Arizona Photography

 This was a more typical day in Ash Canyon, no rare birds and no excitement.  Still, it's always a pleasant place to hang out and look for new birds and enjoy the old standbys, as long as the weather cooperates. Acorn Woodpecker (F) Broad-tailed (F) White-winged Dove Anna's (M) Broad-billed (M) Rivoli's (M) Mexican Jay Lesser Goldfinch (M) Lesser Goldfinch (M & F) Lesser Goldfinch (F) House Finch (F) House Finch (M) Curve-billed Thrasher White-breasted Nuthatch (M) Gulf Fritillary Black-headed Grosbeak (F) Pipevine Swallowtail Black-throated Gray Warbler (M)  

 The best thing about today's visit is the blooming Texas Sage shrub near some feeders, providing a colorful background for photos taken at the right angle.  Oh yeah, also the appearance of a couple uncommon birds, for me at least.  First was a pair of Nashville Warblers, a "lifer" species for me, then a female Black-throated Gray Warbler, only my second sighting of this bird.   Nashville Warbler (F)   Here we see the female Nashville Warbler supervising the male's bath. Black-throated Gray Warbler (F)  The remainder of the birds were the usual variety, but I tried to get some attractive backgrounds for them. Broad-billed (M) Broad-billed (F) Broad-billed (J) House Finch (M) Lesser Goldfinch (M) Acorn Woodpecker (M) Anna's (M) Anna's (F) White-winged Dove Curve-billed Thrasher White-breasted Nuthatch (M) Black-chinned (F) Ladder-backed Woodpecker (M) Cloudless Sulphur Acrobatic Rock Squirrel OOOPS! Black-headed Grosbeak (F)