From a small town to a big city...
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A Birding Blog
By Jared Conaway
From a small town to a big city...
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This week, from September 11th through 14th, my parents and I headed to Pine Grove CG to camp for 4 days. Here's the thing though: I must admit, I thought that in regards to birding it would be boring. That isn't to say that the whole trip would be boring. I knew that I would have a great time with M and D. The reason I thought that the birding would be rock-bottom, is that I knew what to expect in forest that only had Ponderosa Pine. Honestly, I despise that kind of habitat, and not just because of lack of birds, the scenery is identical whether you look east, west, north, or south. I knew we would be visiting nearby locations, but I didn't know which ones so I assumed they would be the same habitat. I couldn't have made a more wrong assumption. First and foremost, I didn't expect the exclusive-pine forest to look any better than the other locations I've been to that contains this habitat. It actually did. It had a single small willow to break the one-tree-species rule, and there was an attractive little meadow before the campground. The actual campground was of course more Ponderosa Pine, but the ground had many species of grass and lots of rocks with a diversity of size. This micro habitat of course wouldn't make the birding better, but the opportunity for insects was looking juicy! The variety of grass species meant a diversity of grasshoppers, starting with this Lakin Grasshopper. It preferred grass that made me very itchy. Carolina Grasshopper was more uncommon, and very un-catchable! This Orth is very large at around 2 1/2 inches. Its hind wings are blackish-brown with a pale yellow margin. Neat-looking in flight. A very interesting species that was pretty common and one I observed all 4 days is Crackling Forest Grasshopper. It makes a distinctive noisy fluttering sound in flight. I have a photo of one later in the post. Yet another cool Orth was Blue-winged Grasshopper. True to its name, the base of the wings are cyan, along with a mid-wing brown band, and tan outer wing with brown tip. My first bird for the location was a visual HAIRY WOODPECKER. Adjacent to us was a camper with 4 hummingbird feeders. This took the word "boring" out of the Ponderosa Pine forest. I had potential to see 4 different species, all of which belonging to Selasphorus. Calliope, an uncommon migrant, Rufous, a common migrant, Broad-tailed, summer resident and common migrant, and Allen's, a very rare vagrant.\ On the first day only RUFOUS & Rufous/Allen's Hummingbirds were showing up. Rufous Hummingbirds are absolutely beautiful; Adult males have a green cap, orange on the face, flanks, rump, and tail; The back is coppery-green, gorget is brilliant crimson. The Rufous/Allen's duo is a difficult one. Allen's can be told apart with confidence by: Tail feathers: Outer-most rectrices are extremely narrow, needle-like Back: Green, extensive, rump typically green. Rufous can show extensive green just as Allen's can show orange uppertail coverts. Only on a couple individuals was I able to clearly note broad tail feathers. The rest I didn't get satisfying views of. The next day was much better for hummingbirds. I had about 15 total and they were periodically showing up at the feeders every 15 minutes. In between intervals they were aggressively chasing each other or perching mid-level in the trees. Only once did a BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD come around, and that was at a feeder. Fortunately I was fairly close when she came. This species is an overdue lifer considering I've been up north where they breed this spring and summer many times now. It is one of the most common birds in its respective habitat. Additionally they're migrating through the lowlands right now and can be found in urban areas. Anyways, since I was unfortunate enough not to have a camera with me, It's a good idea to provide a description. I'll start with a female, since that's what I saw: green crown/back, orange-buff flanks, white underside & throat with gray spots, gray face. Males look like Anna's except crown is green, not pink, breast is clean white, gorget lacks side-extensions, and rear flanks are buffy. Rectrices 1, 2, & 3 have orange base, black center, and white tip. 4 is green with black tip and 5 is plain green. Although I lifered with Broad-tailed, it is depressing writing this since I didn't get to enjoy or photograph it. Here's an