Arizona Feathers, Scales, Tails, Shells, and More (Part 1)

Male Greater Earless Lizard in Oro Valley, Arizona

My occasional encounters with snakes and lizards while chasing down birds ignited my interest in reptiles, or "scales and tails" as some might call them. Spending time in nature cultivating one interest naturally leads to interest in other forms of life inhabiting and adding variety to our earth. A recent trip to southeast Arizona with my adventurous friend Eric Peterson allowed both of us to enjoy a splendid mix of birds, reptiles, mammals, amphibians, landscapes, and healthy doses of Mexican food to keep our engines fueled.

The short flight from Salt Lake City to Tucson passed quickly. We picked up our rental car and drove to a Walmart to pick up a temporary cooler, ice, drinks, fruit, and some snack foods. From there we headed south toward our first destination, the Kubo Bed & Breakfast (B&B) in Madera Canyon. Whitehouse Canyon Road just below Madera Canyon is where we were able to locate one of my favorite bird species of the trip, a Varied Bunting. It was nice to get a colorful male for my first-ever sighting of this species.

Male Varied Bunting Santa Cruz County, Arizona

I captured several images of the male Varied Bunting perching on the hillside below us. The image below shows a little more of the coloring on the chest and offers a little more perspective on the relative size of the bird (about 5.5") since it wasn't cropped as much as the image above.

Male Varied Bunting Santa Cruz County, Arizona

Blue Grosbeaks are much more common in southeast Arizona than they are in Utah. We encountered several brightly colored males along Whitehouse Canyon Road.

Male Blue Grosbeak Santa Cruz County, Arizona

Eric spotted a neonate Western Diamondback Rattlesnake basking in the middle of the road as we drove along Whitehouse Canyon Road. Being new to the world it had just a single button for its rattle. It's difficult to see in this image, but it is just beyond the black and white banding of the tail.

Neonate Western Diamondback Rattlesnake Santa Cruz County, Arizona

I captured video of the small snake as it moved away from us and into the grass on the side of the road, all the while keeping a close eye on us. Some ants and insects crawling near the snake give a relative indication of the young snake's size. The quality of the video will be best when viewed at 720p or 1080p HD

Seeing Jack Rabbits in the deserts of the western states is still fun for this Kentucky boy even after living in Utah now for several decades. I captured this image to share the harsh reality of living in the wild. I've hosted a tick or two, for a day or two, as a result of playing in the woods, but this rabbit is hosting a colony of ticks and some of the blood-thirsty beasts look like they should have popped by now.

Tick-infested Black-tailed Jack Rabbit Santa Cruz County, Arizona

We saw over 30 species of birds without much effort as we spent some time around the Kubo B&B and drove up and down the canyon our first afternoon and evening. Magnificent and Broad-billed Hummingbirds, Bronzed Cowbirds, Sulpher-bellied Flycatchers, Hepatic Tanagers, Mexican Jays, Bridled Titmice, Painted Redstarts, and Yellow-eyed Junco were a few we do not see in northern Utah.

Here are two sides of a male Broad-billed Hummingbird frequenting the nectar feeders at the Santa Rita Lodge in Madera Canyon.

Male Broad-billed Hummingbird Madera Canyon, Arizona

Male Broad-billed Hummingbird Madera Canyon, Arizona

This Yellow-eyed Junco was going up and down the roadsides near our B&B collecting insects. I figured it was collecting those insects to take them back to a nest to feed young birds. Otherwise it would have consumed the bugs posthaste.

Yellow-eyed Junco Madera Canyon, Arizona

Nocturnal birding did not disappoint us after enjoying a nice dinner in Green Valley. We were able to hear Mexican Whip-poor-will calling at the top of Madera Canyon. We heard, saw, and photographed Whiskered Screech-Owls and then finished our nocturnal birding efforts with the world's smallest owl, the Elf Owl. This tiny owl is between 5 and 6 inches tall. They breed during the spring and summer months in Arizona and then head back to Mexico for the fall and winter.

Elf Owl Madera Canyon, Arizona

After we finished owling we visited with some gentlemen across the road from our B&B who were collecting insects that were drawn from the darkness of the night to bright lights suspended next to draped white sheets.  Here's an image from my phone in case my explanation of their setup failed to create an appropriate image in your mind's eye.

