It has been a busy few days, mostly due to a Lapland Longspur that showed up at the sewage ponds. In South Dakota, one can see thousands of Lapland Longspurs during some winters and nearly always some in most winters, but in Arizona one is a big deal. I first saw the bird on Saturday afternoon and got the word out. Sunday was a busy day with birders coming in to find it. Some succeeded, some didn’t. It was not a cooperative bird and stayed too far out for any good photographs.
Today I got a message from Tim Burkhardt to let me know that a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper had been found near Dateland. That is about 60 miles from where I am. A Sharp-tailed Sandpiper is definitely worth a drive. I headed out and got there in time to meet some other birders who pointed out exactly where it was along with seven Least Sandpipers. I quickly took a few photos and then got to talking with the others. As we watched the shorebirds all flushed and flew a few hundred yards and landed again. A few minutes later, someone thought they heard the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper fly overhead. It must have been it because we never saw it again. I got there just in the nick of time, if I had stopped anywhere along the way I would have missed it. I would have liked to get some better photos but that’s the way it goes sometimes. More birders were showing up only to be disappointed.
Birding has been pretty good here. Most of the desert is very dry so the areas with water or that are watered, like the city parks and the golf course, have been active. It has really cooled down with the passage of a cold front and that has brought in more birds too. I had to turn on the heater last night and probably will again tonight. The big excitement today was a Ross’s Goose that appeared on the Ajo sewage ponds. Apparently this is a first record for Ajo, according to Ebird, and the first in Pima County this year. Two birders from Tucson, both of whom are doing a Pima County Big Year, came out here to get it.
I left Granite Gap this morning. Last night I spent a few hours photographing Mars since the “seeing” was forecast to be good and now Olympus Mons is on the right side of the planet. I figured I better try it because the weather is going to change, the jet stream will dip far south and that means the “seeing” will be pretty bad for a while. The results were OK but I hope for better later this month. On my way to Ajo I stopped at the Ina Street bridge over the Santa Cruz River to see if I could find the Northern Jacana. It only took about 10 minutes to do that and take some photos. I got into the campground at Ajo around 4 PM. It was 97 F. but this is the supposed to be the last day of hot weather. I hope so.
As always, right click on an image and open in a new tab to see it displayed at a larger size.
I’m still here at Granite Gap. No break in the heat out in the Sonoran Desert. That’s OK because this is a great place for astrophotography and nights are currently moonless. Every night is good, clear, usually no wind, dark. Compared to South Dakota, this is great for astro. Up there I can only wish for a good night or two during the new moon period. Yesterday I put quite a bit of time in on Sage Thrashers trying for a better shot of them eating juniper berries.
I’ve been at this campsite in Granite Gap since last Thursday. So far, not one person or vehicle has come by on this road. The highway (Highway 80) is only a few hundred yards away but traffic is light and the road into the BLM land is gated, so I suppose that deters most people. Nights are getting darker now that the full moon is past and I did a few hours of astrophotography last night. Otherwise, I’ve been hiking and reading. There has been a surprising variety of birds here. I saw one Hermit Warbler, a species usually associated with forested areas. This is mostly desert here, with a few small Gambel Oak and junipers in the rocky slopes, so not typical habitat for birds like Hermit Warbler. This morning I saw a Vaux’s Swift fly by. There is a mountain lion roaming around too, I’ve seen the tracks in several locations, from the size of the tracks I’d say a large male.
This morning I decided to drive north to Granite Gap and investigate some dispersed campsites on BLM land in the Peloncillo Mountains. About halfway there, I came upon a Peregrine Falcon perched on the cross arm of a powerline. It let me get pretty close and then gave me a nice chance at takeoff/flight shots. I think the flight shots are probably the best ones I’ve ever got of an adult Peregrine Falcon.
The campsites look pretty good, should be quiet there, good cell phone service, and free. The drawback is, like here, it is 45-60 miles to a grocery store, depending on whether I go to Douglas or Lordsburg. The Lordsburg grocery store leaves a lot to be desired but it is closer then Douglas (60 miles from Rusty’s RV Ranch). I have two more days to decide….
This morning, I went back for more Eared Quetzal photography. I’m glad I did too, I got really nice shots of both the male and female. I’ve been reading about these birds and from what I’ve learned they are a late summer/fall breeding bird. I wonder if these two are starting a nest in this area or maybe thinking about it. They have been at this general location for quite awhile now, since at least September 15, according to Ebird.
The only nest record for Arizona that I know of was in October 1991, when a pair of Eared Quetzals was found feeding young in a tree cavity in in the Huachuca Mountains.
I drove over to the the Chiricahua Mountains area yesterday. I usually stay in the Forest Service campgrounds in Cave Creek but they are all closed. So, I’m in an RV park, Rusty’s RV Park, north of Rodeo, New Mexico. The bird I wanted to see here is the Eared Quetzal (pronounced KET-zal). There have been some seen in the Chiricahua Mountains off and on all summer. This morning, I saw one of them in Cave Creek and heard another. ABA Life Bird #603.
The Eared Quetzel is an uncommon, large trogon of pine and pine-oak forests in mountains and canyons of northwest Mexico. North of Mexico, this species is very rare. A wary bird, they will fly long distances when disturbed but can be found feeding quietly at fruiting trees. That is what this one was doing, feeding on hackberry fuits.
Here’s another series of images from Baldwin Spring. This Spotted Towhee came in for a bath. It was quite energetic.
