Anchorage, Alaska

On Thursday June 7th we flew to Anchorage, leaving the Phoenix hotel at 4:30am and arriving at our hotel in Anchorage some 12 hours later. We still had plenty of time to walk the coastal path from the hotel to Westchester Lagoon. I added five new species for 2012 of which Arctic Tern was a new ABA bird for me. Two others I should have gotten already in Arizona.

Greater Scaup

My three favorite birds of the day were all birds I had seen earlier in the year. Mew Gulls were everywhere in Anchorage, even out numbering the Herring Gulls. A number of energetic Black-capped Chickadees were feeding on low shrubs. Red-necked Grebes are a lovely bird and those here were even brighter than the one I'd seen at Tempe Town Lake.

Arctic Tern

Black-capped Chickadee

Mew Gull

Red-necked Grebe

Last Weekend of Part One

Ahead of my summer trips, I spent 10 hours outside hiking and birding over the first weekend in June. On Saturday morning I had a birdingpal visitor from Phoenix and after failing to find Pinyon Jays at Pam's spent the best part of three hours at the East Rio. There were few high spots but after flitting about nervously for a while a flock of Bushtits decided to snuggle up together for a while.
 

Bushtits

The final stop of the morning was an hour at Kachina Village seeing many of the birds from the previous week but also an increase in duck species and numbers.

White-faced Ibis

In the evening I went out with Tom and BB to the only known local spot for Barn Owl. While we waited for the birds to emerge, we had a couple of Common Nighthawks fly over and a Common Poorwill call for a few minutes.

On Sunday I took the REU students on a hike up Old Caves Crater where Pinyon Jays were everywhere! I finally ran into Juniper Titmouse. Arriving home I found a post from Jodie about a male Indigo Bunting at the museum. Despite going there in the heat of the day I found the bird happily moving from perch to perch singing away.

Indigo Bunting

Another rare bird shows up at Pam's!

A Baltimore Oriole turned up at Pam's and after dropping my son at school on Friday May 25th, I invaded her privacy to add this bird to my state list.

Baltimore Oriole

On Saturday May 26th I spent a couple of hours on the Peaks finding my first Red-breasted Nuthatches in Arizona this year, but failing to find anything else on my wish list. I did spend a little while with a friendly House Wren.

House Wren

On Sunday, following a posting from Brain, we went to the Kachina Wetlands for rails. Both Sora and Virginia Rails were very vocal and we had a very quick look at a Sora before it disappeared into the reeds.

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Chasing birds in town and in Cameron

The bird alert had tales of a Rose-breasted Grosbeak at the courtyard at Cameron Trading Post and a Northern Waterthrush at the seep. These are two birds that should be on my state list! After dropping my son at school on Thursday morning, May 17th, I headed to Cameron. I spent a nice two hours in the courtyard and a bad half-hour at a very hot seep, but found neither of these targets.

Summer Tanager

Friday was a better day and I chased a Franklin's Gull at city pond, and then finally saw a Flammulated Owl on an evening trip with Tom, BB, Todd and Gretchen.

Franklin's Gull

Flammulated Owl

On Saturday I headed back to Cameron, this time with three heavy hitters - Tom, Jason and Chuck. Alas I saw the same birds that I had seen on my own on Thursday!

Sadly American Redstart, Northern Waterthrush and Worm-eating Warbler were seen in Cameron over the next few days ...

Rare bird in Flagstaff and the NAMC

While I was down South I had seen a posting of a rare bird in Flagstaff. Fortunately this bird stayed around and I managed to get this bird on the afternoon of my return. I stopped at Rio Salado on my way back, but it was hot and quiet. After getting my son from school I went out to Chuck's place to see the Common Grackle. Rich and Nanette joined me and unlike our fruitless search for the Black-capped Chickadee in cold Fredonia in January, we had the bird in just a few minutes. [The bird was in the same location over a week later!]

The next day, Saturday May 12th was the day of the NAMC and I did my usual route of the I-40 corridor. Both La Posada and McHood Park in Winslow were quiet but I saw many species around the Golf Course in Holbrook.

On Sunday 13th I had a birdingpal visitor from Perth, Australia and spent 3 hours with him at Elden Spring and the Walnut Canyon lakes.