As we were talking we caught a glimpse of a Ringtail (aka Ring-tailed Cat) that was climbing over a wood pile next to one of the lodges. It was my first time ever seeing one of those racoon-related mammals because they are elusive nocturnal critters. I was not prepared for the brief encounter so I have only the image in my head to remember that sighting.

After visiting with our temporary neighbors and before going to bed we had one last activity planned for our first day in southeast Arizona. We did some cruising along remote roads to look for snakes that were absorbing heat from the asphalt as the desert air was cooling. We found another Western Diamondback and captured some photos and video of the snake before safely removing it from the road.

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake Santa Cruz County, Arizona

The snake didn't want to be removed from the road so it warned us with its rattle. Here's a short video of the snake just before we moved it into a nearby field.

Little did we realize that on our way back to our B&B we'd have one more surprise. It was July. It was the rainy season. And it was high time for America's largest toad to be out looking for love. It's always fun to run across Sonoran Desert Toads during the rainy season since they spend much of the rest of the year hidden below the surface of the desert to avoid the arid heat. We spotted our toad in our headlights as it was hopping down the road. These toads can get up to 8" long and can weigh close to two pounds when full grown. They can secrete toxins from their skin to deter predators.

Sonoran Desert Toad Santa Cruz County, Arizona

Day one was a complete success in terms of the variety and number of encounters we had with critters of the southeast Arizona desert.

Day 2

After a good night's sleep I awoke early and went over to where the gentlemen were attracting bugs the night before to see if birds were taking advantage of the man-made insect buffet. The curiosity paid off. Sulpher-bellied Flycatchers were on the scene making their squeaky baby toy noise between eating bugs and perching in surrounding trees. Acorn Woodpeckers, Black-headed Grosbeaks, nuthatches, juncos, and an assortment of other bird species were feeding and calling from nearby perches. I particularly enjoyed seeing a Hepatic Tanager with its multicolored plumage. I captured an image of the tanager eating one of the bugs.

Hepatic Tanager Madera Canyon, Arizona

Just down the road from our B&B was the Santa Rita Lodge where Magnificent, Broad-billed, and other hummingbird species were taking advantage of nectar feeders. Mexican Jays, Acorn Woodpeckers, and doves were just a few of the species gorging themselves at the seed feeders. I don't have many images of Bronzed Cowbirds so I captured a couple for future reference and to share here. One image shows the ruff (thick neck feathers) just as the bird was relaxing the ruff from a full display of those feathers.

Bronzed Cowbird Madera Canyon, Arizona

Bronzed Cowbird Madera Canyon, Arizona

One of the Brown-headed Cowbirds caught my attention as I watched is at a feeder. The upper bill was overgrown and twisted, but that did not prevent the bird getting sufficient food. It turned out that this was just the first of two Brown-headed Cowbirds with elongated bills that we'd encounter during out trip.

Brown-headed Cowbird Madera Canyon, Arizona

Madera Canyon, Arizona

I stopped to capture the image to the left with my phone as I was driving down Madera Canyon because my boss in Utah thought I was crazy to spend a vacation in the 100+ degree heat in an Arizona desert. I told him we'd be spending a fair amount of time in the mountains where it was cooler, but we wasn't buying it. This probably isn't an image he had in mind when he thought of my Arizona trip.

Our destination for the end of day two was Beatty's Guest Ranch in Miller Canyon in the Huachuca Mountains. We planned to stop at The Paton Center for Birds in Patagonia on our way over to Miller Canyon, just outside of Sierra Vista.

As we were driving to Patagonia I was watching for raptors, hoping to pick up a Gray or Zone-tailed Hawk. What a pleasant surprise we had when we spotted an adult Gray Hawk perched on a power line along South River Road, just before we connected with and made our turn onto Highway 82 (Patagonia Highway).  We had to drive past the hawk and do a u-turn to get back to it. This put the bird on the driver's side of the vehicle so Eric was able to get a few nice shots. The bird flew before I was able to capture an image, but I did manage a long-distance shot after the bird perched on the stump of a dead tree. The image has been deeply cropped to show a little more detail of the bird's field marks.

Adult Gray Hawk Santa Cruz County, Arizona

Gopher Snake Santa Cruz County, Arizona

We also came across a Gopher Snake that was crossing the road on our way to Patagonia. It put itself in a precarious position after we pulled over to take a look at it. We carefully pulled away without harming the snake and then watched it crawl to a safer place.

Some Black Vultures flew overhead just as we were about to continue our drive to Patagonia. I captured a couple of images for documentation purposes. Someday I'll get a closer shot of one of these vultures.

