Ash Canyon, AZ - April 18, 2025

After several days with above average temps, then a few days of average, we had another period of below average temperatures.  The cool snap caught me off guard this morning, with 42F and stiff winds in Ash Canyon.  My shorts and golf shirt just wouldn't cut it, so I headed straight to the enclosed blind to get out of the wind.  Turns out that Tim and another visitor were there, inviting me to join them.  Not only were we sheltered from the chill wind, the bird activity was really good there.  Several special birds showed up for the first time this year.

Anna's (M)

House Finch (M)

House Finch (F)

Black-headed Grosbeak (M)

Black-headed Grosbeak (F)

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Lesser Goldfinch (M)

Lesser Goldfinch (F)

Lazuli Bunting (M)

Hepatic Tanager (M)

Acorn Woodpecker (F)

Mexican Jay

White-winged Dove

Lucifer (M)

Scott's Oriole (M)

Scott's Oriole (F)

Chipping Sparrow

Broad-billed (M)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ash Canyon - April 28, 2025

Image
 We had much the same lineup as in recent days, with a couple of migrating warblers added to the mix.  I was pleased to see them, since it had been years since I had seen either species. I did make an effort to get more hummingbird photos, so that is a slight change from the latest updates. Broad-tailed (F) Lucifer (M) Yellow-rumped Warbler Broad-billed (M) Townsend's Warbler (M) Ladder-backed Woodpecker (M) Anna's (F)       Black-throated Gray Warbler (M) Pine Siskin Bewick's Wren Lesser Goldfinch (F) Chipping Sparrow Scott's Oriole (M)      
Read more

Ash Canyon - June 17, 2025

Image
 When I arrived , there were already three cars in the parking area, so I knew this would be a more social day than last visit.  Not long after getting there, a woman approached me and said there was a Diamondback Rattlesnake near the water feature along the main path.  I went with her to check it out while she told me the snake had crawled under her bench on his way to the rocky water feature.  She was alerted by numerous birds gathering around the area and chirping like crazy.  The woman said she is from Denver, but grew up in Tucson, pointing out she had never seen snakes in Tucson, but sees them frequently in Colorado.  Our snake was partially hidden, so these are the best photos I could get. Western Diamondback Western Diamondback      As far as the birds go, it was pretty much the same group we've been seeing the past few weeks. Brown-headed Cowbird (M) House Finch (M) House Finch (F) Anna's (F) Bullock's Oriole (M) Bullock's Oriole (J)...
Read more

Ash Canyon - August 19, 2024

Image
 The hummers were out in force again today, buzzing around like crazy.  Flitting from feeders to trees and back again, chasing each other like the feeders might run out any minute.  There were quite a few people there also, likely the word has gotten out about some of the less common species visiting the sanctuary right now.  The parking lot was full, with plates from CA, FL, AK and OR along with local cars.  Again, very few birds other than hummingbirds, and I hope you're not tiring of them. Violet-crowned (M) Violet-crowned (M) Mexican Jay Canyon Towhee Calliope (F) Lucifer (F) Lucifer (M) Lucifer (M) Lucifer (M) Black-chinned (M) Black-chinned (M) Anna's (M) Anna's (J) Anna's (J) Anna's (M) Anna's (F) Anna's (M) Anna's (M) Broad-billed (M) Broad-billed (M)
Read more