the Thick-billed Kingbird (Tyrannus crassirostris). This Mexican species just makes its range into the USA in southeast Arizona. As its name implies, it has a massive bill. Here are 2 photos with the second showing the bill size particularly well.

There are 2 contopus genus birds (pewees) as well. The first is the Greater Pewee (Contopus pertinax). He was another lifer for me. He is 8” long with a thin crest, wing bars and no eye-ring. Here are front and back views of the same bird. The wispy crest is well seen.

The other is the Western Wood-Pewee (Contopus sordidulus). He is much smaller at 6.25” in length and doesn’t have the crest. Again, no eye-ring is present.

The last 2 flycatchers are different genuses from the above and each other and both are specialties of Arizona.

The Dusky-capped Flycatcher (Myiarchus tuberculifer) is a typical myiarchus with brown back, gray throat and yellow belly. He has rufous on the edges of the secondary wing feathers. He is occasionally found in Texas as well as Arizona.

Lastly was another lifer, the Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher (Myiodynastes luteiventris). This distinctive bird has a brown back streaked with white, a rufous tail and yellow belly streaked in brown. I found this pair in Madera Canyon and they posed one above the other.

Finally, another lizard is the Clark’s Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus clarki). This is similar to the Desert Spiny Lizard in the last bulletin, but does not have the black patches on the sides of the neck.

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonaldemail: davidkmcd@comcast.net

photos copyright 2009 David McDonald

To have these trip reports sent to your email, please email me at the above address and ask for subscribe.

Bulletin #84 – SE Arizona #2 - hummingbirds

David McDonald Photography
Friendswood Texas
July 10, 2009

Bulletin #84 – SE Arizona #2

Hello friends,

I returned to Tucson AZ for another weekend of birding and photography to try and finish up on the areas birds. They are many summering migrants, which would be lifers for me.

I used my 2 previous guides for this trip.

Matt Brown is in Patagonia AZ. His web site is here

Melody Kehl is in Tucson AZ. Her web site is here

Both guides I recommend highly. I have used them twice each. They know where the birds are and can maximize your time and effort.

Correction…In Bulletin 83, the lizard was labeled as a Collared Lizard. It is in fact a Yarrow’s Spiny Lizard. Thanks to Melody Kehl for the correct ID. I am definitely not a lizardologist!

Southeast Arizona is the hummingbird capital of the USA. Almost all the hummingbirds in the guide books can be found there in the summer or during migration. Hummers were one of my target group of birds for this trip.

The Berylline Hummingbird (Amazilla beryllina) is a Mexican species that occurs regularly in summer in the mountains on SE Arizona. I found them in Madera canyon and the Huachuca Mts. It is all green with a red bill tipped with black. It is almost identical to the Buff-bellied Hummingbird seen in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, except the belly is grayish rather then buffy. Their ranges do not overlap. This was a lifer.

Here are a couple of photos.

The other amazilla species is the Violet-crowned Hummingbird (Amazilla violiceps). This bird has a violet top of head and snow white underparts. The bill is also red with a black tip. This was also a life bird for me.

The most beautiful bird was another lifer for me, the Broad-billed Hummingbird (Cyanthus latirostris). The guide books don’t do justice to this stunner. The male has a blue throat and breast fading into green. The bill is bright red. In the photo you can see a band on his right leg.

The female is duller with gray underparts, but the bright red bill and black ear patch are the ID marks.

The White-eared Hummingbird (Hylocharis leucotis) ia another Mexican resident that just makes its range into the USA in SE Arizona. This was another lifer for me. Here is the male with the long white stripe behind the eye.

Lastly are a pair of large (5”) hummingbirds. The first is the Magnificent Hummingbird (Eugenes fulgens). The male has a purple crown, bright green gorget that fades to blue on the sides and is otherwise dark overall. Here are 2 photos of the male.

The female is green above, gray below with white on the corners of the tail and a white spot behind the eye.

The other large hummer is the Blue-throated Hummingbird (Lampornis clemenciae). The male has a blue throat and gray breast and belly. The back is green. He also has a white line behind the eye and bright white patches on the corners of the tail. He was another life bird for me.

In addition to the 6 hummingbird species above, I also saw Black-chinned, Anna’s, and Broad-tailed on the trip. I didn’t take photos of them, as I already had them in my collection.

For you herp lovers, here is another lizard from the trip, The Desert Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus magister). He was about 6-7” in length and has black patcher on the neck that are just visible in this photo.

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonaldemail: davidkmcd@comcast.net

photos copyright 2009 David McDonald

To have these trip reports sent to your email, please email me at the above address and ask for subscribe.

David McDonald Photography
Friendswood Texas
July 3, 2009


Bulletin #83 – SE Arizona #1

Hello friends,

I returned to Tucson AZ for another weekend of birding and photography to try and finish up on the areas birds. They are many summering migrants, which would be lifers for me.

I used my 2 previous guides for this trip.

Matt Brown is in Patagonia AZ. His web site is here.

Melody Kehl is in Tucson AZ. Her web site is here.

Both guides I recommend highly. I have used them twice each. They know where the birds are and can maximize your time and effort.

I found several warblers and related birds of which 2 were life birds.

The Red-faced Warbler (Cardellina rubrifrons) is a gray bird with a bright red face and black cap. The sexes are similar. This was a life bird for me. This bird is a regular summer resident of the high mountains in SE Arizona.

The next bird is also a lifer, but occurs only rarely in the USA. There are 3-4 birds this summer in Arizona and 1 in Texas. This is the beautiful Rufous-capped Warbler (Basileuterus rufifrons). A pair was found at the Nature Conservancy’s Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve in Patagonia. Matt Brown took me there and we saw both birds. They have started nesting. The grass nest in built on the ground and was close to the path through the preserve. The sexes are similar and unmistakable. The first photo shows the bird and the second shows the nest.

I had photographed Grace’s Warbler (Dendroica graciae) west Texas 2 months ago, but the bird was high up in a tree. Fortunately, I found a pair of them about 25’ off the ground in the Huachuca Mts. I was able to get some better photos. Here are a couple of photos of this pretty bird.

The Lucy’s Warbler (Vermivora luciae) was another bird I found in Big Bend NP in Texas, but this bird I was unable to photograph as it stayed hidden in the trees. This bird in Arizona popped in the open in a mesquite tree and I was able to get his picture.

The Lucy’s Warbler is a gray bird with a brown patch on top of head and another at base of tail. This tail patch can be just seen in the second photo.

The next is the familiar Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia). Here is a breeding male who is entirely yellow without any white and he has the reddish breast streaks.

The next bird is still listed by the ABA as a warbler, but is sufficiently different that it may in the future be put in its own family. It is our largest warbler, the Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens). It has an olive back, a bright yellow throat and breast, with a black and white striped face. This is a common bird, but it tends to be a skulker and hard for me to photograph.

Lastly is another bird that was formerly classified as a warbler, but through study, it was determined to be sufficiently distinct to be put in its own family. This, of course, is the Olive Warbler (Peucedramus taeniatus). This bird is a resident of the mountains in SE Arizona. The male has a distinctive orange head and neck with black mask. The female is similar, but the orange is replaced by yellow as in the second photo.

I also found a number of lizards, so will show 1 in each bulletin. The first is the Collared Lizard (Crotophytus collaris). It has a black collar on the back of the neck and blue on the throat. The photo was taken in Madera Canyon.

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
email: davidkmcd@comcast.net

photos copyright 2009 David McDonald

To have these trip reports sent to your email, please email me at the above address and ask for subscribe.