Southeast Arizona for more warblers and other stuff -April 12-15

Grace's Warbler, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Apr 12, 2026

Red faced Warbler, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Apr 12, 2026

Virginia's Warbler, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Apr 12, 2026

Sunrise, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Apr 12, 2026

Yellow eyed Junco, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Apr 12, 2026

Olive Warbler, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Apr 12, 2026

Pygmy Nuthatch, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Apr 12, 2026

Cassin's Vireo, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Apr 12, 2026

Steller's Jay, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Apr 12, 2026

Painted Redstart, Mount Lemmon, AZ, Apr 12, 2026

Wilson's Phalaropes, Green Valley WTP, Green Valley, AZ, Apr 12, 2026

The final leg of my trip involved continuing west to Arizona with the goal being to track down three more target warblers (and a few other species hopefully). With my body still on east coast time I was up early yet again, which was advantageous given that I like to get to places early. Sunday would be the last day of making long drives on this trip. My final destination would be an Airbnb in Green Valley where I would be spending three nights. I had a few ideas on what to do with my day before arriving at my lodging and I settled on driving directly to Mount Lemmon with the goal of potentially tracking down the last three warbler targets for the trip (Grace’s Warbler, Virginia’s Warbler and Red faced Warbler). All three species have been seen in the area recently so I had at least a chance of finding them. Traffic is usually the lightest on Sunday and I hoped it would work to my advantage in making the nearly four hour drive to the area on the mountain where the warblers have been reported and arriving early before crowds arrived. I got to the mountain right around dawn and my first stop was Incinerator Ridge and the wind I noticed on the drive up continued. In fact it stayed windy all day and it made for some tough spotting of birds at times. I was surprised to see so many people tent camping at the location…it must have been a very restless night of sleeping with the strong winds. I got all three of my targets at the location so still a productive stop despite the wind. The ridge itself was really windy and cold so after trying it for a bit I retreated down the road to get out of the worst of the wind. I ran into a decent mixed flock once I was almost to my car and this added several species for the day. After a couple of hours at the location I decided to try my luck elsewhere and with hordes of people driving further up I headed down to a dirt road known as Sollers Road and this was another good choice as I had lots of stuff in a mixed flock including better looks at a lot of the stuff I had earlier. I spent a hour and half plus sorting through the birds and getting lots more photos. A few more brief stops on the way down didn’t turn up anything else new. It was nearing midday so I look a lunch break and got permission to check in a little early. I did do a little more birding before heading to Airbnb with the main stop being wastewater treatment facility that produced a variety of waterfowl and shorebirds including a large group of Wilson’s Phalarope. By the early afternoon I was beat and decided to relax a bit plus the wind just made the birding tough. 

Broad billed Hummingbird, Santa Rite Lodge, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 13, 2026

Grace's Warbler, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 13, 2026

Mexican Jay, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 13, 2026

Black throated Sparrow, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 13, 2026

Black headed Grosbeak, Santa Rita Lodge, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 13, 2026

Hermit Warbler, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 13, 2026

Northern Shovelers, Ring necked Duck and American Coot, Green Valley WTP, Green Valley, AZ, Apr 13, 2026

As forecast the winds of the previous day continued on Monday and by the end of the day were even stronger. As I knew I would be up well before dawn I had to come up with a plan to try to make the most of my time in spite of the wind. At least in the morning it was a little lighter. I decided on heading down to Montosa Canyon to listen for a Buff collared Nightjar. I arrived around 4:15AM to find it quite breezy with a few lulls every now and then and after about ten minutes I heard the bird distantly. With that rarity found I headed to the Green Valley wastewater facility and although the gates were still closed you could view a little of the area and I had at least one Lesser Nighthawk flying around. At this point it was starting to brighten a little more so I headed up to Madera Canyon which was my main destination for the day. I headed to the end of the road to take a hike up the Old Baldy Trail mainly looking for warblers and some new species for the year and I had success. Not long after starting the walk just before 6AM I heard a Coppery tailed Trogon (the first of three of these species on this trail). Trying to get looks at it (and the others) was frustrating. There were other new species for the year including Greater Pewee and Dusky capped Flycatcher. Warblers were also in evidence with the highlight for me being a male Hermit Warbler, another new addition to my big warbler year in the US and my 400th species in the US for the year. In addition to the Hermit Warbler I had five other species of warblers. After the hike I tried my luck at the Santa Rita Lodge for a bit and the hummingbird show was fun to see even with the strong winds there. I stayed about a half hour before heading down to walk some trails near the Whitehouse Picnic Area before a return to the lodge again. A brief stop at McCleary Wash turned up a few more species for the day. By this point it pushing eleven and I decided on trying the wastewater plant again before going home for a late lunch. Super windy there with clouds of dust visible to the north toward Tucson. A nice variety of waterfowl and a few shorebirds without any rarities among them. The rest of the day was spent at my lodging relaxing and planning the final full day. 

