Yellow-browed Warblers?

Not so scarce migrant?

Numbers per year have definitely increased. At the moment the pager is overflowing with sightings down the coast...excluding Holmpton of course! The information can be misleading however IMHO. This species CAN be VERY difficult to SEE!

This evening I was tempted down the road by a report of a Bluethroat behind the Riverside Hotel. I parked up and made my way to the Humber shore. I soon spied the small crowd looking forlornly into thick scrub.

I tagged onto the end of the group and asked if it had showed recently. I got a couple of grunts and then a pleasant chap told me he'd been watching it out in the open on the beach...until...some photographers arrived.

I'll leave it there...I'm in a good mood!

I left the group looking into the vegetation and went down to the Canal Scrape car park. I just wanted to spend some time in the wonderful late September sunshine checking out the small sycamores south of the car park. Maybe I'd see my first YBW of the year?

There were still a few birders around on the banking...I could hear them clearly! I tried to lose myself in the bushes. I could hear a few encouraging calls, there was at least one in the area. I then saw something I'd never seen before...2 YBW's...one chasing the other!!

The light was fading by now but I was still hoping (optimistically) for a pic. I stood with my back to the fading sunlight...this is where the bird should have been...

Didn't work out that way unfortunately. It was a nice spot though...

It went quiet...very quiet. My last attempt was to walk along the path back to the car park...and yes, I got lucky...not great, but conclusive...

Almost certainly under-rated these days...not by me...a jewel of a bird!

S.E.Arizona (15)

Whilst trawling through my pics I found a few that I'd intended posting ...but didn't. So here they are!

Lucy's Warbler is a tiny elusive bird of the desert. In my vain attempts to find the "difficult Thrashers" I stumbled across one in the yard of Quailway Cottage just west of Portal...

note the sharply pointed bill

It's a difficult bird to SEE, so I was really pleased to get some photos of one

not sharp but it shows the Rufous uppertail coverts

As I left the yard and drove towards Portal I found this injured Western Diamondback Rattlesnake in the road. It had obviously been run over. I waited with it for 30 minutes (I certainly wasn't going anywhere near it!) and it eventually made its way into the undergrowth. I believe they can recover from injuries like this. Hope it's OK.

When we eventually got back to the Motel after our epic 2 days in the Chiricahuas this cahp was waiting for us by the front door. It was a good 6 inches in length. Louise wasn't to impressed!!!

I'm thinking it's a Colorado River Toad?

S.E.Arizona (14) - Carr Canyon

3/8/2015

It was time to make a trip to Carr Canyon, another top site in the Huachucas. It's one of the few places you can actually drive up to a decent height...7,400 feet!

We stopped for a short break en route at Sonoita and bumped into this Cassin's Sparrow...

Here's one of the fantastic life-like sculptures on the ridge of the Las Cienegas grassland...

We passed through Sierra Vista and soon began to climb the decent mountain road. We had the road to ourselves on yet another glorious Arizona morning. As we neared the top the views were spectacular...

I set Louise up at Reef Townsite campground and started the Old Sawmill Trail in search (yet again) of Red Crossbill! The trail was steep and the temp was increasing so I admit it was a feeble effort but I did have the consolation of a smart Spotted Towhee through the bushes...

there were also plenty of Yellow-eyed Juncos...

Generally though it was dis-appointing with nothing else of note seen.

We had lunch at Ramsey Vista Campground. It was now time to try the famous Comfort Spring Trail. This trail has produced many outstanding rarities over the years, including EARED QUETZAL, AZTEC THRUSH (I saw 4 in Madera Canyon in 2005) and SLATE-THROATED REDSTART. As always I always I was hoping it would be my lucky day! It's only a short but steep half-mile drop to the picturesque stream...

Nothing was seen on the way down, granted it was 2pm. The cover around the stream was much appreciated making things somewhat cooler. It was then that I heard a hooting? Two female birders were talking just the other side of the stream. They were obviously trying to locate the source of the noise. I joined them. I mentioned I'd seen a Northern Pygmy Owl in this area in broad daylight in 2005.