Black Vulture Santa Cruz County, Arizona

We found our target Violet-crowned Hummingbird rather quickly after arriving at the Paton Center for Birds in Patagonia. The lighting wasn't great, but this image will suffice until a future encounter.

Adult Violet-crowned Hummingbird Santa Cruz County, Arizona

I spent a little time looking for reptiles around the Paton Center. I initially thought the lizard below was a Desert Grassland Whiptail, but upon closer look I'm calling it a Sonoran Spotted Whiptail. I can see light spotting between the stripes on the back of the lizard. Grassland Whiptails shouldn't show those spots between the dorsal stripes. The ranges for both species overlap so attention to detail becomes necessary, especially for a novice "herper" like me. What's unique about Sonoran Spotted Whiptails is that every individual is a female (parthenogenetic). The offspring, from unfertilized eggs, are clones of the mother. Let's hope this doesn't develop among humans or men will become redundant. I prefer to remain a necessary component of the human equation.

Sonoran Spotted Whiptail Santa Cruz County, Arizona

We didn't stay at the Paton Center for long after getting our target hummingbird because we wanted to get over to Miller Canyon, where we would spend the night a Beatty's Guest Ranch. As we made our way to Miller Canyon we spotted a Zone-tailed Hawk. I had been scrutinizing every vulture-like bird I saw flying as Eric was driving us to our destination. I caught a quick glimpse of black and white tail bands on a particular large, dark raptor that was flying over an agricultural field and called out, "Zone-tailed Hawk" so Eric would slow down for a look. We did a u-turn and relocated the hawk and watched it course over fields in search of prey for a few minutes before it disappeared behind a hill.

We arrived at Beatty's Guest Ranch in the early afternoon. We met the owners, paid our fee for the night, and packed our gear up to our quarters.  We stayed on the upper floor of the building to the far left of the phone image below.

Beatty's Guest Ranch Miller Canyon, Arizona

Here is a phone image I captured looking down the canyon from inside our lodge.

 After dropping off our bags we took a short walk up to a shady hillside where we sat on benches while watching lots of hummingbirds visit a number of well-supplied nectar feeders. This area has controlled access so it can only be enjoyed by those who pay a small fee or stay at the lodge. We saw at least six species of hummingbirds there, but my favorite were Broad-billed and Magnificent. 

Male Magnificent Hummingbird Cochise County, Arizona

Yarrow's Spiny Lizards were the lizard species of the hour during our lazy birding session at the nectar feeders.

Female Yarrow's Spiny Lizard Cochise County, Arizona

Male Yarrow's Spiny Lizard Cochise County, Arizona

We enjoyed our only Italian dinner of the trip in Sierra Vista with Eric's friend Jan. They became acquainted years ago as members of the Doberman Pinshcer Club of America. 

Always the birders, we did what we could to locate owls, poorwills, and whip-poor-wills as we made a slow drive up the dark canyon to our lodge. It's not much to look at, but below is an image I captured with my phone when a bio luminescent Glowing Click Beetle landed on Eric's shirt. The beetle has two spots from which it controls the intensity of its luminescence. Google that beetle name and you'll be able to see and learn more about the unique beetle. We saw a number of them flying along the road that night.

We heard an Elf Owl and got visuals of several Whiskered Screech-owls along the upper end of the canyon. We'll close out this post as we did that evening with a couple of images of a Whiskered Screech-Owl.

Whiskered Screech-Owl Cochise County, Arizona

Whiskered Screech-Owl Cochise County, Arizona

We finished Day 2 feeling like we'd had another successful day. As is often the case in the canyons of southeast Arizona during the monsoon season a clamorous and productive rain storm blew through during the evening. I rather enjoyed the storm knowing I was safe and dry for the night. I could only imagine what we'd experience during the remaining four days of our trip as I recalled the events of the first two days before drifting off to sleep. More to come in my next few posts.

Birding Sun-up to Sun-down in Northeastern Utah

This past Saturday I enjoyed my fourth annual birding trip under the guidance of Mark Stackhouse of Westwings Birding Tours. I started this tradition when I enjoyed a full-day of birding with over 130 species on Deseret Ranch in northeastern Utah. Mark spent many years in Utah and was the education director at Salt Lake City's Tracy Aviary for a number of years before he moved his home base to Mexico. He guides birding groups professionally to Utah, Mexico, and other countries. He's an awesome guide and shares expert information on wildlife, plants, ecosystems, and much more. His birding-by-ear skills are incredible. We identified over 120 species during our trip and I'm pretty sure we would have missed at least 20 if it weren't for Mark's ear tying otherwise obscure songs and calls to specific species.

