Good Morning All,
Have a wonderful day, and enjoy the pictures!
Today, pictures from valued commenter Albatrossity.
I decided I’d had enough winter here, so I headed southwest for a couple of weeks to get that good desert heat soaking into my winter-weary bones. After Texas and Bosque del Apache in NM, I headed to the Sky Islands of southeastern AZ. First island stop was the Chiricahua Mountains, and specifically the Cave Creek Canyon on the eastern side. The Chiricahuas are at the edge of four ecozones, so there is plenty of floral and faunal diversity. And it was Spring there!
I stayed at the Cave Creek Ranch near Portal AZ for a couple of days, and took these pictures (as well as lots more!) on their grounds. It’s a lovely place, if ever you find yourself in that part of the world and wish to dip your tootsies in a mountain stream while watching gorgeous birds.
I should also mention that I have started a daily tweet, posting a bird picture from somewhere each morning. The Bird of the Day can be viewed at my twitter home – https://twitter.com/DaveRintoul01
Taken on 2019-03-30 00:00:00
Cave Creek Ranch in the Chiricahua Mountains of AZ
Rivoli’s Hummingbird (until recently known as the Magnificent Hummingbird) is a large and flashy critter. This male was looking directly at me when I shot his portrait using a small on-camera flash. I’ve never seen red eye-shine from a hummer before, but it is an interesting look! I’ve renamed the bird as the Dire Hummer from now on!
Taken on 2019-03-30 00:00:00
Cave Creek Ranch in the Chiricahua Mountains of AZ
The western subspecies of the Yellow-rumped Warbler is known as Audubon’s Warbler, and this is a nice spring-plumaged male representative of that subspecies. The yellow throat distinguishes it from the eastern form (Myrtle Warbler), which has a pure white throat.
Taken on 2019-03-30 00:00:00
Cave Creek Ranch in the Chiricahua Mountains of AZ
The common thrasher of the west is the Curve-billed Thrasher. That bright yellow eye is riveting! Interestingly, by the time I returned home from this jaunt, our summer-resident Brown Thrashers had returned and were singing lustily from the treetops in our neighborhood.
Taken on 2019-03-30 00:00:00
Cave Creek Ranch in the Chiricahua Mountains of AZ
One of the specialty birds that folks want to see in southeastern AZ is this Painted Redstart. Active and vocal and usually found catching insects at stream sides, they are pure crimson and black and white, with a cute half of a white eyering. This one is perched in an Apache Pine, another interesting bit of the local biological diversity.
Taken on 2019-03-30 00:00:00
Cave Creek Ranch in the Chiricahua Mountains of AZ
The Arizona Woodpecker (formerly called Strickland’s Woodpecker) barely finds its way into the lower 48, so it is another specialty species for birders heading to southeastern AZ. Most of its range is in the Sierra Madre mountains of nprthern Mexico, where it inhabits oak/pine canyons. A similar species (also formerly known as Strickland’s Woodpecker) is found in central Mexico and is still known by that name.
Thank you so much Albatrossity, do send us more when you can.
Travel safely everybody, and do share some stories in the comments, even if you’re joining the conversation late. Many folks confide that they go back and read old threads, one reason these are available on the Quick Links menu.
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