Category Archives: Birding Arizona

Our Little Bird with the Big, Strange Name

Posted on January 5, 2014 by Bob

  So far, we have documented 146 species of birds in SaddleBrooke.  One of the most secretive and interesting of these is a lightweight not much larger than a hummingbird, but with more syllables in his name than any of … Continue reading →

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Lazarus, the Comeback Costa’s

Posted on December 22, 2013 by Bob

Monday, December 27, 2010 was a chilly 46 degrees as Good Morning America ended its first segment.  Our daily routine includes the news, coffee and bird watching from bed.  Gray Head, the Hooded Oriole that refuses to migrate, made his predictable … Continue reading →

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Finding Rare Birds in Arizona

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Bob

Because Storm Chasers get lots of publicity on television, most of us are familiar with these daredevils that grab their video recorders, hop in their cars and head for the center of weather-related calamities like tornadoes and hurricanes.  One of … Continue reading →

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Arizona’s Acrobatic Bird, the Verdin

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Bob

One of my favorite SaddleBrooke birds is the Verdin.  This tiny 4-inch bird is inquisitive and friendly, and will brighten anyone’s day.  Unless you get a good look at a Verdin in the sunlight, you might easily mistake him for … Continue reading →

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Our Most Common ‘Snowbird’, the White-crowned Sparrow

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Bob

We commonly think of migrating birds as those who leave their winter homes in Mexico and other warmer climates to fly north each spring to nest, either summering in our neighborhood (Hooded Orioles and Black-chinned Hummingbirds, for example), or passing … Continue reading →

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Gray Head, the Hooded Oriole Who Wouldn’t Go Home

Posted on October 13, 2013 by Bob

  With the exception of the Baltimore Oriole, some of whom winter in Florida and coastal areas of the southeast, orioles are a spring and summer phenomenon in the U.S.  Of the five oriole species that regularly nest and breed … Continue reading →

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SaddleBrooke’s Magical Jewel, the Broad-billed Hummingbird

Posted on September 5, 2013 by Bob

I’ll never forget the first time I saw a male Broad-billed Hummingbird.  It was ten years ago, and we were sitting in the back yard watching the mountains put on their daily light show as the summer sun sank in … Continue reading →

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Summer’s Bumper Baby Bird Crop

Posted on August 18, 2013 by Bob

If I were to pick one month to get out of Arizona, it would be June. The lower desert elevations of Yuma and Phoenix are furnace hot, and even Tucson, at 2,000 feet, and SaddleBrooke, at 3,400 feet, are often … Continue reading →

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Is that a Cardinal or a Pyrrhuloxia?

Posted on July 13, 2013 by Bob

  Whether you collect rocks or photograph wildflowers, it’s always more fun when you know what you are looking at.  Similarly, one of the pleasures of birding is being able to identify the birds you are watching.  A good field … Continue reading →

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Monsoon Birding on Mt. Lemmon

Posted on July 6, 2013 by Bob

Mt. Lemmon’s summit is just nine short miles from SaddleBrooke, but without wings, it’s a two-hour drive:  an hour to Catalina Highway near the base, and another hour to cover the 25 miles to the summit.  If you’re a birder, … Continue reading →

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