interesting unidentified Robber Fly. These flies are massive! Adorable Gray-collared Chipmunk, a new mammal for me. I still find myself enjoying the presence of WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, despite being one of the more common northern birds. PYGMY NUTHATCH was more abundant, though uncooperative for pix. There are 3 subspecies of White-breasted that may represent their own species, I'm excited for that split. White-lined Sphinx Moth. Late in the morning we left Pine Ground to walk to Ashurst Lake. The forest quickly transitioned into exciting opportunity as Double-needle Pinyon, Rocky Mts. Juniper/Oneseed Juniper, Arizona Alder, and Gambel Oak appeared. Northern migrants like Hermit Warbler like deciduous undergrowth and a small variety of conifers while despising Ponderosa exclusive forest. Ponderosas alone only attract the most typical summer residents. A pair of GOLDEN EAGLES was a perfect way to begin birding. I would have loved to see them destroy the Turkey Vultures they were with. The eagles were in simultaneous flight, a fun thing to watch. It's where the birds get in an identical flight position, wings bent in the same way, tail turning at the same time, etc. i feel like there is always something to say about the Golden Eagle. And why not? They freaking toss goats off cliffs. They hunt down adult wolves! Not to mention I've petted one. Golden Eagles are affectionate and deadly at the same time. Golden Eagles aside, I didn't know what to expect on the way to Ashurst Lake, but certainly not this: A high-elevation meadow! This opened up a huge amount of opportunity. My first birds for the grassland was a large flock of mostly Barn & Violet-green Swallows with at least a couple PURPLE MARTINS mixed in. Both were female/immature-plumaged individuals. Large, stocky, long-winged swallows purple above and grayish-white & streaky below. Also out there at first were American Crows and Horned Larks. A Meadowlark landing on a fence post excited me, because there are 2 species out here, one of which a lifer. I think you guys know which one. Eastern. Arizona has its own subspecies that also belongs to New Mexico & Texas. It's called Lilian's. I assumed wrongly that identifying one from the other would be easy. A great thing about about meadowlarks is that they almost never hybridize, a pain taken up by too many other birds. There is a compromise though: At this time of year, that it just so happened to be when we were up there, many identification keys are thrown into the very car they start and then locked in. For one, the malar should be white on Eastern, yellow on Western. Buffy on both in fall, making that feature indeterminate, at least for the most part. The reason I say "for the most part" is because some birds molt into fall/winter plumage later in the summer. Additionally, the eyeline is blackish on Lilian's outside of fall. This is a useful mark because it contrasts with the white cheeks. I good way to put it is that WEME has a dirtier face: browner eyeline and gray cheeks. But it's like I said, outside of fall. Even winter is better because both are in fresh nonbreeding plumage. Things really picked up after that specific individual, which remains indeterminate. Meadowlarks were exploding into the air from the tall grass and flying into the safe treetops everywhere. The confusion isn't over yet. The easiest and hardest field mark for Eastern Meadowlark is found in the tail pattern. How could it possibly be both at the same time? Here goes: In the nominate subspecies of EAME, 3 outer rectrices plus the outer most half of the inner most outer tail feather are white. In all subspecies of WEME, 2 & 1 half are white, not 3 & 1 half. The remaining central tail feathers on EAME have broad dark centers, which WEME lacks. Sounds all good and easy until you add Lilian's to the picture. LIME has the most ivory in the tail with all 4 outer rectrices white. A good way to put it is when tail is spread on WEME, the shape of center is a broad trapezoid, EAME is a narrow trapezoid, and LIME is a narrow rectangle. However, LIME also lacks the broad dark center and thicker barring of nominate EAME. Its central rectrices are identical to WEME. This isn't much of a problem with the tail spread, when you can see the prominent difference in amount of white, but when folded... Now you might be thinking, "But Jared, if EAME and LIME have significantly more white in tail, wouldn't that also show when tail is folded?" I wish that was the case, but: They have 12 tail feathers total; The central tail feathers