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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Hi everyone! This time I didn't go to GRP but rather, a place I haven't been since March of 2016! Grand old Thunderbird Conservation Park (but since it is the abbreviation age, we'll just call it TCP). Although, at the start of the trail TCP wasn't giving me a grand old time, but rather a windy, cold time! YEAH, I know. Cold in Arizona? Say's the guy comin' from Alaska! Yes, it was "cold out!" It's really weird and believe me, I was surprised too, but I couldn't help it! Before we got on the actual trail a PHAINOPEPLA had trouble flying and landed in a Palo Verde. Due to the "chilliness" on the first half of the hike the birds stayed completely silent. I began losing all hope in seeing a ... or a ... But then came the second half of the trail. In fact, as soon as I turned around a switchback the wind and shade COMPLETELY DISAPPEARED! because there were hills in front, behind, to the right, and then houses to the left, we were shielded from the wind! Plus, the sun was shining on this side of the "mountain" (a pile of rocks and cacti, really). And with that, I rejoiced by wearing a smile and regaining hope in the ... and ... The birds rejoiced at the lack of wind and cold by singing their melodies! I kept hearing a bird making a sort of musical "tweeting/chirping", quite a unique sound. When I finally located the source of sound (SOS) through my binos, I was delighted to be looking at a ROCK WREN! so is it one of the ...s? No, but, this was the first time I had ever seen the bird, and you may note it's on my Life List. However, I had heard it once with Tommy Debardeleben at Hassayampa River Preserve (This summer that place HAS to make it on my blog, as it is VERY reliable for the Gray Hawk, Thick-billed and Tropical Kingbirds!..) Below the bird, however, I noted flashes of black/white/gray. When one finally landed at the bottom of a bush, and I got a brief but satisfying look at its face, I ID'd it as a (drum role please) BLACK-THROATED SPARROW!!!!(!!!), the first of the ...s. I announced the name loudly, but as a whisper and with a highness in pitch. It was unreal, a bird I'd searched for many times at GRP and once before at this very park. This wasn't the end however, as soon they came really, really close to me. They kept coming in and franticly foraging, moving heads up and down. Because of their quick movements, my camera was clicking away as I tried to get a good head shot, and constantly zooming out to relocate them. With such skippy birds, it was surprisingly impossible to get a snapshot of one that was foraging just 3 feet away from me! I needed them to be farther away, so I could keep track of one whilst zoomed in. Nonetheless, I got one "good" head-shot, but I wasn't completely satisfied (additionally, I accidentally photographed some WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS). We moved on and, to my amazement, another Black-throated Sparrow! He moved more than the others, but ended up with better pics as he flew to a Creosote Bush, further from others, giving that desired view of not too close but not to distant, as now I could focus on him without zooming out! Luckily, he didn't move, other than his head, but the bush did as it swayed in the wind. I ended with improved photos, blog-worthy ones! Soon thereafter, there was more movement in a few trees. Even without the binos, I realized these were Gnatcatchers, but Black-tailed, or Blue-grays? After finally obtained a poor photo and constant searching, I decided these were in fact, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHERS (second of the ...s)! They were even more uncooperative than the Sparrows, and they had too much energy in them to physically stop moving. Goodness Gnatcatchers! Here's how it went: "He's on the top! Wait, now the bottom, no the middle! Ohp, he just flew into another tree, no wait he's back in the bush, no the top, now the middle! Now he's back in the tree again". The Blue-gray Gnatcather isn't really the best bird to observe, trust me your eyes will get sore if you look at them too long! They really belong at GRP, WAAAAAAAAY to many gnats there to enjoy birding fully! Check out pics of my 2 lifers below! Black-throated Sparrow! White-crowned Sparrow Skippy, the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher! Nichol's Hedgehog Cactus Cactus SP. Buckhorn Cholla Overall, I had a great time during the second half of the hike, the first half... It was awesome to see a Rock Wren, Black-throated Sparrows, and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers for the first time!
Please leave a like, and, can anyone ID the "Cactus SP." Please let me know the identity in the comments below. Happy birding, AAAAAAAAND, I'm Jared Conaway, and stay tuned for my next post!
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December 2019
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Life List
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