Collared Lizard

Wilson's Phalarope

Short trip South

I headed south after work on Tuesday May 8th, spending an hour at the Glendale Recharge Ponds before sunset. I dipped on the Snowy Plover that had been there for a few days (but it wasn't seen afterwards), but had a good time late in the day in the company of Melanie.

I was up and out to beat the Phoenix rush on Wednesday, stopping first at Sweetwater where the highlight was a Great-horned Owl sitting quietly in one of the large trees.

Great-horned Owl

After an hour or so there, I headed to Madera Canyon where I planned to spend the rest of the day.  My main target bird was a Rose-breasted Grosbeak that had been visiting the Kubo and Chuparosa feeders.  A female White-eared Hummingbird had also been around, and I fancied a hike up to the Carrie Nation Trail for Elegant Trogon. However the weather had other plans and after just an hour or so I was caught in a torrential downpour and headed back to my room! Of course, it was Madera Canyon and I saw plenty of birds.

Wild Turkey

Mexican Jay

Thankfully my luck changed on Thursday and I found the two birds that I had wanted most - Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet and Buff-bellied Flycatcher. I had done my homework on e-Bird and went to Aqua Caliente Park for the former and lucked into a morning bird walk. Incredibly the group were taken to see the tyrranulet nest! A bird came in and I had this ABA bird before 8:30. I then drove up Mt Lemmon and spent 3 hours searching for the Buff-breasted Flycatcher in Rose Canyon. The whole area was full of birds and birders and I spent a wonderful morning in this lovely spot. 

Yellow-eyed Junco

Short Visits

On Sunday April 29th we visited the Kachina Wetlands for an hour just before sunset.

Kachina Wetlands

It was a disappointing trip in that Killdeer were the only waders (shorebirds) around, but I added three species or the year.

On Saturday May 5th we spent an hour in mid-afternoon at the Walnut Canyon Ponds. The best birds were my first Spotted Sandpiper of the year and my first Belted Kingfisher in Arizona this year. However the highlight was a Valley Pocket Gopher active above ground.

Valley Pocket Gopher

More Arrivals

MaA female Bullock's Oriole joined the male on Monday April 30th. I had my first Black-headed Grosbeak of 2012 in my yard on May 6th (compared to May 12th in 2011).

Female Bullock's Oriole

Black-headed Grosbeak

I also found my first Short-horned Lizard of the year on a drive down Lake Mary Road.

Short-horned Lizard

Spring Migrants in my Yard

On Friday April 13th I had my first Hooded Oriole and the first Brewer's Blackbirds in my yard in 2012.  A foot of snow on Saturday saw the arrival of Brown-headed Cowbirds, and the departure of the Hooded Oriole.

Hooded Oriole

Brewer's Blackbird

I had my yard's first Broad-tailed hummingbird on Saturday April 21st, and my first Bullock's Oriole of 2012 on Sunday April 22nd.

Bullock's Oriole

Cave Springs and Page Springs

On Saturday April 7th, Matt and I stopped at Brian's place in Kachina Village for Evening Grosbeaks, life birds for Matt. We then drove into Oak Creek Canyon and stopped for the next target bird, American Dipper. This bird had been so easy to see in the past three months, but alas a Easter weekend crowd had replaced the bird and we did not find it. We did not see any birds that had not been around the previous weekend but the House Wrens and Painted Redstarts were both very visible.

We drove down the canyon and stopped next at the creek opposite Encinoso Picnic Grounds where we had Common Black-hawk, Matt's final target bird and fourth lifer for the weekend (he had Pinyon Jay at Pam's on Friday morning). This was followed by two more black-hawks along the road near Midgely Bridge and a pair at Page Springs. Lucy's Warblers were both plentiful and full song at Page Springs and I also saw my FOY Western Kingbirds.

Snowbowl road

Northern Arizona visitor Matt, from Pennsylvania, and I went up to the Arizona Snowbowl around 4pm on Friday April 6th. Matt's target bird was Clark's Nutcracker and we had a lone bird fly over and perch for a few seconds. We did see much else of much interest: Pygmy and White-breasted Nuthatches, Mountain Chickadee and three pairs of our breeding race of Dark-eyed Juncos. We then went down to Hart Prairie where we were surprised to find singing Chorus Frogs at 8000 feet.

Matt and I returned to Snowbowl Road for some owling at 7pm on Saturday April 7th. We saw three elk on the road up and heard both a Great-horned Owl and a Flammulated Owl calling during a cold but wind-free vigil.