The hooting continued. It was close but the coverage was thick and tall. I then spotted a pigeon/dove at the top of a tall tree. It started...hooting!!!

Sibley describes it as..."a deep, somewhat hoarse, owl like hooting hu-whoo, hu-hoo. That solves that mystery then. You learn something new every day. It was still a great find as Band-tailed Pigeon is listed as  "uncommon" in S.E. Arizona.

Here it is...

I then heard another familiar sound...Thunder!

Time to return to the car I thought. Not ideal to be at high altitude with lightening imminent. Time to make the journey back.

S.E.Arizona (13)

...after an early night in the superb George Walker House (maybe you'd like to take the inside tour?) I was up with the lark, back down the mountain and onto Stateline Road...once again! It was a beautiful morning...again...

6 am

I knew my chances of seeing the "difficult Thrashers" (Bendire's and Crissal) was slim at this time of year (I was determined to give it a good go) and so it proved as I just couldn't find either in 2 hours. One of the few disappointments of the trip. A sighting that more than made up for it though was this evocative Scaled Quail in the early morning light, definitely worth getting up for...

Again, a fairly common bird in the right habitat but this was the only one I saw during my trip. A lovely species which fits it's habitat perfectly.

Driving the roads looking for Thrashers had created another problem, a distinct lack of petrol! The desert isn't a great place to be short. Even in a country like America there are large areas where there are few facilities. I love it, as you get a real feeling of adventure and "away from it all" BUT there are problems sometimes.

We'd dined in Rodeo NM the previous evening (at the only option) but I wasn't looking for a "gas station" as I (wrongly) presumed Portal would have one. I drove down the short main road and didn't find one! It wasn't an area were you might stumble across one believe me. I had a major problem. There was a bar open which was serving breakfast...an interesting place! The owner told me that the nearest gas station was at Animas NM some 20 miles away. I was running on fumes by now but it was the only option. A tense 20 minutes later I'd made the town but couldn't find it. There was no-one around on this Sunday morning. I decided I couldn't drive any further...maybe literally! Another tense 20 minutes passed before an old timer came by and took me to the Station...PHEW!

On the way back to Paradise (you've got to love it) I noticed a movement while taking one of the sharp bends. I pulled the car over and went back to have a look. I'm glad I did as it turned out to be a cracking male Western Tanager...

It was roasting by now so I wasn't hanging around but I was pleased to get some decent shots...

Once back at the house I joined Louise, Jackie and her husband Winston on their porch..plus the dogs. Winston didn't remember me either! He told us that there were 2 major washes on the west side of the mountain but he reckoned they'd be OK by now. He took us over 3 minor washes on the way up before saying goodbye. Once again I'd like to mention the hospitality of this wonderful couple. It certainly made this section of the holiday much more enjoyable.

I wanted to try some high altitude birding in the Rustler and Barfoot Park area. As we approached the summit I could hear rumbling! That was

There was no way we were going to hang around now! We had to get off the mountain...FAST!

Louise set off down the west side. It was getting darker by the minute. It then started to rain. Rain as heavy as I'd ever seen. The thunder crashed around us and lightening flashed. The streams started to fill up at an alarming rate. We carried on down. It was at this point that I remembered Winston mentioning the 2 large washes? I feared we would struggle to get across and so it turned out as we rounded a bend and saw a torrent of water crossing the road!!

It was still torrential. What to do?  We had to go back up!

It took us another 30 minutes to reach the top and thankfully the rain had eased. The next question was...could we get back across the 3 washes on the east side?

It was touch and go but we made it. The third one was dodgy but we agreed we didn't want to spend the night on the mountain, so I gave it a go...plenty of acceleration and the car bounced across the swollen wash!

A nice relaxing holiday drive!!! Louise was a trojan...as always.

Still time to bird!

I remembered a comment from a US birder regarding a local and difficult species that can be found with luck on the Portal/Paradise road. It was only a short detour, the weather had cleared and we didn't have to cross any more washes. Lets give it a go!

