The female and male Vermillion Flycatcher were in their finest plumage
. The two pictures of the soaring Swainson's Hawk illustrate just how good these birds are at soaring. Notice how the wings are configured in the first picture to make a sharp turn just to stay in the thermal and the tilted tail in the second picture to fine tune the trajectory.
Day 6 was Tuesday the 18th. We were up at 5:15 AM for a 6 AM walk along the San Pedro River. The walk was led by a guide from SABO, Southern Arizona Birding Organization. The first bird is a Yellow-breasted Chat. The second is a female Summer Tanager and the third is a first year male Summer Tanager. Notice that he is still blotchy. By next year he will be bright red. The last picture is of a Western Song Sparrow. Notice how muted the colors are.
Anne and I took a 3.9 mile loop through the desert. Couldn't quite get away from the 21st century. The San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, managed by the Bureau of Land Management runs just behind Casa de San Pedro
and continues through Fairbank and on to the North.
The Ash-throated Flycatcher breeds in this area.