overlap the outer ones, thus on all 3 the uppertail is brown & barred, the undertail is white. Like I just mentioned, this isn't a problem in regards to EAME & WEME, but it is with LIME & WEME. There is great news though: A definite EASTERN MEADOWLARK eventually flushed, clearly showing those awesome white rectrices! My only problem was that I wasn't sure if the one meadowlark I photographed was an EAME. I really wanted pix of my lifer meadowlark for the blog. After all, I didn't have any for Broad-tailed Hummer. It drives me crazy (and every other birder) when I obtain pix of everything on an important trip except the lifer(s) Anyways, it brings more of a challenge and more enjoyment to finding new birds. We had quite a few meadowlaks, over 50. Most of them I followed into the brush to get vocalizations; most sounded good for EAME! I saw a COMMON BLACK HAWK soaring over the prairie in the distance. Always an amazing find! After a couple hours Ospreys made an appearance. This meant we were close to Ashurst Lake. With a decent variety of upper-growth and under-growth flora the oppurtunity for birds is good here. One of my best was a TOWNSEND'S WARBLER; a typical but colorful migrant. The highest densities of its close cousin, Hermit Warbler, is found in mid to high elevations with at least a small variety of conifers with oaks mixed in, such as this place. Despite my hopes, I didn't receive any Hermits. We didn't stay at Ashurst Lake very long, we didn't have any mind-blowing birds anyways. This is a bee fly I frantically took pictures of on the back to our campground. At first I proposed it was a Grasshopper Bee Fly, looks more like a member of the genus Lordotus (more on that later in the post). Its color is very different from any species available on bugguide and inat. A Pepsid wasp I found near a puddle, likely Pepsis thisbe. Back near the meadowlark spot, where junipers fade away, & pines take over, a medium-sized streaky, lanky falcon flew over us. I instantly recognized it as a female MERLIN, an early migrant and excellent bird in general. Merlin is distinct from the other falcons in that it closely to an accipiter in color/pattern (so like Cooper's or Sharp-shinned Hawk). It is slightly larger than a Kestrel, with a build more like Peregrine, but lankier. The one I saw might be of the prairie subspecies. Back to meadowlarks! This is for sure a WEME, as when it took flight I took a pic which clearly shows 2 1/2 white outer tail feathers. Note how pale the head stripes are. Here is a cute Gray Flycatcher. I am still bad with Empid pics... Now, finally, FINALLY, FINALLY... I present to you a likely LILIAN'S MEADOWLARK! In the previous meadowlark I said, "Note how pale the head stripes are." On this individual the crown stripe plus eye-line are significantly darker, blackish. The cheeks are also definitely brighter because there is a clear distinction between the cheek and stripe in front of eye. This stripe appears lacking in the previous bird because it is the same color as the cheeks. So from what I've said so far, WEME is less contrasting in all aspects. This is reliable to go by, but wear can mess things up. You see, I was lucky to catch this meadowlark in contrast plumage, as being late in the breeding season meant that both species had worn breeding plumage. The reason wear happens is because Melanin (dark brown-black pigment) rubs off over time. Often times you find Melanin on the edges & tips of feathers; This is because it also the strongest pigment, essentially a protective layer over lighter pigments. The same goes for white; It wears to gray over time, hence why cheeks on both meadowlarks are dull in fall & winter. Like I said, I was blessed to catch sight & pics of this individual. This is the first pic I took of the individual. Again the crown stripe & eye-line are conspicuous. With its head up, you can see white below the eye, and I don't think that's an exposure issue. To show that exposure isn't an issue, I've brought the lighting level way down, and you can still see that below the eye is just as bright as above the eye. CASSIN'S KINGBIRD. Back in the forest I walked away from the path to flush passerines into the open. Then I caught sight of large birds out of the corner of my eye. I looked, and they were MERRIAM'S TURKEYS! I shouted that they were turkeys, because apparently I can't contain excitement. Then they ran off. Instead of calmly photographing them, I had to be frantic. That didn't end very well. Finally we got back to our campsite, exhausted. But instead of crashing, I journeyed to the