We were in the far SE corner of Arizona...good birding there year-round, plus we were there for the beginning of migration. Besides the magical Montezuma Quail and hummingbirds already posted, we managed to see some other Arizona birds be visiting the usual hotspots and a couple of secret spots we found. Here are just a few of my favorites from that region and time:

Curve-billed Thrasher

A feeder bird at our rental vacation home

The Curve-billed Thrasher has a beautiful, gentle, continuous, clear-noted, smooth song...not raucous like some other thrashers.

Pyrrhuloxia - I love this exotic bird (at least exotic to a Colorado resident)

Female Pyyrhuloxia

Male Pyrruloxia enjoying a little sunbathing

So relaxed!

Here he's a little more vigilant

Vermilion and other Flycatchers

Female Vermilion

Cassin's Kingbird

Mexican Jay

Mexican Jay differs from Woodhouse Scrub Jay by its lack of black and gray facial markings and by it's bluer back.

This is an adult male with its black bill and fairly flat head

This is a juvenile as revealed by his partially pink bill and rounder head

The Canyon Towhees seem a bit drab when compared to the elegant Green-tailed Towhees.

Scott's Oriole

One of our most favorite moments was when we came upon a birdy watering hole on our own...apparently not advertised among local birders. We always love this kind of experience as it holds the element of surprise and special discovery. We found this Scott's Oriole there. He'd recently come back north to breed in SE Arizona.

Yellow-rumped males - even more common

Offering a good look at the yellow streak on the head

Yellow Warbler - plenty of these going through, esp at the San Pedro House woods 

Painted Redstarts - Not at all hard to see in SE Arizona and a nice one for a Colorado girl. 

They sing almost constantly which is a big help to those trying to see them

Virginia's Warbler, back early from wintering grounds like most desert breeders

This Common Yellowthroat migrant was enjoying one of Paton's new water features

Ramsey's Canyon had a few warblers moving through. This Black-throated Gray was bathing and drinking in the stream that runs down the canyon.

Eastern Bluebird - a breeder in SE Arizona

Verdins and Titmice

Verdins are best found by listening for their high-pitched "Pip". It says this constantly as it works over the branches of trees.

This next image clearly shows the rufus shoulder patch, not always easy to see in the field.

The Bridled Titmouse is very cute and never stops talking.

He is everywhere in the Black Oaks.

Javelina - This one stopped by for a seed snack under the feeders at the house we were staying in. Didn't love seeds. Didn't stay long.

Woodpeckers

Acorn Woodpeckers are the most common...they are so ubiquitous that telephone poles are very often covered with a heavy grated wire to keep them from setting up a "nut cupboard" in them.

This is an Arizona Woodpecker which is a brown and white guy.

And this is a Gila Woodpecker male with his red hat and yellow vent area. I think he may be a first year, because he was not as wary as most I saw.

Hutton's Vireo - looks a lot like a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, but you can tell by it's hooked vireo bill that it's not..plus it has a chunkier body and slower movements also. Extremely common and easy to see...unlike other vireos.

I hope you enjoyed Arizona as much as we did.

France and Italy was great. Postings will commence within 10 days.

Also known as Mearn's Quail, this elusive bird is a lifer for my husband and me, and very satisfying since we did not find it at any known feeder or watering site. It simply walked across the dirt road on the ranch property where we were staying and we saw it as we went around a curve. Fortunately this quail is unlike others in that it tends to hunker down when discovered instead of scurry off or flush easily into the air. This makes for satisfying opportunities for a photographer. Trouble is, it is a rare occurrence. We feel lucky, indeed.

My hubby and I like to get out of Denver in the snowy months when we feel spring should be coming, but isn't. This year we stayed in a ranch guesthouse  in southeast Arizona. Birding is always good in SE Arizona, but especially during migration, so we went in March/April.

Some hummingbirds hang around all winter in Southeast Arizona, but some migrate further south and were just returning in April. Most readily go to feeders, although some more reluctantly than others. I enjoy watching them on flowers and prefer to photograph them that way, so we bought three pots of tubular flowers that I put out in the sun. I fell in love with these flowers, so when we left for home, we stuffed them in the car and brought them home to enjoy in the yard this summer.

This is one of the most beautiful hummingbirds we had...the Broad-billed Hummingbird, easy to identify by his orange bill. This one has yellow pollen on it's bill.

Gorgeous. The blue really takes your eye, but I am fascinated by the green on his head and wings.

I like the feeling of freedom this image projects.

Here is the Broad-bill perched and watching out for "his" feeders. He's a pretty aggressive protector, similar to the Rufous.

This is the female that was paired up with the above male.

This is a Black-chinned male Hummingbird, long black bill and purple throat (when he gets in the light just right). He does not flare his throat nearly as often as the Broad-bill.

When not flaring purple, this is what the Black-chinned looks like..just a black throat.

And here he is at his prettiest...around flowers.

This is the lovely white-throated female Black-chinned Hummingbird.

She has a rather gray head.

These photographs were taken at my leisure at the guesthouse, where I could control lighting and take my time to get them off the feeders and onto flowers. But, there are great venues in SE Arizona to watch hummers. The newly renovated Paton Center for Hummingbirds is one of the best. The Patons were wonderful folks who loved and fed hummingbirds and invited the public to come sit in their yard on chairs and watch these great little entertainers fly all over the place. When the Patons passed on a couple of years ago, donations and the Tuscon Audubon Society leapt to the rescue and have made the property into a lovely public venue with water features, picnic tables, and more feeders for non-hummers. So, definitely go there in Patagonia!! The Violet-crowned Hummingbird comes there regularly, a beautiful bird that didn't pose for me.

We had the Magnificent Hummingbird (a real boat of a bird that sails around in the air) at Ramsey Canyon and even at our feeder for a day, but I couldn't get a picture that I liked. That was a little disappointing because that bird is a challenge to photograph, but in the sun it's amazing! But, it's always good to have something to look forward to in the future, don't you think?

In upcoming blogs on our trip, I'll talk about other places to bird and what we experienced there.

If you haven't been here...well, it's not too late.

Our daily Agouti

What the trees looked like

What the forest looked like

Bananaquits on the bar...must be tea time.

This little guy outside the chocolate "factory" didn't let a little rain spoil his play plans. Blanchisseuse Road.

Birder picnic.

More forest on Trinidad - near Asa Wright.

Scarlet Ibis in Caroni Marsh.

Bats under cabin eaves...but not the ones we saw every evening sipping from the hummingbird feeders.

Bellbird...big mouth...what a fantastic "song" that guy had! I sure wished I'd had my good camera with me...but then again...it was hot and uphill...maybe not.

White-bearded Manakin. We saw the other two also, the Blue-backed Manakin and the Golden-headed Manakin, but I didn't get pictures.

Here's our awesome guide David, feeling nostalgic at his old childhood climbing vine.

Remember Hermit the Hummer nesting on the light chain in the reading room.

Morning mist was very common.

I don't have pictures, but the butterflies were wonderful. We were just at the end of the rainy season, and I understand the flowers were poised to burst out in force in the coming dry season.

David's village, not far from Asa Wright.

Trinidad street.

Remember the Death March? Pretty farm...noisy dog.

Not Little Tobago, but a cute little isle anyway.

My favorite landscape capture - Tobago.

Cute little place for hummingbird viewing.

Stellar crew!

Jason on far left. Thanks for the companionship everybody. What a great trip!