Lucy's Warbler, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 14, 2026

Ash throated Flycatcher, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 14, 2026

Wilson's Warbler, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 14, 2026

Hepatic Tanager, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 14, 2026

 

Coppery tailed Trogon, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 14, 2026

Hooded Oriole, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 14, 2026

Painted Redstart, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 14, 2026

Black throated Gray Warbler, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 14, 2026

Inca Dove, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 14, 2026

Northern Beardless Tyrannulet, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 14, 2026

Nashville Warbler, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 14, 2026

Western Sandpipers, Green Valley WTP, Green Valley, AZ, Apr 14, 2026

On the last full day in Arizona I decided on a very early start in Madera Canyon to try for nocturnal species. The forecast called for much lighter winds than the previous two days so I was hopeful I would have some luck. My plan was to get there well before first light and hike up as far as I could on the Old Baldy Trail in the hopes of possibly getting an early Flammulated Owl or perhaps a Spotted Owl. I also would be listening for more expected species. I was out the door at around 3:15AM and immediately heard a Great Horned Owl hooting. I then made the roughly thirty minute drive up to the end of the road in Madera Canyon with a couple brief stops to take a quick listen which turned up an Elf Owl and some Mexican Whip Poor Wills. I started my walk up the Old Baldy Trail just before 4AM and was immediately greeted by multiple Mexican Whip Poor Wills and Whiskered Screech Owls. At about 1.2 miles up the steep trail I heard a Spotted Owl singing a few times and got a distant recording. I have never had this endangered species of owl before so was very happy to add a new life bird for the trip (species #2189). I walked a little further up as it started getting light before starting the journey back down. It was a productive walk down with lots of birds singing with one highlight being multiple Coppery tailed Trogons including one that actually briefly showed well. I made it down to the parking lot a bit after 7:30AM and then headed down to the Whitehouse Picnic Area to add more species for the day before taking a mid morning break at Santa Rita Lodge watching the feeders. My next stop was to head further down canyon to the Proctor Road area and this provided multiple new species for the trip thanks to a change in elevation and a corresponding change in species. Nothing too rare but some great looks at a variety of birds and butterflies. I finally left the canyon just after noon and made a brief stop at the Green Valley Wastewater Facility to add more species for the day. I ended the day with 93 species and easily could have broken a hundred with a little more effort. I was fairly beat by early afternoon so headed back to get a shower, pack for the trip home and take it easy. 

Overall for the Arizona portion of the trip I had 117 species with one life bird (Spotted Owl) and three new species for my Arizona list (the above mentioned owl, Wilson’s Phalarope and Spotted Sandpiper) bringing my state list there to 244 species.  Trip report from the Arizona potion of the trip here: Arizona trip report.

As far as totals for the entire trip from Texas to New Mexico and then Arizona I had 160 species with one life bird as mentioned above.  Entire trip report here: Texas, New Mexico and Arizona trip report.  In addition I found five new warbler species for the year in the US and more details on those can be found at the following link: Arizona warblers.

Drive through New Mexico yields a few self found rarities and other species -April 11th

Lucy's Warbler, Mesilla Valley Bosque SP, Las Cruces, NM, Apr 11, 2026

Northern Parula, Mesilla Valley Bosque SP, Las Cruces, NM, Apr 11, 2026

Gambel's Quail, Mesilla Valley Bosque SP, Las Cruces, NM, Apr 11, 2026

Say's Phoebe, Mesilla Valley Bosque SP, Las Cruces, NM, Apr 11, 2026

Say's Phoebe on nest, Mesilla Valley Bosque SP, Las Cruces, NM, Apr 11, 2026

Mexican Duck, Mesilla Valley Bosque SP, Las Cruces, NM, Apr 11, 2026

Crissal Thrasher, Mesilla Valley Bosque SP, Las Cruces, NM, Apr 11, 2026

Mountains, Mesilla Valley Bosque SP, Las Cruces, NM, Apr 11, 2026

 

