Saturday, October 10, 2015

Home from Arizona

   We left Arizona late Thursday night, flying first from Phoenix to Houston, then having dinner during a 2 hours lay-over. Robert had a pleasantly spicy gumbo. Berry had a fruit salad. We landed and got baggage with no problems. We picked up our dog, Cosmo, at the kennel on Friday. Finally, all of our family was back together.

   We enjoyed the entire state of Arizona. Robert’s favorite city that we visited was Flagstaff. He liked the green evergreen trees and the abundant water in the forests and the mountains and the canyons. I think my favorite city was Tucson, not only because that is where I was born. I also liked the size and pace of the city, as well as the desert and magnificent cacti around it. One evening, when we were watching television in Sedona, we found a show about the Border Patrol and their attempts to arrest the drug runners between Tucson and the Mexican frontier. The show was actually filmed along the very highway where we had birded and in the city of Ajo, where we ate lunch about one week ago. Fortunately, we did not encounter anything illegal or dangerous while we looked for birds.

   So, now the list of “Life Birds” which we had never seen before this birding trip. We cannot pick just one special bird, so we will not designate a bird of the trip. They were all great in their own way. Below is the list of 28 “Life Birds” we will add to the list on the right:

  • Gambel’s Quail (Callipepla Gambelii)
  • Curve-Billed Thrasher (Toxostoma Curvirostre)
  • Cactus Wren ( Campylorhynchus Brunneicapillus)
  • Harris’s Hawk (Parabuteo Unicinctus)
  • Great-Tailed Grackle (Quiscalus Mexicanus)
  • Gilded Flicker (Colaptes Chrysoides)
  • Olive Warbler (Peucedramus Taeniatus)
  • Pyrrhuloxia (Cardinalis Sinuatus)
  • Black-Chinned Sparrow (Spizella Atrogularis)
  • American Bushtit (Psaltriparus Minimus)
  • Red-Naped Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus Nuchalis)
  • Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus Rubinus)
  • Townsend’s Warbler (Setophaga Townsendi)
  • Say’s Phoebe (Sayornis Saya)
  • Prairie Falcon (Falco Mexicanus)
  • Western Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma Californica)
  • Arizona Woodpecker (Picoides Arizonae)
  • Bridled Titmouse (Baeolophus Wollweberi)
  • Northern Flicker, Red-Shafted (Colaptes Auratus Cafer)
  • Canyon Wren (Catherpes Mexicanus)
  • Thick-Billed Kingbird (Tyrannus Crassirostris)
  • Green-Tailed Towhee (Pipilo Chlorurus)
  • Black-Throated Sparrow (Amphispiza Bilineata)
  • Clark’s Grebe (Aechmophorus Clarkii)
  • Black Phoebe (Sayornis Nigricans)
  • Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta Stelleri)
  • Pinyon Jay (Gymnorhinus Cyanocephalus
  • Western Bluebird (Sialia Mexicana)

Berry and Robert

2 comments:

  1. I would say it seems like a fine trip but glad y'all are home with Cosmo...I always for the sweet dog ending . Anne

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    1. I am always for the sweet dog ending :)

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