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.
Aug 03, 2009 · Brown-backed Solitaire A N D Aztec Thrush
The Brown-backed Solitaire in Ramsey Canyon was still being seen late Saturday afternoon.
Apparently two Aztec Thrushes were also seen this weekend in Ramsey Canyon. Favored locales for this west Mexican endemic during other recent late summer incursions have included Carr and Madera Canyons.