Cinnamon Teal (with American Wigeon and Black necked Stilt), West Mesa WTP, Las Cruces, NM, Apr 11, 2026

Black throated Green Warbler, Mountain View Cemetery, Deming, NM, Apr 11, 2026

Cassin's Vireo, Mountain View Cemetery, Deming, NM, Apr 11, 2026

After getting to bed early after a long day of hiking I was up early on Saturday to start the long drive toward Arizona with a stop in New Mexico on the way. The first few hours of driving was in the dark on some truly desolate roads…I had less than ten vehicles come by me in the opposite direction in those first couple hours. My plan for the day was to make it to Los Cruces to go to Mesilla Valley Bosque SP to try my luck in tracking down a Lucy’s Warbler for the year. The trip was fairly smooth with only one traffic tie up that didn’t last too long and I made it to the park a little after 8AM (the area is another hour behind from home compared to the hour behind in most of Texas). My legs were still hurting so I had to move slow as I searched for the warbler. As I had never visited New Mexico before even common species were new for me in the state. After about an hour of looking I heard a Lucy’s Warbler singing in an area of mesquite trees and I got some looks at it and some distant photos. There may have been as many as three but there were certainly at least two individuals. I also had a brief look at an Orange crowned Warbler that just wanted to stay hidden. I then spent time waiting to get better photos of the Lucy’s Warblers and right after getting a few photos I heard a very familiar song. I heard what sounded like a very quiet song of a Northern Parula, an eastern species that should not be at the location. I got a crappy recording and then eventually got looks at it to confirm I was not hallucinating. It was indeed a stunning male Northern Parula and it was fairly cooperative for photos (at least as far as warblers go). It appears to be one of the few records in the state for the entire year so certainly a rarity. By the time I left the park to continue my journey I had seen 29 species at the park. I took an early break for lunch nearby and then visited a small waste water treatment plant nearby to add some waterfowl and shorebirds for my New Mexico list. I then started the hour drive to my Airbnb in Deming around 11:30AM. I still had a few hours free before I could check in to my Airbnb so I decided to bird at Mountain View Cemetery in Deming. It looked like it had potential as it contained quite a few well watered mature trees in an otherwise desert landscape and my thoughts were confirmed when I found another rarity for the day. This time it was a female Black throated Green Warbler, another eastern warbler species that is quite unusual in New Mexico. I also added another Orange crowned Warbler as well as at least two Yellow rumped Warblers (both Myrtle subspecies). A total of five warbler species for the day with two rarities plus another new warbler species for the year made for a great day (more in depth look at warblers at the following link.  My New Mexico list grew from zero to 55.  Full trip list here: New Mexico trip list.

Sunday would be the last day of making long drives and I was up well before dawn again (an advantage to keeping my body on east coast time). My final destination would be an Airbnb in Green Valley, Arizona where I would be spending three nights. I had a few ideas on what to do with my day before arriving at my lodging and I settled on driving directly to Mount Lemmon with the goal of potentially tracking down the last three warbler targets for the trip (Grace’s Warbler, Virginia’s Warbler and Red faced Warbler).

Canadian Rockies -June 23-27

Peyto Lake, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada, Jun 24, 2024

Back from a recent trip to Canada with two legs to the trip to celebrate our 20th anniversary. The first leg of the trip was to the Canadian Rockies with a flight into Calgary and then a drive northwest to Banff NP, Yoho NP and Kootenay NP plus a few other nearby areas. The second leg was a trip to Vancouver Island. I will cover each stop with a separate post. This was my fifth trip to Canada and the longest by a long shot. I briefly visited Quebec back in 1990 and then stopped in British Columbia on a cruise in 2004 (our our honeymoon trip) and then did two cruises to Atlantic Canada (with stops in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) in 2005 and 2008. The trip out to Calgary was a bit of a stressful one. First the airline (WestJet) we were booked on had a looming strike that had the potential to cancel our flight plus I had a very busy shift at work with no sleep at all with high temps and humidity and a fire. Once I got out of work I headed home to do some last minute prep for vacation and then it was onward to Boston to make the flight out. Thunderstorms and possible tornadoes were in the forecast and it was tough to leave Wilson with those possibilities. Nonetheless we headed out and arrived to find our flight was a bit delayed (thankfully the possible airline strike was averted at the last minute). Eventually we got out of Boston an hour plus late and arrived in Calgary later than anticipated...thankfully the flight was smooth. We crashed out and tried to catch up on sleep before we would make the long trip west and north to the national parks in the Rockies  

