Arizona Photography

 This was a gray, overcast morning at Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary.  Other than the usual large numbers of Mexican Jays and White-winged Doves, not a lot of birds were showing up.  Several of us just sat around and chatted.  As the sun began to peek through the clouds occasionally, we started to get more activity.  Unfortunately, a Coopers Hawk swooped in and frightened all the birds away, including the Montezuma Quail making their way toward the feeding area.  Most of the birds returned in a while, but not the quail, so no photos of them. A group of 8-10 Inca Doves arrived and began feeding directly in front of me.  Although these are fairly common in our area, I have only seen them once before, in Patagonia during a 2019 visit.  This small dove has a wing feather pattern that looks like scales. Here are some of the other birds present in Ash Canyon this day.  We also had glimpses of White-throated Sparrow, Green-tailed Towhee, Spotted Towhee and Orange-crowned Warbler, but I never got a

 My good friend Tim, resident manager of Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary, shared with me a photo of a Hooded Warbler.  My timing was bad and I never saw this beautiful bird that only visited Ash Canyon for a couple days.  Tim graciously gave permission to share his photo with you. Hooded Warbler The rest of these are my typical photos. House Finch (M) Verdin Javelina Spotted Towhee Yellow-rumped Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Anna's Hummingbird (F) Pine Siskin Pine Siskin White-crpwned Sparrow White-breasted Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch Pyrrhuloxia (F) Pyrrhuloxia (M) Lesser Goldfinch (F) Lesser Goldfinch (M) Lesser Goldfinch Pair

 Fall finally arrives in SE Arizona with beautiful colors in many of the trees.  In Ash Canyon, birds are returning rapidly, not only in numbers but in the variety.  It should keep getting better for a while. Pyrrhuloxia (M) Pyrrhuloxia (J) Gila Woodpecker (F) Acorn Woodpecker Arizona Woodpecker (F) Mexican Jay Canyon Towhee Northern Cardinal (M) Montezuma Quail (M) Bewick's Wren Yellow-rumped Warbler Lesser Goldfinches (F) Chipping Sparrow Bridled Titmouse Curve-billed Thrasher Spotted Towhee