A Birder's Life for Me

We're back in Key West for a few days to play with Henry and OG and re-pack suit cases for a trip to Ohio and Michigan this week. Our focus there will be on migrating warblers, vireos and thrushes.

Here are some final looks at our trip to Arizona.  

First, this is not what I like to see on the trail ahead of me.  After seeing a 4 foot garter snake slither off the trail, I was watching intently for snakes, especially after another birder had come bushwhacking through the forest saying a rattlesnake was on the trail.  I'm not sure crashing through rocks and fallen trees is a healthier remedy for avoiding rattlesnakes.  But, to each his own.

This snake was doing its best Gandalf imitation... "You shall not pass!"  It turned out to be a harmless Sonoran Desert Gopher Snake but, with the snake about 20 yards away and not being sure at the time, a few well-cast rocks encouraged it off the trail so we could pass.

While we never did see a Roadrunner on the trip, we did find plenty of other species including the colorful Red-faced Warbler...

... Grace's Warbler...

... the very colorful Western Tanager... 

... Cactus Wrens aplenty...

... And many, many hummingbirds including Berylline hummers and Blue-throated Mountain Gems.  This Mountain Gem refused to sit anywhere but on the feeder.

One afternoon, we were mobbed by Acorn Woodpeckers and Mexican Jays while eating our lunch.

A pair of black-crowned night herons were hanging out in a Tucson city park.  Very unusual in my mind because they are largely nocturnal.  So, seeing them out and about in the afternoon in the desert seems very out-of-place to me.  Again, to each his own.