Rabbit Valley (Arizona 2025, Part 10)

After driving north through Arizona and Utah, I arrived at the Rabbit Valley Campgrounds near the western edge of Colorado. The area was extremely quiet. I saw maybe four sites occupied throughout the area I drove and hiked. I figured my chances for a good night's sleep were okay. I set up my tent and walked around a bit. It was a beautiful area. I saw lots of pronghorns--I think the first wild ones for me!

When it started getting dark, I headed back to my campsite and settled in for an early bedtime. I slept for a few hours right away but woke up sometime around midnight. In hindsight, I'm glad I did, because I was able to record some audio of a Common Poorwill (lifer!) and also get a nice look of the night.

After that, I wouldn't sleep much. A single Northern Mockingbird perched in a nearby tree seemed determined to keep me up as it sang the night away, rarely stopping its impressive repertoire. I laid in my sleeping bag until the tent began to glow with the first rays of sun, at which point I dressed and hit the trails around the campground.

I walked about 90 minutes and recorded a mostly modest checklist which included a few firsts of the trip (Mountain Bluebird, Bewick's Wren, Horned Lark) and a lifer! Until just now, I actually thought I had two lifers, but a closer look at the bird I first pegged as my first Pinyon Jay was actually the aforementioned bluebird. But the other lifer held up under scrutiny.

My first ever Prairie Falcon swooped past and away before I could get a decent shot 

The Way Back (Arizona 2025, Part 9)

My last day in Cottonwood was a day to rest and relax. On the last day of May, I started the drive north with stops in the Picture Canyon area by Flagstaff and the Recapture Reservoir in Utah.

The Tom Moody Trail didn't gift me any lifers, but I did see my first Pygmy Nuthatches and Western Bluebirds of the trip.

My plan for Utah was actually supposed to be the water treatment plant in Blanding, but I really wasn't sure of how to bird the spot based on the directions I had and really just wanted to keep moving. I ended up at the Recapture Reservoir because it was just a big, accessible body of water. I didn't see many bird but saw my first Rock Wren for the trip.

Return to Mingus Mountain (Arizona 2025, Part 8)

Last time I made it to Arizona, I spent a couple of days up in Mingus Mountain, and for this I was back for one day. The hope was to see some new warbler species, but I didn't have any luck on that front.

I started off at the Potato Patch Campground and continued around the mountaintop for a couple hours. The lifer I saw (or at least heard) was a pair of Gray Flycatcher.

Then I went to the parking area of the summit to use a port-a-potty and poke around the trail. There wasn't much to be seen or heard.

Lastly, I sat by Mingus Lake for a little over a half hour watching the Violet-Green Swallows and seeing a few other birds.

Yavapai College (Arizona 2025, Part 7)

After a few days in Phoenix, it was nice to wake up in the smaller town of Cottonwood. I woke up early on the morning of the 28th and hit the Yavapai College Trail.

I didn't see a ton of bird variety, but there were lots of the above species (Phainopepla and Black-throated Sparrow), and there would be a lifer.

This sparrow had me confused, and honestly, even before posting this I double-checked the video I had, but I'm confident as I can be that this distant sparrow is the first Brewer's Sparrow I've seen.

Luck (Arizona 2025, Part 6)

After a few days in Phoenix, it was time to head north to Cottonwood with my mom. Our plan was to make a stop at the Badger Springs Wash: a spot I'd had my eye on for a while. We got up early on the 26th and hit I-17. As we left the metro area, we started seeing signs warning of an accident and reduced speeds, but the traffic seemed like it wasn't getting any slower or heavier. We were both thinking the warnings were no longer relevant, but as we drove up a hill just before our exit, we saw the vehicles in front of us hitting their brakes, and as we reached the peak of the hill, we saw traffic at an almost dead stop down below. Luckily, we were able to take the exit without a moment's wait--the traffic was backed up to within a few car-lengths of it. We laughed, high-fived, and pulled off to a little parking area and were soon on the trail.

It would be a nice, warm hike. It was hard not to be grateful given our luck, and as we walked the sandy, narrow trail, we saw lots of lizards and two lifers for me (a few Bell's Vireo and five Gilded Flickers!).