News from Arizona: Second Spring
We just wrapped up our ever-popular annual southeast Arizona "Second Spring" tour, and by all accounts it was a fantastic success! Set during the monsoon rains of late summer...
...this period is often thought of as a repeat of spring as the plentiful rains will make the arid browns turn green again....
...with many plants blooming and several species delaying their breeding cycles to these life-enriching conditions.
We tallied in a great haul of birds with 183 species recorded with rarities like this Short-tailed Hawk:
...and Rose-throated Becard, with a singing Five-striped Sparrow...
and Thick-billed Kingbird among many other expected SEAZ specialties like Red-faced Warbler, and excellent looks at three different Elegant Trogon...
...the sought after Gray Hawk, Botteri's Sparrow, Varied Bunting, Sulfur-bellied Flycatcher and Painted Redstart.
Among the twelve species of hummingbird we saw, White-eared, Beryline and Lucifer were definite standouts!
Fall migration was kicking into full swing while we were there as well, with flocks of Hermit Warblers and Western Wood-Pewees moving through the canyons, and 17 species of shorebirds observed along with migrant waterbirds like Cinnamon Teal, White-faced Ibis and Forster's & Black Terns.
A visit to this naturalist's paradise brings a wide array of plants and animals to enjoy from the blooming salvias and cactus; gorgeous insects like the Arizona Sister butterfly and the emerald-colored Glorious Scarab Beetle; to critters like White-nosed Coati and Merriman's Kangaroo Rat and the amazing diversity of herps such as Black-tailed Rattlesnake, Desert Kingsnake and the endangered Chiricahua Leopard Frog.
A full accounting of the birds recorded on this year's tour can be found here- https://ebird.org/tripreport/264770