Saturday's outing began with a couple of stops in the Salt Lake City area to pick up a total of seven birders from Utah County, Salt Lake County, Cache County, and even Idaho. Our day included stops at a number of birding locations between Pineview Reservoir in Weber County and Bear River Meadows near Randolph in Rich County, all along State Roads 39 and 16.  Our first stop was at Pineview Reservoir to observe a number of water birds. We also explored the North Arm Natural Area of the reservoir for about 90 minutes. Gray Catbirds, Goldfinches, Yellow-breasted Chats, Fox Sparrows, and Black-headed Grosbeaks were prominent in the area with a handful of others species.

American Goldfinch at North Arm Natural Area of Pineview Reservoir in Weber County, UT

Gray Catbird at North Arm Natural Area of Pineview Reservoir in Weber County, UT

As we were observing several Black-headed Grosbeaks feeding on Squaw Berries on a hillside a grosbeak flew from behind our group and landed in some bushes in front of us. We recognized the black and white wings of the grosbeak as we got our first glimpse of its upper side when it flew in for a landing. It immediately turned to face us and several of us declared simultaneously, "Rose-breasted Grosbeak!". We thought that might just be the most unexpected bird of the day--but it wasn't the only one. It quickly flew out of sight before anyone could get photos to document it. However, we relocated it a few moments later. It was high on a hillside so the images below had to be severely cropped even with my 300 mm lens.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak at North Arm Natural Area of Pineview Reservoir in Weber County, UT

The nice red breast against a white belly is more than enough evidence to identify the bird as a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak, but the image below also captured its red under wing feathers as it adjusted its perch.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak at North Arm Natural Area of Pineview Reservoir in Weber County, UT

Our trip continued along State Road 39. We eventually stopped at Monte Cristo Campground for lunch. Mark, the awesome guide, prepared lunch for everyone as we wandered in various directions to see what birds might be observed. We saw Hammond's Flycatchers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Red Crossbills, Red-breasted Nuthatches and more. I spent a little time watching a House Wren sing and sing over its territory.

House Wren at Monte Cristo Campground in Weber County, UT

It paused from singing for a moment, gave a good shake to it body feathers and then perched slightly fluffed before it began singing again.

House Wren at Monte Cristo Campground in Weber County, UT

House Wren at Monte Cristo Campground in Weber County, UT

After a nice lunch, some visiting, and learning a little more from Mark's vast birding knowledge we were encouraged to gather and capture an image of our newly-formed patrol of birders. Jo Ann used the timer on her point-and-shoot camera to capture the image below.

(Front, L-R) Mark, Jo Ann, Terry, Rachel, Laurie
(Back, L-R) Scott, Chris, Jeff
Monte Cristo Campground in Weber County, UT (Photo by Jo Ann H)

After our photo we explored the campground as a group. Scott had been hearing from and about Western Wood-Pewees all morning. He was more than ready when we finally found one that provided nice looks. We observed 24 species in the campground (plus hearing a Williamson's Sapsucker call there later in the day when we stopped again on our way home). We also spent a little bit of time watching a Mountain Chickadee forage for food to take back to a nest hidden inside a nearby tree. Birds which are foraging to eat immediately consume their food. However, when they are foraging to secure food for chicks they secure and carry the food back to the nest. That's just one indication of bird breeding behavior.

Mountain Chickadee at Monte Cristo Campground in Weber County, UT

Mountain Chickadee at Monte Cristo Campground in Weber County, UT

I captured the Red Squirrel and Mule's Ear flower images just before we packed up the van to move on to new areas and habitats.

Red Squirrel at Monte Cristo Campground in Weber County, UT

Mule's Ear at Monte Cristo Campground in Weber County, UT

Dry Bread Pond proved to be another stop that provided an unexpected species. We didn't spend much time in this area, but it was long enough to capture a few images and allow Mark to hear the song of a male Purple Martin, another great surprise for the day.

Violet-green Swallow at Dry Bread Pond in Weber County, UT

This image of a female Purple Martin in flight was a lucky shot in terms of timing. It was flying between trees and I was able to get focused on the bird just before it disappeared behind some Aspen Trees.

