Thursday, January 30, 2014

Cave Creek Canyon in the Afternoon

1. deer-kab A deer darts behind my car in Cave Creek Canyon 10-4-13

Last Autumn I took a trip to Cave Creek Canyon to go birding with some friends. I only spent a little over 24 hours there. I arrived on the 23rd and after the other women left the next morning, Donna and I ate lunch, then decided to squeeze in a little more birding in the afternoon before we had to leave. It was during the time of the government shutdown, so all the camping areas were closed and there was no one on the roads except us and the deer!

2. in the road-kab Donna in the road.

 

3. doe-kab Doe in the road.

 

4. young buck-kab Young buck in the road!

 

5. AZWO-kabWe soon were seeing birds all over, but most were high in the trees and surrounded by leaves and twigs and greenery, making photography quite difficult. However, it wasn’t too hard to indentify this Arizona Woodpecker.

6. BRTI-kab But most of our bird views were like this one of a Bridled Titmouse looking straight up its tail. soon we both had warbler neck!

7. cliffs-kab All the while the cliffs of Cave creek Canyon towered over us!

8. plumbeous vireo-kab I found a plumbeous vireo munching on a big fat worm!

 

9. WBNU-kab Has this white-breasted nuthatch got an insect or a seed?

 

10. Red-naped sapsucker-kab The Red-naped Sapsucker was a nice find!

 

11. pac slope flycatcher-kab And this was the only shot of a Pacific Slope Flycatcher that I got for Donna. This was a Life Bird for her, but would I get one?

12. what warbler-kab Which warbler is this? Come back soon to find out!

After we reached the bridge where the road turns from pavement to dirt we both decided we had gone far enough. We each had a long drive before us, so we called it a day and we both headed home. However, I couldn’t resist one more stop in Rodeo, NM to count birds! I needed and wanted at least one count in that state!

13. ladder-backed woodpecker in Rodeo-kab I found a ladder-backed woodpecker right in town!

 

14. cassin's kingbird-kab And a late-lingering Cassin’s Kingbird!

But I did not have time to check out this art gallery. Maybe next time!

15. art gallery-kab

In the end I counted 19 species in the Canyon with Donna, but only 5 species on the Main Street of Rodeo.

2 comments:

  1. Kathie, sounds like you had a nice outing with Donna. I love the woodies. You were able to see a great variety of birds. Happy Birding!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sometimes, it's just about enjoying the day with wonderful company and capturing the memories.

    ReplyDelete

Welcome to my nest! I hope you will enjoy spending time here with me and the birds. Thank you for your comments. I will try to get back to you as soon as I get back from counting more birds.