I didn't have any specifics, so we just tried a few stops along the way within the first couple of miles. Yes...it WAS hot! I gave myself an hour as we still had a 2 hour drive back to Green Valley. At the last stop I walked a short distance up a trail from the road. Nothing in 20 minutes. I then noticed a small bird some way off (c80yds) fly across and perch briefly...

A heavily cropped view...

It's always dangerous when you are in an area of a target bird. You can fall into the trap of suggestion. I try not to do this. I see (just) a pale bill, grey head and underparts and brown back? I also see a long tail. I can't see any streaking on the back but it's a fair way off. It's also in the right chaparral habitat as already mentioned. I'm thinking Black-chinned Sparrow? Comments welcome!

We trickled down the rest of the mountain and made our way back to the interstate via Paradise and San Simon.

S.E.Arizona (12) - quite a day...or 2!

1/8/2015

Today we made the long trip to the Chiricahuas for our second visit of the trip. I was hoping to get there reasonably early but we had a good 2 hour drive ahead of us, admittedly on the freeway for the majority of it.

Last week we'd took the long route (on better roads). This time I decided to try cutting in south from San Simon. This would save us some miles and hopefully time, besides it was a change! The graded road from the motorway was thankfully good and we made our way south towards Portal.

The first noteworthy sighting after leaving the interstate was this cracking Loggerhead Shrike...

It took us around 45 minutes to reach the outskirts of the town and I was feeling good about our new route until we came around a bend and saw this...

Oh dear, I thought. You can see a building to the right of the tree. That is how close we were to Portal. I'd been told quite a few horror stories about cars trying to cross washes in flood including one by Richard were a young lad had tried to drive through one in Tucson and died. We didn't have a 4x4 and it looked pretty strong to me...

We couldn't cross. A few hundred yards away and yet? There was no-one else around...on either side. We would have to go back!! Yep, right back to the Interstate and into New Mexico as we did last week. Bit of a nightmare really.

We found out later that there had been a violent thunderstorm over the Mountains the day before which had produced the flood. The water just runs out into the desert eventually. Trouble is it can take many hours to do so.

Let's move on.

We reached Portal by route two around 2pm. We grabbed some lunch and then re-visited the feeding station at the Jasper/Rodrigues yard again. Much the same fayre a son our previous visit until this wonderful creature popped very briefly (5 seconds) into view...

As I've said before how special a bird is depends on your perspective. Bullock's Oriole is a common bird in the region BUT this was the only one I saw during my trip and...WHAT A BIRD!

We then took the Paradise road from Portal. I intended to do this anyway but the decision was made for us by the flooding. The "main" road was blocked. We wound our way up the interesting road and eventually reached the village, thankfully not having to cross anymore washes. Eventually we found the place I wanted to see...The George Walker House. I'd stayed here in 2005 so I'd obviously met Jackie and Winston previously. I just wanted to say hello.

The house is a well known site for birders and there was a group just leaving as I arrived. The sites star bird is the local Juniper Titmouse, unfortunately we'd arrived during a period when it didn't tend to visit. I introduced myself to Jackie and took a seat on the porch. I explained what had happened regarding the flood and she mentioned it was "bad" on the western side as well. This was the route I intended to take to get back to Green Valley. It was at this point she kindly made the offer that we could stay in the GWH as it was vacant...for free!

To receive this level of hospitality was frankly very moving and I thanked her sincerely for her kind offer. I went back to the car to tell Louise and the decision was made...we would stay the night. We'd done a lot of travelling and would have had an uncertain journey back due to the conditions. It's a holiday after all!

I left Jackie to show Louise the ropes of the house and I had the last hour back at the Jasper/Rodrigues feeders. The main bird of note was a visit from another Blue-throated Hummingbird very late in the day...

These photos were taken at 7.15pm and it was almost dark...the image below is poor due to the very poor light but it shows the throat well...

The best laid plans...

If things had worked out for me I'd have had my corrective hip surgery in early August after returning from Arizona. Unfortunately I didn't like what I heard from my latest (in a long line of) surgeon/s.