shower building where there was an outlet to charge my Mom's phone so I could research meadowlarks and create my checklist. I ended up learning most of what I've taught you in this post that day. The next morning Dad and I wen't the same route to Ashurst Lake, this time equipped with a van, making more time for birding, less time for traveling. My first objective was to get to the meadowlark spot, with yesterday's newly acquired knowledge. To my delight, meadowlarks were singing absolutely everywhere, about 60! This was great because song is said to be the best way to distinguish the 2 meadowlarks. This was also a problem, I hadn't studied the differences recently, and I didn't yet know that Lilian's has a lower pitched song than Eastern. At first I thought these 2 individuals were candidates for LIME. However, the second meadowlark has marked gray cheeks, all yellow throat, and gray-brown head stripes. Note how I said "all yellow throat:" Well, the meadowlark in the pic above this one shows no yellow in the breast and throat, but that doesn't eliminate WEME. After all, it shows pale head stripes as well. Better pics of the same Gray Flycatcher from yesterday; I was amazed that we relocated him. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... The malar seems separate from the throat, and the stripe in front of the eye is well-defined. We could have another Lilian's! Remember, I knew I had definitely seen 2, both from the previous day- one with bright white cheeks and another with 4 white outer rectrices- I just didn't know if I'd photographed or heard one. Enough confusion, the weeks- actually one of the year's greatest highlights happened next. We were walking back to the van when a flock of bluebirds were flying around. One in particular caught my attention. A sky blue one broke off from the flock and landed on a rock. I raised my binoculars- "Oh my God, that's a MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD!" I was in a mountain grassland 2 days in a row, and I had not even thought of that species! I excitedly got nearer to the bluebirds, and they got startled. I counted 10 Mountain Bluebirds which separated from the Westerns. At first I walked towards them, getting further and further from the road. Iended up quite far from where I started, with still a ways to go to get to the birds. Then I thought, 'I am certain a saw a couple break off and fly close to the road when they first flushed, I'll head back and look for them there.' I was greatly relieved to find one not far from me and close to the road. It didn't seem as skittish either. When you see the girl you like from far away... When she's coming your way... In the midst of folling the 2 MOBLs, I was really surprised to see a breeding-plumaged meadowlark, possibly Lilian's as it appeared brighter yellow (LIME/EAME has slight orange tinge as well, which this bird might have shown), and its cheeks looked plain white from what I could see. I did get a binocular view, though that didn't bring the bird close. I also was much more interested in the bluebirds, as this was a dream bird and I had my fair share of meadowlark confusion. It would also make more sense to be LIME, since they do arrive on nesting grounds later than WEME in Coconino County. Anyways, here's some facts about Mountain Bluebird: First & foremost, it is absolutely beautiful! It is and always has been one of my favorite birds in the world. I know, there are birds in the tropics and even our own country that have 10 more colors, and even more vibrant colors at that. So why the Mountain Bluebird? For one, its color of blue is very unique, it is actually the only truly sky-blue bird in the World! It is so vibrant that it looks like Montana's sky. There are also 2 morphs for both sexes. For the males: One that has blue flanks, and one that has gray flanks and slightly duller shade of sky-blue. For females: rusty morph & gray morph, both with blue in wings/tail. Along with that all 4 morphs have brighter & paler variants. So even though no matter what only 2 colors are on this gorgeous bird, it is highly variable. Since I mentioned the brightest morph, here is my next goal involving this species: I've seen the Mountain Bluebird. I've enjoyed the Mountain Bluebird. I've photographed the Mountain Bluebird. The last objective involving this species is to do all that with my favorite morph, the blue flanked, more vibrant male! Except, that's not my last objective. I've always wanted to see this species in Alaska. Of particular interest is to see if they breed/nest in the Denali Highway