Wilson's Warbler, Moose Meadows, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada, Jun 24, 2024

Townsend's Warbler, Moose Meadows, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada, Jun 24, 2024

Mountains, Castle Junction, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada, Jun 24, 2024

Waterfall, Castle Junction, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada, Jun 24, 2024

Mountain to the north, Peyto Lake, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada, Jun 24, 2024

Peyto Lake, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada, Jun 24, 2024

Dark eyed Junco 'oregon', Yoho NP, Alberta, Canada, Jun 24, 2024

We started the drive out of Calgary a bit after 7:30AM and took our first walk in Banff NP around 10AM at Moose Meadows. Before arriving in Banff I added a number of species along the way.  Moose Meadows was an uncrowded hike with some typical western forest birds along the way. Another walk at Castle Junction featured many of the same species. We then stopped off for lunch in a very busy Lake Louise before continuing north along the Icefields Parkway toward Jasper. We gained elevation steadily and by the time we got up to our northernmost stop at Peyto Lake it was actually snow flurrying a bit and there was still snow in the woods. The area was very crowded but we wanted to see the lake so made the relatively short walk out and the view did not disappoint despite the myriad of people around. The stop also provided my first life bird of the trip with a couple of Gray crowned Rosy Finches that flew over.  We then started the long drive toward our lodging in Radium Hot Springs with several stops along the way including Bow Lake, the Hoodoo Trail in Yoho NP plus a few pull offs along the road. By the time we made the drive and got groceries it was after 6:30PM. We got settled in and had a late dinner and then headed off to bed. The first day in Canada produced 36 species…21 new for Canada for me including species #100 for my Canada list with a Cassin’s Vireo. 

Red necked Grebe, Saw Mill Pond, Radium Hot Springs, BC, Canada, Jun 25, 2024

MacGillivray's Warbler, Sinclair Trail, Radium Hot Springs, BC, Canada, Jun 25, 2024

Striped Skunk, Sinclair Trail, Radium Hot Springs, BC, Canada, Jun 25, 2024

Saw Mill Pond, Radium Hot Springs, BC, Canada, Jun 25, 2024

After so much driving on Monday we decided to do less driving on Tuesday and stay somewhat local. I got up before dawn and headed to nearby Sinclair canyon to walk along the creek and had a bunch of birds singing, although the rushing river drowned out the songs at times. I added more species for the trip with some close looks at a few species. I also made a brief stop at a nearby pond and added several more species for the trip including a great close up look at a Red necked Grebe plus other marsh related species. 

Black Bear, Kootenay NP, BC, Canada

Kootenay Valley Viewpoint, Kootenay NP, BC, Canada

Cassin's Vireo, Old Coach Trail, Radium Hot Springs, BC, Canada, Jun 25, 2024

Vesper Sparrow, Old Coach Trail, Radium Hot Springs, BC, Canada, Jun 25, 2024

Mountain views from kayak, Columbia Wetlands, Invermere, BC, Canada, Jun 25, 2024

Columbia Wetlands, Wilmer, BC, Canada, Jun 25, 2024

White Common Loon, Columbia Wetlands, Wilmer, BC, Canada, Jun 25, 2024

White Common Loon, Columbia Wetlands, Wilmer, BC, Canada, Jun 25, 2024

I then headed back to the lodging for a short time and headed up in elevation a bit to the south part of Kootenay NP where we stopped at Olive Lake and then an overlook of the Kootenay Valley. To keep travel to a minimum for the day we then came back down the mountain into the valley to take a walk along the Old Coach Trail, where the highlight was a distantly calling Dusky Grouse. We wanted to get some kayaking in for the trip so we headed back to the house to change and then travelled south to Invermere to the Columbia River wetlands where we paddled for about an hour and half. By the time we finished it had warmed up into the 70’s and we had the energy for just one more short walk and we went to an overlook of the large wetland area and had numerous Trumpeter Swans and a group of three Common Loons that included a nearly white individual. I didn’t have my good camera so had to attempt photos with phone through binoculars. A very interesting looking bird for sure. Ended the day with 65 species in total. More photos and videos of the loon at the following eBird link.

