At least one of Boyce Thompson Arboretums two Rufous-backed Robins is said to be showing well as it feeds on fallen pyracantha fruits. With at least seven birds reported in November, this appears to be a slightly better than average winter for the species in Arizona.
Arizona Alerts
Dec 10, 2009 · Rufous-backed Robins at Boyce Thompson
Dec 03, 2009 · A Hybrid Hummingbird
Rich Hoyer‘s consistently magical hummingbird feeders are at it again. Not only does he have two (two!) Violet-crowned Hummingbirds in residence, but there is also a mysterious bird, likely a hybrid, attending his feeders. Once again Rich shows us what watching carefully and well can turn up.
Oct 27, 2009 · Tucson Woodpecker Show
Got a few minutes in urban Tucson? Lewis’s Woodpeckers are being seen at a couple of sites, and a Red-breasted Sapsucker is reliably found at McCormick Park right now. And an Acorn Woodpecker in Reid Park is part of what is shaping up to be a nice incursion of montane species into the lowlands.
Oct 23, 2009 · Upper Santa Cruz Rarities
The Upper Santa Cruz River between Tubac and Tumacacori is the current hotspot in southeast Arizona. A Rufous-backed Robin and a Varied Thrush–an uncommon conjunction–are being reliably seen feeding on berries, and yesterday Gavin Bieber and Jake Mohlmann discovered a female-plumaged Rose-throated Becard and a highly unusual lowland White-eared Hummingbird (photo: Jake Mohlmann).
Aug 31, 2009 · San Diego Slip Knot?
The striking sandpiper reported from San Diego as a Great Knot appears to be a bird of indeterminate identity, perhaps a hybrid with Surfbird as one of the parents.
Congratulations to California birders for once again keeping their minds critical and their eyes open when it comes to difficult identification challenges! For decades they’ve been setting a standard we all strive to live up to.
Aug 27, 2009 · MEGA: Great Knot in San Diego
It’s not Arizona, but it’s not far off–especially not when the bird is a Great Knot.
Half an hour ago, San Diego birders reported an individual of that species “at Delta Beach along Silver Strand in Coronado.”
Aug 17, 2009 · Wood Stork in Phoenix
Once a fairly reliable post-breeding wanderer to Arizona, Wood Stork has been extremely rare in the state since about the 1920s.
One was photographed this morning at the Gilbert Water Ranch in Gilbert, a southeastern suburb of Phoenix.
Aug 13, 2009 · Make It Two!
The Patagonia area is now hosting two Plain-capped Starthroats, both bright adults. One bird is at feeders at the Spirit Tree Inn, the other at the TNC Patagonia Sonoita Creek Preserve; both birds were seen within a minute of each other this noon, ruling out the possibility that just one individual was responsible for the sightings.
Aug 12, 2009 · Plain-capped Starthroat in Patagonia
A bright Plain-capped Starthroat is visiting feeders at the Spirit Tree Inn in Patagonia. There are only about two dozen records ever of this extravagant hummingbird from the ABA Area, most of them from late summer in southeast Arizona.
Aug 04, 2009 · Avra Valley Sewage Ponds Open Again
Not a rarity report, but a hint about where to go to find rarities. The Avra Valley sewage ponds are open to birders again starting tomorrow, from 6:00 am to 2:00 pm (believe me, you don’t want to be out there right now after about 8:30 am anyway in this heat).
Have a look here to see why we’re so pleased to have access once again to this major hotspot.