Box Canyon & Madera Canyon - August 9, 2024

 Box Canyon is part of a shortcut through the Santa Rita Mountains that leads to Green Valley, but more importantly for me, to Madera Canyon.  There were reports of several rare or uncommon birds being seen in Box Canyon.  A friend recently spotted one bird I'd never seen and two others I'd seen only once.  He had arrived at 6:30 am, but I was delayed a bit and got there about 7:45.  Right away I spotted some Phainopeplas and one of my targets, the Thick-billed Kingbird.  Unfortunately, they were really out of range and my photos are poor quality.

A man in the canyon told me he had just seen two of my targets, the Varied Bunting and a Five-striped sparrow.  I stood with him for a few minutes before walking up the road a ways to check out a bird I had seen fly into a tree.  When I returned, he told me the Varied Bunting had appeared right after I left, but didn't stay long.  After getting a few photos of common birds and some wild flowers, I drove on to Madera Canyon.

Velvetpod Mimosa

Velvetpod Mimosa

Scarlet Bouvardia

Yucca

Thick-billed Kingbird

Cassin's Kingbird

Lesser Goldfinch (M)

Northern Cardinal (M)

Red-tailed Hawk

By the time I reached Madera Canyon, it was too late to catch most bird activity, but the hummingbirds were still there.  I was expecting to see Rivoli's Hummingbirds, but was surprised to spot the Berylline.  After a somewhat disappointing morning, these two saved my day.

Rivoli's (J)

Rivoli's (J)

Berylline

Bridled Titmouse

Pipevine Swallowtail

Storm Over The Huachucas



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