11.12.08
Southeastern US Trip
23 days, 3607 miles on the rental and over 3000 photos taken as I traveled through six states. I’ve sorted the photos into categories by location.
08.16.08
Southeast Arizona – Southwest Wings Birding & Nature Festival
8/6/08 – Patagonia
On the way to the Southwest Wings Birding & Nature Festival my wife and I took a side trip to Patagonia. The Butterfly Garden in the middle of town was nice but the highlight was a visit to the Paton’s House. As promised, the Violet-crowned Hummingbirds made regular stops at the house’s multiple feeders. Even though the monsoon rains started soon after our arrival, the wet weather didn’t keep the birds away. We saw a few Gray Hawks in the trees along the roads in and out of Patagonia but either the lighting was horrible or there wasn’t a safe place to stop the car, so I had to settle for a few poor-quality photos.
Considering that we started our drive from San Diego in the early morning, we had a decent day of Arizona birding to start our trip.
Birds
Gambel’s Quail
Turkey Vulture
Gray Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Mourning Dove
Greater Roadrunner
Broad-billed Hummingbird
Violet-crowned Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Gila Woodpecker
Vermilion Flycatcher
Common Raven
Tree Swallow
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Phainopepla
House Finch
House Sparrow
Number of species: 18
Butterflies
Pipevine Swallowtail
Number of species: 3
Reptiles
Sonoran Spotted Whiptail
Number of species: 1
8/7/08 – Huachuca Mountains
I took the Huachuca Specialties field trip guided by Mark Pretti on the first day of the Southwest Wings Birding & Nature Festival. The group traveled on to Fort Huachuca and into Garden Canyon and we had surprises all along the way. Mark was an absolutely awesome guide, and I highly recommend to anyone traveling to southeastern Arizona to hire him to find your target birds. Mark’s knowledge of the songs and calls for each bird species was pure mastery. He continually put us into the right place to find bird after bird after bird. Mark was also familiar with many of the butterflies, insects, and mammals in the area.
The group ended the day with short stops at Beatty’s Guest Ranch in Miller Canyon, the Nature Conservancy in Ramsey Canyon, and Ash Canyon B&B looking for butterflies and hummingbirds. We weren’t disappointed as all species we were hoping to see made appearances. The Magnificent Hummingbird was absolutely incredible. Its size makes it look like a hovering sparrow; when it sits next to the small Black-chinned Hummingbird, it was like putting Shaq next to Gary Coleman.
What a fantastic day and beginning of the festival.
Birds
Gray Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk (Fuertes’s)
Golden Eagle
Rock Pigeon
Greater Roadrunner
Spotted Owl
Broad-billed Hummingbird
White-eared Hummingbird
Blue-throated Hummingbird
Magnificent Hummingbird
Lucifer Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Anna’s Hummingbird
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Elegant Trogon
Acorn Woodpecker
Arizona Woodpecker
Western Wood-Pewee
Buff-breasted Flycatcher
Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher
Mexican Jay
Brown Creeper
Canyon Wren
Grace’s Warbler
Painted Redstart
Yellow-eyed Junco
Number of species: 27
Butterflies
Number of species: 4
Mammals
Coues Whitetail Deer
Arizona Fox Squirrel
Number of species: 2
Reptiles
Sonoran Spotted Whiptail
Yarrow’s Spiny Lizard
Number of species: 2
8/8/08 – Carr, Ash and Ramsey Canyons
I took a day off from the festival activities and did some solo exploring into Carr Canyon in the morning. I was unable to capture the highlight of the day on film – a Bobcat running across the road about ten feet in front of my car. I drove all the way to the end of Carr Canyon Road and never tired of the beautiful scenery as it changed with my ascent of the mountain.
After lunch my wife joined me and we did a return trip to Ash Canyon B&B and the Nature Conservancy in Ramsey Canyon. Once again the hummingbirds came out to feed and pose for the camera. At the Nature Conservancy I took a short hike up the trail and was rewarded with a doe and fawn Coues Whitetail Deer grazing with each other. The monsoon rains make for plenty of fresh greenery and food. This species of deer has adapted to giving birth in the summer when the monsoon season arrives instead of in the spring as do most (if not all) other deer species.
When the afternoon rains started we headed away from the mountains and down to the San Pedro House to stay dry and look for new species. I was able to find a few animals that didn’t mind the mid-afternoon heat and sun.
It was a third straight great day.
