July 14: Gavin Bieber on his recently completed tour, Arizona: Owls and Warblers
Our tour coincided with a period of unseasonably cool weather, with frequent overcast and even some (highly unusual) May rainfall. We very much enjoyed birding in seventy degree temperatures while observing an impressive 214 species. Since it is an owls and warbler trip our highlights often come from those groups. Among the nine species of owls detected the cooperative Spotted Owl and an inquisitive Whiskered Screech-Owl were particular delights.
As always, the warbler show was excellent, with our favorite local species like Red-faced Warbler.
We were lucky as well with rare species like Slate-throated Redstart and Rufous-capped Warbler.
Border specialties like these Five-striped Sparrow, Buff-collared Nightjar and Elegant Trogon preformed well, and we had an exceptional tour for Montezuma Quail, seeing them on half the days in the field.
When you can combine such a wide array of spectacular birds with the marvelous desertscapes, it's no surprise that Southern Arizona is a fabulous place for a bird tour.
Posted: July 14, 2016