region. This bluebird summers in some of the most beautiful habitat, very high elevation mountain grasslands from New Mexico all the way into western Alaska, making it second-most widespread, behind Eastern Bluebird. As you know, I had a brief sighting in the prairie out in the White Mountains, a sub-region of the Rockies. That was an immature/female individual. I also said in the Caspian Tern post that Dara made me feel bad. To specify, she said: "So it's not going on your Life List because it was a female?" I added it, but this species is one of the few that I want the first time I see it be climatic. I highly respect female birds, but it's safe to say that almost all the time the males are a more spectacular sight. I say almost because phalaropes are more accurate with dimorphism. The small shorebirds are also an exception because the juveniles are more beautiful than adults. Anyways, MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD is epic!!!!!! The last birding we did for the day was Mormon Lake. This is one of 2 naturally occurring lakes in Arizona. Ouch. Alaska has 3,000,000! Mormon Lake has had one bird in particular that was amazing: A Common Crane! Sounds common, but this bird originated thousands of miles away in Siberia. Mormon Lake now looks sad, I expected extensive shallow water, but there was no water in the lake at all. Arizona's one of 2 natural lakes might sadly being resting in peace very soon. However, it was still impressive, in a different way: Over 200 Elk. The only bird highlight were a few Cassin's Kingbirds. The next morning I walked away from the campsite and found this unusual fly. This was unlike anything I'd ever seen, in terms of flies, so I ran full speed to the camp with a fast beating heart and frantically grabbed the camera. I was so relieved to re-find the cute fly within moments. That is when I took these pix. I thought that maybe there was a remote chance it could be a new species. After a week I discovered it was Lordotus striatus- Orange Bee Fly, according to BugGuide. Everything about this fly is unique and fascinating. For one, it is rarely encountered, pretty elusive. It has a long needle-like proboscis. It holds its body high with long orange legs. It even holds its wings in an odd position. Its colors are another fantastic aspect. Shimmering gold & orange hairs, with a couple black bands on the abdomen. In person these colors are even more beautiful! Let's also take a moment to acknowledge that this fly is adorable. In the Afternoon we wen't to Walnut Canyon NM in Flagstaff. It wasn't what I expected: *I like= sympathy for this upside down tree. Please, Doug the Douglas Fir needs you... Walnut Canyon was very beautiful, among the better-looking high elevation locations in Arizona. I was actually expecting Ponderosa Pine forest with some oaks and for the canyon itself be smaller. It was interesting because the 2 sides of the canyon were dominated by different flora. North was Doug Fir, Ponderosa Pine, Rocky Mt. Juniper, Smooth AZ Cypress. South was Ponderosa Pine, Oneseed Juniper, Single-leaf Pinyon, and Double-leaf Pinyon. Of course this is generally speaking, since the trees didn't stay exclusive to their sides. As in, there were some Doug Firs and Cypress on the south side. With such a diversity of Coniferous, Deciduous, and undergrowth flora, here is where the great birds live. Close to where we started, there were a group of birds saying "ha-ha-aaa" above the canyon. Eventually I found the source. Some corvids flying out of pinyons into a snag, and then flying into the forest. I suspected, and later found out that they were PINYON JAYS, a long-anticipated mountain lifer! They were silhouettes, but thankfully my observation of them wasn't too brief. They looked just like Clark's Nutcrackers, with different vocalizations. They are also powder-blue. Pinyon Jays can been tough to find due to nomadic nature. They are an irruptive species in that they wander in search of pinyon nuts when the crop at home falls short. Instead of carrying one nut at a time to a caching sight like most birds, they can carry 40 seeds at a time in their throat crop! Also, flocks are basically family as birds born in the same area will stay together for life. These flocks can consist of more than 500 individuals sometimes. In the parking lot a cute JUNIPER TITMOUSE provided the best looks I've gotten from that species as well as a perfect photographic opportunity. He was foraging on Oneseed Juniper cones. This reminds me; I still don't have pictures of Mountain Chickadee. Hhhhhhmmmmmm... We didn't