Birds
Cooper’s Hawk
Golden Eagle
Band-tailed Pigeon
Greater Roadrunner
Violet-crowned Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Anna’s Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Gila Woodpecker
Western Wood-Pewee
Vermilion Flycatcher
Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher
Chihuahuan Raven
Barn Swallow
Curve-billed Thrasher
Western Tanager
Spotted Towhee
Canyon Towhee
Yellow-eyed Junco
Black-headed Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak
Lesser Goldfinch
Number of species: 23
Butterflies
Number of species: 4
Dragonfly
Number of species: 1
Moths
White-lined Sphinx Moth
Number of species: 3
Mammals
Coues Whitetail Deer
Arizona Fox Squirrel
Number of species: 2
Reptiles
Arizona Striped Whiptail
Number of species: 1
8/9/08 – Ramsey and Ash Canyons
The festival’s Easy Does It field trip was on this day’s agenda. Though it wasn’t filled with hiking like the previous days I still had plenty to photograph, beginning with a small group of Wild Turkey in the field next to Ash Canyon B&B. Mary Jo (owner of the Ash Canyon B&B) has a fantastic place. She has been planting native plants on the property and the wildlife has responded by turning out in big numbers. She did have the cages around the nectar feeders (tough for photography but didn’t stop the birds from coming) to keep the nectar-eating bats away. Appearently these bats can drain a feeder in no time flat. Both the male and female Lucifer Hummingbirds made multiple appearances along with a few other species. Besides the hummingbirds there were plenty of other birds willing to pose for my camera. A few additional species in Ramsey Canyon capped off the day.
The rains started early so it was time to rest and prepare for the next couple of days.
Birds
Wild Turkey
Mourning Dove
Inca Dove
Broad-billed Hummingbird
Violet-crowned Hummingbird
Blue-throated Hummingbird
Magnificent Hummingbird
Lucifer Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Anna’s Hummingbird
Costa’s Hummingbird
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Gila Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Black Phoebe
Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher
Curve-billed Thrasher
Painted Redstart
Black-headed Grosbeak
Bronzed Cowbird
Number of species: 21
Butterfly
Number of species: 1
8/10/08 – CSR Nature Photography, Carr and Miller Canyons
I spent the first half of the day with Chuck Rau photographing rattlesnakes, kingsnakes, and few other animals. Wow! Being able to get this close to these dangerous snakes was awesome.
After a break for lunch my wife and I headed back to Carr Canyon in search of the Blue-throated Hummingbird and we had some nice looks at a few females. Thunder started to sound in the not-too-far distance so we decided to head over to Beatty’s Guest Ranch in Miller Canyon where we hoped to ride out a shower. Good choice. The rain never really came, just a few sprinkles, and we were treated to multiple Blue-throated Hummingbirds along with the White-eared Hummingbird. This area had the highest total species count during our visit. I didn’t find other species of birds, but the sheer volume of hummingbirds made up for that. My wife and I bought a small jar of honey made right there on the property and it was as tasty as hoped. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get a photo of the most intriguing bird of the day: it looked like a hybrid, possibly between Rufous and Berryline Hummingbirds, so I have a target for next time.
Birds
Turkey Vulture
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
White-winged Dove
Broad-billed Hummingbird
White-eared Hummingbird
Violet-crowned Hummingbird
Blue-throated Hummingbird
Magnificent Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Anna’s Hummingbird
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Say’s Phoebe
Western Kingbird
Loggerhead Shrike
Curve-billed Thrasher
Canyon Towhee
Abert’s Towhee
Red-winged Blackbird
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Sparrow
Number of species: 24
Butterflies
Number of species: 3
Mammals
Black-tailed Jackrabbit
Desert Cottontail
Arizona Fox Squirrel
Number of species: 3
Reptiles
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake
Black-tailed Rattlesnake
Mohave Rattlesnake
Speckled Rattlesnake
Tiger Rattlesnake
California Mountain Kingsnake
Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake
Desert Rosy Boa
Regal Horned Lizard
Number of species: 9
8/11/08 – A few target species before heading home
I took a short morning drive before packing up the car and heading home. Using tips from local guide extraordinaire Mark Pretti, I went in search of a few missing target birds. Along Hereford Road I was finally able to find a Swainson’s Hawk, and in the overgrown arroyo in a neighborhood near Carr Canyon I was able to get some really nice photographs of both male and female Pyrrhuloxia.
What a fantastic way to wrap up the trip before heading back to San Diego.
Birds
Red-tailed Hawk
Swainson’s Hawk
Gambel’s Quail
Mexican Jay
Vermilion Flycatcher
Cactus Wren
Western Meadowlark
Pyrrhuloxia
Number of species: 8
See photos arranged by location specific galleries:
