Western Screech-Owl
Our goal at Southwest Birders is to increase your enjoyment of birds and nature. We offer custom birding tours that cover California, Arizona, Florida, and Texas. Our web site offers bird-finding tips, detailed site guides, hundreds of illustrated trip reports, dragonfly pages, and quality bird & nature photos. We hope you enjoy our web site, and welcome your feedback.
GOOD BIRDING!
Mountain Chickadee
Suzanne, Gaby, and I drove through the Imperial Valley and Owens Valley to the Sierras. Whitney Portal was our first stop, and provided our first taste of cool, high-mountain birding. Mono Lake and Bodie were our next two destinations, in the sagebrush country. We lingered four days in the park, traveling from snow-covered Tuolomne Meadow down to the Yosemite Valley, and then south to Wawona Meadow. Crashing waterfalls vied with spectacular scenery to take our breath away. Flowers, bears, and marmots vied with the birds to see who could attract the most attention. On our final day we stopped in the White Mountains to tour the ancient Bristlecone Pines, there long before the Pharoahs ruled Egypt. It was a fine escape from the Yuma summer!
Click here to read about the trip and see more photos.
Broad-billed Hummingbird
Spent four excellent days covering Southeast Arizona with Bruce and Paul, seeing many of the region's specialty birds. We climbed (OK, we drove) to the top of Mt. Lemmon for high-mountain warblers, hiked down Florida Wash for Mexican sparrows, visited the canyons of the Huachucas for 10 species of hummingbirds and the Elegant Trogon, and ventured down California Gulch for Five-striped Sparrow. It was a great time, and between Bruce & Paul, they got 67 lifers! Click here to read about the trip and see some of the natural history snapshots.
Rufous-crowned Sparrow
Up long before dawn, I made it to the Laguna Mountains in southwestern Imperial County for the sunrise. 144 birds later I headed back to Yuma, having set a personal best for a single day's birding. It was great fun, and I found a fair number of migrants combined with excellent breeding birds. Shorebirds were still in good numbers at the Salton Sea, many of which were in beautiful breeding plumage. Click here to see some of my photos from the big day, and to read more details of the day's itinerary..
Gray Flycatcher
Megan, Sam, and I spent Saturday at the Sea, and then on Sunday I returned with Ken. Over the weekend we got some fine birds, including a Ruff, a Gray Flycatcher, a Sage Thrasher, and Lawrence's Goldfinches. The gull crop included Herring, California, Lesser Black-backed, Laughing, Western, and Yellow-footed. Fierce winds on Sunday whipped the Sea into a foamy green broth, but the birds were still great. We ended the weekend with a field full of 200+ Mountain Plovers. Click here to read more about our birding weekend in the Valley.
Townsend's Warbler
Paul, Bruce, and I spent an awesome three days wandering the coastline and chaparral around La Jolla & San Diego, the forests of the Laguna Mountains, and the lowland marshes & agricultural lands of the Imperial Valley. One of the most handsome birds we spotted was this Townsend's Warbler, seen hunting for insects in a towering cedar at Paso Picacho Campground, located in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. Click here to read more about our adventures birding this scenic part of southern California.
Dusky Grouse
Suzanne, Adriana, Gaby, and I spent an excellent week in northern New Mexico exploring the Jemez Mountains, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Taos, and Santa Fe--all the time escaping record high temperatures in Yuma! We spotted all kinds of creatures, from Elk, Mule Deer, and Pronghorn Antelopes to Dusky Grouse and hordes of hummingbirds. High in the mountains we walked through fields of beautiful alpine flowers; down in the colonial Santa Fe we enjoyed fine Mexican cuisine. Click here to read more about our trip to this scenic and birdy part of New Mexico.
Elf Owl
Cody and I camped in scenic Kofa Queen Canyon on the last Saturday of May, listening to a chorus of Poorwills, Elf Owls, Western Screech-Owls, and Great Horned Owls. The next morning was beautiful, and we were soon hiking up Indian Canyon towards the highest peak in southwest Arizona, on our way to see the locally rare Black-chinned and Rufous-crowned Sparrows. Other visual treats during the short trip were Scott's Orioles and Marine Blues. Click here to read more about this fascinating canyon located in Kofa NWR.
You can also learn more by reading our bird-finding guide here. My 2006 on-line article in Birder's World is here. You'll find a host of bird, flower, and scenic photos here. If you're interested in note cards from KOFA NWR, please visit the link listed on the right menu.
Vermilion Flycatcher
Al and Helga, Suzanne, the girls and I made a whirlwind trip through Southeast Arizona to pick up a few targets that Al had been waiting seven years to get! We scored on all but one, but Al & Helga got the even rarer Berylline Hummingbird instead! And exciting birds weren't our only good finds--we got to see the rare and localized Brown Vine Snake, and I had an exciting time when I almost stepped on a Western Diamondback.
See photos of a few of the targets and read about our trip here.
Western Spindalis
I had the good fortune to spend two marvelous weeks with another group of Swedes from Avifauna as we toured Florida from Key West north to Gainesville. At Ft. Zachary multicolored warblers were a feast for the eyes, while Western Spindalis and White-tailed Tropicbird demonstrated why this area is such a fine migrant trap. A run out to Ft. Jefferson was rough, but yielded Brown & Masked Boobies, noddies & other terns, a probable Antillean Nighthawk, and bird's eye views of Cape May Warblers and Indigo Buntings. The Everglades were awesome for waders and big reptiles (American Alligators & Crocodiles). The pine and scrub forests yielded Florida Scrub Jay, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, and Bachman's Sparrow.
See the photos and read more about our adventures here.
Burrowing Owl
Exploring the southeast portion of the Salton Sea and the neighboring agricultural lands, Joan, Dean, Bob and I had an excellent day of birding. We visited the gurgling mud pots, studied a number of gull species (including a rare Lesser Black-backed and a few lingering Yellow-footed Gulls), spotted over a dozen species of shorebirds, chased after the elusive Spotted Dove of Niland, watched an engaging Burrowing Owl (even as it watched us), and had a bird's-eye view of a Barn Owl as it swooped over us.
See the photos and read about our adventures, and the birds, here.
Ferruginous Hawk
Joan Roos and I had a great time driving around the southeast portion of the Salton Sea, experiencing the bubbling mud pots, watching magnificent raptors (including an immature Bald Eagle), and listening to the explosion of wings as Snow & Ross's Geese leapt into the air. We got phenomenal views of an unperturbed Ferruginous Hawk and an obliging Burrowing Owl. Have a look at some of our photos and read about the outstanding birds here.
Picacho Peak
Bob, Brandie, and her kids spent an awesome day exploring the desert around Indian Pass, Picacho Peak, and along the Colorado River one day last fall. They saw beautiful vistas, climbed up cliffs, explored caves, watched neat birds, and found a late damselfly.
Read about their adventures in 4-wheeling here.
Mountain Chickadee
A fine weekend spent exploring the Salton Sea, the Imperial Valley, Fig Lagoon, and the Laguna Mountains with Carol, Joe, and Jean. A couple of the highlights were an almost tame Peregrine Falcon perched on a telephone pole along Garst Road, a Red-breasted Nuthatch & Tricolored Blackbirds in Jacumba, and a fearless Mountain Chickadee (see photo on left) in the Laguna Mountain Recreation Area. Read more about this trip through southern California, and take a look at some of the photos here.
Black Vulture
An awesome week along the Gulf Coast, in the Everglades, and exploring the Keys yielded some great birds, including a rare La Sagra's Flycatcher on No Name Key. Among the residents were a steady stream of northern migrants, including 19 wood warblers. Golden-winged, Cape May, and Black-throated Blue were just a few of the beautiful warblers that I crossed paths with. In addition to the great birds, I was fortunate to see many butterflies, reptiles, and tropical plants. Read more about my trip through southern Florida, and take a look at some of the photos here.
Heermann's Gull
During the last full week in August, I traveled from Yuma to San Diego, up the Owens Valley, over and into the Sierras, west to Monterey, and then back through the Imperial Valley to Yuma on a fun-filled birding extravaganza. While up in the northern Sierras I visited my friends Nick and Jennifer for a couple of days. Close to Yosemite National Park I camped and got to hear my "life" Great Gray Owls. The following day I soaked in the beautiful meadows and forests of the Sierra Nevadas. Monterey was as beautiful as ever, a world apart from the deserts of Yuma, and teeming with gulls and shorebirds. Read more about my whirlwind tour through California, and take a look at some of the photos here.
Black-billed Cuckoo
For a week in mid-July we (Suzanne, Adriana, Gaby, and I) visited family in northwestern Minnesota. We started off in the Moorhead area where we explored the beautiful, flowering prairies where Bobolinks displayed and Clay-colored Sparrows buzzed. A few days later we drove north of Bemidji to the conifer & bog belt that provides such a rich environment for insects and birds alike. Here we found warblers like Ovenbird, Blackburnian, Chestnut-sided, Nashville, Palm, and American Redstart. The wet, open fields were good for LeConte's Sparrow and Sedge Wren. Another treat were the interesting plants in the bogs: several varieties of orchids and both carnivorous sundews and pitcher plants. Read more about our visit to this beautiful area, and take a look at some of the photos here.
Red-faced Warbler
Over the 4th of July weekend we escaped the heat of Yuma to enjoy the heights and forest birds of the San Francisco Peaks. Beautiful Red-faced and Grace's Warblers, Steller's Jays, Hermit Thrushes, multicolored butterflies, and fields of sunflowers were just some of the sights that awaited us in the cool mountains and forests. Read about our long weekend in northern Arizona, and look at some of the photos here.
Golden-crowned Kinglet
A long weekend in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains with the family gave us a chance to escape the Yuma heat, marvel at the magnificent giant sequoias, chase the elusive Sooty Grouse, listen to Pileated Woodpeckers hammering, enjoy the songs of Winter Wrens, and watch a host of beautiful birds in the meadows and forests. Read about our weekend in the forest, and look at some of the photos here.
White-eared Hummingbird
Two weeks of fabulous non-stop birding with fourteen excellent Swedish birders from April 27 to May 10, 2008! Who could ask for anything more? Among the 269 birds heard and seen, we bagged some pretty fancy ones: Gull-billed Tern, Black Rail, Montezuma Quail, Gray Hawk, Common Black Hawk, Bald & Golden Eagles, Crested Caracara,Whiskered Screech-owl, Berylline & White-Eared Hummingbirds, Elegant Trogon, Arizona Woodpecker, Tufted & Buff-breasted Flycatchers, Tropical & Thick-billed Kingbirds, Gray Vireo, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, LeConte's & Bendire's Thrashers, Flame-colored Tanager, and Botteri's & Five-striped Sparrows. Other interesting critters included Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake, Gopher Snake, Yarrow's Spiny Lizard, and Javelinas. Read about our adventures and look at some of the many photos we snapped by clicking here.
Want to see a LeConte's Thrasher?
Hear a Black Rail?
Watch dozens of wintering Ferruginous Hawks feeding on gophers?
Now you can order a copy of Finding Birds in Yuma County, Arizona. This 75-page book provides detailed accounts of the fifteen best sites in southwestern Arizona. Each chapter contains the following information: habitat, target birds, description, birding suggestions, and driving directions.
The price is $16.00. Click here to preview a sample chapter and for ordering instructions.
Mountain Chickadee
