K B Srinivas: Arizona birding

The most awaited birding spot as part of my Arizona trip was Portal and surrounding Cave Creek Canyon to see the visiting Humming birds.

I drove from Ramsey Canyon to Portal on April 29th. Slept overnight at a lodge(Mountain Valley Lodge) in Rodeo. Nice cozy place with a good host. Next day morning on April 30'th I headed towards Portal. Near the post office of Portal there is a small birding spot(Kraft Cottage I guess is the name) where they have put out some bird feeders and we can sit out and watch the birds here. It was a productive birding spot. Here I saw all the common Arizona birds but did see a new lifer here, the Band-tailed Pigeon. There were lot of Pine Siskin's mixed in with the Finches. I did see Black-chinned, Broad-billed and Rivoli's Hummingbird here. Both Abert's Towhee and the Green-tailed Towhee were present here.

Band-tailed Pigeon

Inca Dove

Green-tailed Towhee

Canyon Towhee

Western Tanager

Pine Siskin

Gambel's Quail

After here I went to check out another birding spot called Jasper Feeders here. Another good spot with lot of feeders kept out for attracting the birds. Saw the Pyrrhuloxia here. The only other time I had seen this bird was during the visit to Big Bend National park. The other birds I saw here are Black-chinned and Broad-billed Hummingbird. Also present were Dark-eyed and Yellow-eyed Juncos. The Gambel quails were going out and coming in. Summer and Western Tanagers were here along with Black-throated Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow along with Black-headed Grosbeak. Scott's and Bullock's Oriole were also present here. The only warbler I saw here was Yellow-rumped Warbler.

Pyrrhuloxia

Bullock's Oriole

Cactus Wren

Northern Cardinal

Black-throated Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Yellow-breasted Chat

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Lark Sparrow

Rivoli's Hummingbird

Curve-billed Thrasher

Greater Roadrunner

After this I went to visit the Bob Rodrigues Yard. Takes a bit of driving on bad roads from Portal but worth the visit. They have a small lodge here along with good bird feeders. It was an excellent spot to see the birds here. There were lot of Broad-winged Hummingbirds here. My first first sighting of these birds. Along with them I saw Broad-billed, Rivoli's and Black-chinned Hummingbirds here. I also saw my first Purple Finch here along with my first Juniper Titmouse. There were couple of Juniper Titmouse here. I also saw my first Arizona Woodpecker here.

Broad-winged Hummingbird

Birdled Titmouse

Cassin's Finch

Junpier Titmouse

Arizona Woodpecker

Band-tailed Pigeon

Black-headed Grosbeak

Right next to this place is a spot called Big Thicket which is another amazing birding spot with good amount of bird feeders for Hummingbirds. It's a great place to see Hummingbirds especially in the evening with good light. I saw my first Lucifer's and Calliope Hummingbirds here. There were lot of Broad-billed, Broad-winged and Rivoli hummingbirds here.