Emerald Lake, Yoho NP, BC, Canada, Jun 26, 2024

Emerald Lake, Yoho NP, BC, Canada, Jun 26, 2024

Common Loon with baby, Emerald Lake, Yoho NP, BC, Canada, Jun 26, 2024

White crowned Sparrow, Emerald Lake, Yoho NP, BC, Canada, Jun 26, 2024

Yellow rumped Warbler 'audubon's', Emerald Lake, Yoho NP, BC, Canada, Jun 26, 2024

Takakkaw Falls, Yoho NP, BC, Canada, Jun 26, 2024

Tennessee Warbler, Boom Lake, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada, Jun 26, 2024

Black Swift, Marble Canyon, Kootenay NP, BC, Canada, Jun 26, 2024

Pine Siskin, Marble Canyon, Kootenay NP, BC, Canada, Jun 26, 2024

On the 26th we headed out again for some long drives to hit a few more areas in the various parks in the mountains. The first stop would be Emerald Lake in Yoho NP, a spot that was about a two hour drive from our lodging. We left around 5:30 and arrived to find few people and immediately headed out for a walk around the lake. There were many species around the lake including a few Common Loons with one carrying a chick on its back. The lake was indeed impressive with fantastic photo opportunities as the conditions were calm. We ran across very few people until the end of the walk and it was a very relaxing walk. After nearly two hours at Emerald Lake we hit a few other spots in Yoho NP including Takakkaw Falls. Bird activity was fairly low but the views were impressive for sure. We then drove through the upper portion of Banff NP with a stop at Boom Lake before making our way into Kootenay NP as we slowly worked our way back to our lodging. We made stops at Marble Canyon and Numa Falls. These stops produced a few more species for the trip including my first Tennessee Warbler and Black Swifts. We finally arrived back in Radium Hot Springs in mid afternoon. Overall for the day with 48 species. 

Yellow Warbler, Saw Mill Pond, Radium Hot Springs, BC, Canada, Jun 27, 2024

Cedar Waxwings, Saw Mill Pond, Radium Hot Springs, BC, Canada, Jun 27, 2024

Lazuli Bunting, Sinclair Trail, Radium Hot Springs, BC, Canada, Jun 27, 2024

Low clouds in AM, Saw Mill Pond, Radium Hot Springs, BC, Canada, Jun 27, 2024

American Coot with young, Calgary Airport, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Jun 27, 2024

Swainson's Hawk, Calgary Airport, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Jun 27, 2024

On our last day in the Rockies I was out early with the hope I would beat the forecasted rain showers. It was sprinkling a little when I drove down to nearby Saw Mill Pond and it slowly picked up in intensity with a little thunder. The pond was quite productive with a few new species. I waited out the rain for a while and it finally slowed down. I made a few more short stops before headed back to the lodging. Not long after I got back the rain stopped so I headed out again to Saw Mill Pond and the Sinclair Trail. I then headed back to start packing up. At this point the threat of a strike with Westjet came back up again and threatened our flight over to Victoria the following morning. We had to come up with some contingency plans if our flight got canceled and none of the options were good. After some thought we stayed with our plan of heading to the airport and if the flight got canceled we would try to get out on another airline. With the continued prospect of on and off rain for the rest of the day in the forecast we decided to make the three hour drive toward the airport in Calgary where we would be taking a morning flight out on Friday. We wanted to split the drive up a little so we decided on a stop near the town of Banff where we walked the Ferland Trail. Despite the light rain at times the location was quite productive although most everything was heard and not seen. We thought of making another stop but the rain was just too much. We finally made it to Calgary around three and checked in to our hotel for the night. The small pond across from the hotel proved to be a great spot for waterfowl and I had ten species of waterfowl with eight of those being new for the trip. Although the rain was annoying at times and kept me from spending as much time outside as I would have liked the various habitats I did visit throughout the day led to the highest species total for a single day with 83 species. 

By the end of our time in the Rockies I had a total of 108 species with 76 of those being new for me in Canada and two being life birds (Gray crowned Rosy Finch and Dusky Grouse).

Full post on warblers from the trip at the following link: warblers on trip to western Canada