I'd provisionally booked us a place on Shetland for a week hoping I'd be mobile enough to make the trip. I obviously cancelled the reservation.

MEGA Shetland THICK-BILLED WARBLER still mid-evening Mainland below Quendale Mill

You'll never guess the date I'd booked for our first night...

24th September!!!

I had my triumph in Kent...now the disaster!

BOU 500?

I find myself in limbo today!



I was hoping to have completed my Arizona review by now (before Christmas). Domestic events have slowed things down somewhat...as they always do.

Sometime ago I checked my "pending" list and found out that the ROYAL TERN I saw in Wales in 2009 has been accepted! I was waiting to add this dependent on what I saw next?



I'll explain.


(I was very fortunately at my Mother's in Bury on the 20th June of that year when the news broke. This enabled me to reach Llanduno just in time to see it. Must admit I'd almost given up on it being accepted and hadn't checked for a long time. There you go!)



As you can see I'm nearly there...500 that is. I'm hoping for a special bird to break the landmark...something special...not just rare.



Yesterday's events confused things still further. Again I'll explain.



Bud was having his morning swim in the sea when at 10.05 the MEGA Alert built up...

"MEGA Kent Empidonax flycatcher sp Dungeness at fishing boats and showing well"

I cooly/foolishly carried on with the doggy constitutional while I chewed it over. I often do this and always say to myself later that I won't do it next time?


I'd seen the ALDER FLYCATCHER on Blakeney Point in 2010 (was it 5 years ago and I'll NEVER forget the walk) but having been over the pond on a few occasions I knew there were other "empids" and I also knew how difficult they can be to identify. In fact some reputable American birders say they can't be identified in AUTUMN unless they call!



Fortunately I had 2 days off and I figured it would be wise to go...just in case.



I made a few contacts but it seemed I was on my own, so it was Game ON!



I contacted Trevor Charlton. He texted back to tell me he was in Kent! That was handy. He reckoned he'd be there within the hour and he'd let me know the latest. I managed to miss the turning for the A1 off the M18 which left me to negotiate the M1. What joy. Is there another country that would put up with 30 miles of 50mph? Crazy!



This super highway put a good hour on my journey and I crossed the QE2 bridge around 2pm. By now it had become "probably not Alder". Encouraging. The weather was deteriorating rapidly though with ominous black clouds ahead of me. Updates confirmed this "elusive in poor weather".



I arrived on site around 4 and it had now become "probably Acadian" which was VERY encouraging! Dungeness is a grim place, even grimmer in heavy rain with impressive dark clouds. I joined the huddle of around 100 birders and soon found Trevor. He told me it would show around the cottage intermittently, even perching on the benches and water butt. I was reasonably confident but the weather didn't look like clearing anytime soon. After around 30 minutes...it showed...briefly...by the water butt...

RELIEF!!!



Then ON the water butt...

The best pic I got was when I moved around the side of the house and fortunately the bird popped out onto the back of the chair...

An incredible record. The 3rd "Empid" record for Britain. The first 2 assigned to Alder (first in Cornwall in 2008).



The BIG question is...which species?



Online forums have been rife with opinions...I steer clear these days as I seem to upset people easily!

I CAN have my opinion on here though...hope it doesn't upset you. My viewing stats are still very encouraging and I thank you all sincerely for taking the time to read.


So what do I think? There are ELEVEN species of Empid! Two points...it's large billed and has a long primary projection. I'm a great believer in structure. For what it's worth...

I think it's an Acadian

...and as a result it becomes my...

If it's not accepted by the BOURC I will obviously remove it from my official list. I keep my own private thoughts list!



So maybe I've made it to the magic 500? I hope that explains the confusion?


25 years of Birding. I've missed many due to a variety of circumstances and some have much bigger lists than mine. I hope to have many more years ahead of me to build on this. I intend to pursue ALL the species I haven't seen yet in Britain. I still have restrictions i.e. work! BUT I have far more flexibility now, which improves my chances of connecting significantly.



