Birding Arizona - Tara ChoateTara Choate

I haven’t dropped off the face of the earth, but so much has happened. I had to block out four blog posts just to get caught up, and that’s just the basics.

I’m starting with the prettiest of the planned posts, my trip to Southern Arizona for a painting workshop sandwiched between some birding.

Buenos Aires NWR

On November 15, I devoted the day to the excellent Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge. I hiked a little circuit at Arivaca Cienega, then found some antelope on the aptly named Pronghorn Drive.

But the birds were the real stars. While there was a huge variety, my birding abilities limited me to these finds.

: Brewer’s Sparrow

: Canyon Towhee

: Chihuahuan Raven

: Chipping Sparrows

: Morning Dove

: unknown flycatcher

: Gila Woodpecker

: Hammond’s Flycatcher

: Northern Harrier

: Great Blue Heron

: Loggerhead Shrike

: Meadowlark – Eastern or Western

: Meadowlark – Eastern or Western

: Meadowlark – Eastern or Western

: Phainopepla

: Red-Tailed Hawk

: Song Sparrow

: White-Crowned Sparrow

Tubac & Surrounding Areas

Each day after the workshop, I would scoot around and look for some more birds. This is how I found my two “target” species: roadrunners and vermillion flycatchers.

: Chihuahuan Raven

: Phainopepla

: White-Crowned Sparrow

: Yellow-Rumped Warbler, Audubon’s (probably)

: Black Phoebe

: Red-Tailed Hawk

: Greater Roadrunner

: Greater Roadrunner

: Greater Roadrunner

: Vermillion Flycatcher (male)

: Vermillion Flycatcher (female)

: White-Crowned Sparrow

Madera Canyon

My plane didn’t leave until 2:00pm on the day after the workshop, so I took the advice of a fellow birder in the artist group and hit the gift shop at Madera Canyon.

This is the birding set-up, not including all the hummingbird feeders.