Female Purple Martin at Dry Bread Pond in Weber County, UT

The same martin is seen here as it perched near a nest site in a large Aspen. It was in the shadows so I had to work with exposure compensation to bring out some detail from the darkness.

Female Purple Martin Near Nest Site at Dry Bread Pond in Weber County, UT

This juvenile Mountain Bluebird allowed us to see plumage that is not often seen and that often stumps birders when they do see it. The obvious white eye ring resembles a Townsend's Solitaire. However, the juvenile bluebird has more of a streaky chest and belly where the juvenile solitaire would look more scaly in those areas.

Juvenile Mountain Bluebird at Dry Bread Pond in Weber County, UT

Another real hot spot for our group was along Crawford Mountain Road and Bear River Meadows just outside of Randolph, Utah. We drove over a bridge where Cliff Swallows were nesting. I managed to capture one in flight as it passed over our van and above the passenger side where I was seated.

Cliff Swallow Over Crawford Mountain Road Randolph, UT

Several members of our group had searched through thousands of White-faced Ibises over several years, before Saturday, in hopes of finding a vagrant Glossy Ibis. When we stopped Saturday to look at a group of ten Ibises we found another bird surprise for the day--a Glossy Ibis. I was in the front passenger seat of the van and the birds were on my side. Mark was in the driver's seat as we began to scan the birds through our binoculars. Mark began scanning from left to right (over my left shoulder) and I started scanning from right to left. The second bird I saw was the Glossy Ibis. I exclaimed, "Glossy Ibis!" and our birding hearts leaped. Just before I was able to get my camera lens on the bird they all flew about fifty yards away from us. We exited the van so Mark could put his scope on the bird and give everyone a nice look and time to discuss the differences between the White-faced (typical for summer in Utah) and the Glossy (not typical for Utah). I captured the images below to document the observation and include with the submission I would make to the Utah Bird Records Committee. These images were cropped quite a bit, but they clearly show the powder blue lines bordering the dark skin in front of the eyes.

Rare Glossy Ibis Found Along Crawford Mountain Road Randolph, UT

Rare Glossy Ibis Found Along Crawford Mountain Road Randolph, UT

We saw other nice birds as we moved along Crawford Mountain Road, including several Wilson's Phalaropes.

Wilson's Phalarope Along Crawford Mountain Road Randolph, UT

The adult Willet below was sending out an alarm call as we passed by in our van. Mark pointed our attention to the tall grass below where we observed several juvenile Willets and the reason for the alarmed adult as humans passed by.

Adult Willet Found Along Crawford Mountain Road Randolph, UT

Juvenile Willet Along Crawford Mountain Road Near Randolph, UT

Black Terns were flying quickly over the meadows, they were dark, and they were often casting shadows on themselves as they tilted and turned in flight. I'd love to get clearer and closer images, but these were the best I could get during this outing.

Black Tern Along Crawford Mountain Road Randolph, UT

Black Tern Along Crawford Mountain Road Randolph, UT

Violet-green Swallow Along Crawford Mountain Road Randolph, UT

Female Bullock's Oriole Along Crawford Mountain Road Randolph, UT

Some of the last birds I photographed for the day were the first American Avocet fledglings I'd ever seen. They were cute little fuzz balls showing the same colors as an adult in breeding plumage.

Juvenile American Avocet Along Crawford Mountain Road Randolph, UT

Juvenile American Avocet Along Crawford Mountain Road Randolph, UT

American Avocet Along Crawford Mountain Road Randolph, UT

I'll end this post with images captured as the sun was setting on an awesome day of company and birding. The artistry of nature can be fleeting so some moments have to be fully enjoyed while they last. We saw the beginning of what we knew would be a spectacular sunset so we began searching for a place to pull off the road. We wanted to see what colors the sun would reveal on a canvas of thick clouds. Mark pulled onto a dirt road marked by a sign that read, "Mount McKinnon." He navigated the road up a hill and presented us with an impressive, hill-top view of a sunset none of us will for forget.

The images begin with the scene we saw as we approached the crest of the hill. The sun painted the clouds with brilliant colors as the images progressed. It's last performance was a fiery orange as it disappeared from our view.

Sunset Seen From Mount McKinnon Weber County, UT

Sunset Seen From Mount McKinnon Weber County, UT

Sunset Seen From Mount McKinnon Weber County, UT

Sunset Seen From Mount McKinnon Weber County, UT

Sunset Seen From Mount McKinnon Weber County, UT