Here's to the next one...maybe on Scilly next month...2 MEGA's there today!!


Footnote: BUBO seems to agree and has very swiftly added it to it's list!


Apologies for the strange layout on this post. A computer glitch which I can't be bothered to re-do!

S.E.Arizona (11)

31/7/2015

Late start today, I was starting to feel the pace and it is a holiday after all! We drove once again through the awesome Las Cienegas to Sierra Vista for lunch...Subway of course. Another species I really wanted to see was Scott's Oriole. Ash Canyon B&B is a reliable site for this bird. It also had the added attraction of Lucifer Hummingbird. They had just started to pass through the area.

We arrived mid-afternoon and took our seats in the shade around the feeders. Mary Joe came out to join us with her friend the African Grey...

While we were chatting the Parrot came out with the most unbelievable metallic noise. You would never have believed an animal could make such a sound! It was incredible. She told me that numbers of Hummers were down on previous years. There were a few around including a Lucifer/Costa'a hybrid which was ironic as I needed Costa's for my Arizona list (never did find one despite extensive searching!)

There were a few Anna's present...

She had 2 main feeding areas, so after a while I had a wonder down to the other site. This paid off eventually with brief but conclusive views of my Scott's Oriole...

Not the shot I was hoping for but interesting in it's own way I guess? This bird is extremely fast and only stays for a few seconds, grabbing food and disappearing, so I'm pleased I got anything at all really. A super species. Just love Orioles!

A dapper Acorn Woodpecker dropped in for a drink. This species has bundles of character with it's harlequin-like plumage...

I then move back to the first site as it was around the time (hopefully) for the Lucifer to appear. Unfortunately the light was starting to fade as it was approaching 6 pm. Then, there it was...

First a brief flight view...note the curved bill...

Then a perched one...

This species is annual but very local in S.E.Arizona with this site being as reliable as anywhere. We thanked Mary Joe for her hospitality and set off back to Green Valley.

S.E.Arizona (10)

30/7/2015

Today centred on 2 sites. The first being the  Patagonia - Sonoita Creek Preserve, yet another renowned site within S.E.Arizona.

I was trying to connect with a few "missing" species from my list as well as spending some quality time on this superb reserve...before it got too hot! I like the challenge of finding certain birds. They're not necessarily rare or even scarce but they can be local and/or elusive. You obviously have a different perspective on the avifauna when your visiting from a different country.

eBird helps of course!

We arrived just after dawn...after I'd managed a few more pics of the Thick-billed Kingbird on his favourite perch at the top of a tall tree...

A young lad was very helpful explaining the layout of the reserve and he gave me a leaflet. I made my way immediately to the river (riparian area) and started searching. The fact that it's a permanent water source is very much a novelty in the State as nearly all the others are bone dry...there's a lot of shade as well thanks to the magnificent Cottonwoods...

One species I was particularly hoping to find, was the Common Ground Dove. No particular reason, except that I hadn't seen any yet! This reserve was as good as anywhere and it turned up trumps...

I also had fun with a male Vermillion Flycatcher. This image came out strangely...but I like it...

Abert's Towhee was another addition...

I heard a now familiar noise from the Cottonwoods. Yet another Gray Hawk...

The common Red-tailed Hawk soared overhead...

Up close with a Rufous-winged Sparrow...

Another bird that's locally common but can be elusive is the Yellow-breasted Chat. I've always liked the look of this bird since I saw one at the Sam Nail Ranch in Big Bend, Texas. I was hoping to get a decent shot. I first saw them high up in the trees, located with the help of their distinctive call...you guessed it...chat!

Unfortunately that's as close as I got...for now. By 10am it was, what's the word...unbearable! Time to head for the hills again. I'd really enjoyed my 3 hours here, another wonderful location.

As we drove back towards the Paton's I heard the "chat" again. This time I was ready and using the car as a hide I managed some better pics...

Here's lookin at ya...

Love this posture...

Might be common...but it's a special bird to me...