leave Walnut Canyon yet, though. we made some sams and ate at some picnic tables in the Pinyon-Juniper woodland. I was hungry, I needed this, I deserved this, all this birding makes a man hu- "Ooh, a woodpecker." As soon as I saw it, I already knew what it was, but I needed a triumphant moment with this bird before announcing its awesome presence to my parental units. I went over to the tree he- uh, she flew into. Before moving on, that was a hint. Think of a woodpecker that you can immediately recognize as female without a second look or a view of the crown. Anyways, she flew out of that tree. So I walked to the next tree. She then flew off deeper into the woods, putting a lot of distance between me and her. I was devastated. All I needed were a few moments of her time. For a few minutes, I thought it was over. But just remember, God is cool. I heard quiet tapping. I stood still and listened. Tapping again. Somehow she snuck into a tree next to me. She then flew a few trees over. I quietly walked over to her pinyon, looked up at her with binoculars, and said: "My awesome God, I'm finally looking at a WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER!" I quickly proceeded to get a couple photographs, making sure I get a good one. After these 2 (which actually turned out to be the only good pix) I backed up because I thought I could get a better angle, and then felt a very sharp pain in my leg. I looked behind me: A yucca had ruined a tender moment by stabbing my ankle. I was furious, with the strength of 10 men, I proceeded to pull it out of the ground from the roots, then then I threw it down the canyon. I shouted in roman: "Thou seeketh to deprive thee of the most tenderest moment in thy life! Thou not welcome in thy presence!" Ok, y'all know that I'm kidding on that last part. Man though, I got stabbed by a yucca, that's a pain not many can say they've experienced. And it's ironic because yuccas are used for pain-relieving wounds... I guess I can say it backfired on me? Hmm. So, I was just saying that seeing the males of a species is almost always the most ideal first-time situation. I'm kinda going to contradict that, because seeing a female first allowed me to see the uniqueness of this sapsucker in person. Sapsuckers are unique among woodpeckers, Williamson's is unique among sapsuckers. Males have 2 white stripes on the face, one behind the bill and underneath the eye, another behind the eye. The crown, nape, breast, and sides of throat are black, the throat has a crimson center. There is a broad white stripe on both black wings. Flanks are gray with black vermiculations, underside is bright yellow. Lastly, the back is entirely black, rump is white with some black spots, and wingtips have tiny white spots. With all this combined, the male WISA has a lot more black than other sapsuckers, somewhat resembling Black-backed Woodpecker. Because females & males are so drastically different, from each other, that they were thought to be 2 different species at first. It took a while for the scientists of that day to catch on, but now we all know them as the respective sexes of one species. Before they were merged, the female was called Black-breasted Woodpecker, the male wasn't named after Willamson yet either. Among bird females, WISA is pretty cool-looking. Basically the ultimate flicker-Gila Woodpecker mix. Favored summer habitat is Doug-Fir mixed with Ponderosa and oaks, also higher up with mixed White Fir and down low with pinyons. Walnut Canyon is the perfect place for this species, probably a high density area. This sapsucker is among the less common Arizona mountain birds, an awesome experience to see one for sure! This is the last highlight of the trip: A millipede before leaving. It's funny, because it was under a rock right next to a crumbling tree base that had a centipede in it. I tried to dig it out, but somehow it burrowed into the hard core of the base. I ended up breaking a few sticks trying to get it out. Centipedes are venomous (can't kill though) so I was going to use a stick for it to perch on, set it down, and get some nice shots. Since that failed, a flipped over an adjacent, and caught this guy.
I hope you enjoyed this great post, I know the adventure itself was really amazing, one of the best mountain trips so far! I also really hope I didn't kill anyone from meadowlark confusion. #likecommentfollowshareplz. I'm Jared, and stay tuned for my next adventure, 'cuz I have plenty of overdue ones! The meadowlark confusion is over at last...
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