Ash Canyon - June 5, 2026

Pipevine Swallowtail

House Finch (M)

House Finch (F)

Clark's Spiny Lizard

White-winged Dove

Brown-headed Cowbird (M)

Bullock's Oriole (F)

Turkey

Bewick's Wren

White-breasted Nuthatch

Ladder-backed Woodpecker (M)

Gila Woodpecker (M)

Mexican Jay

Blue Grosbeak (M)

Bridled Titmouse

Lesser Goldfinch (F)

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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 30, 2025

Image
 Suddenly, there weren't nearly as many Hummingbirds at the sanctuary, quite a few having migrated south for the winter.  There were still lots of photo ops, just not the swarms we had been seeing over the past month or so.  It was a stark reminder of what the fall/winter season will be like. Flame Skimmer Anna's (M) Anna's (F) Black-chinned (M) Broad-billed (M) Costa's (M) Gila Woodpecker (M) Acorn Woodpecker (F) White-winged Dove House Finch (M)                                           Mexican Jay Lazuli Bunting (F)   House Finch (F)  
Read more

Ash Canyon - October 7, 2025

Image
 I knew something special was up when I arrived and found only one vacant parking space.  Inside, at the big blind, it was standing room only and there was an air of excitement.  Someone explained that a Ruby-throated Hummingbird was reported yesterday, so the crowd here today was waiting and hoping it would return.  Sure enough, the young male appeared and thrilled the observers.  This was only the tenth Ruby-throat ever reported in our area. Ruby-throats mostly winter in Central America, then migrate to North America for breeding, as far north as Canada.  Many of them migrate by flying directly across the Gulf of America/Mexico, a journey of 500-600 miles and 20-24 hours non-stop, with no place to rest or get food/water.  They will often "bulk up" to prepare for that arduous trip.  Others fly a longer, but easier, route around the Gulf.  At the end of summer, they repeat the migration, except heading south  My theory is that our visito...
Read more