Ekrunkkala

February 17, 2024 Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, Pena Blanca Lake 2-17-24 In November 2020 I found the same species at the same lake, within 150 yards. Perhaps the very same bird. Ted Wolff & I arrived at Pena Blanca Lake at about 8:30. There were not too many birds seen. No sparrows, not even a single […]

February 7, 2024 Little Gull, Lake Cochise Wilcox, 2-7-24 This immature Little Gull was found by Louis Dombroski and Sky Haas at Wilcox on Tuesday, 2-6-24. When reports are from Wilcox they almost always mean the STP pond known as Lake Cochise on the west end of town adjacent to the golf course. The pond

January 21, 2024 White-throated Sparrow, Madera Kubo 1-20-23 This handsome sparrow showed up at Madera Kubo about 10 days ago. Earlier there was one at close-by Santa Rita Lodge. Perhaps the same bird. Several more have been posted in the region. White-throated Sparrow, Madera Kubo 1-20-23 Common Golden-eye, Sweetwater, 12-27-23 Rufous-backed Robin, Paton’s, 1-14-24 There

December 26, 2023 Cape May Warbler, Patagonia 12-26-23 I couldn’t make this up. A Cape May Warbler showed up on December 23 along the main drag in Patagonia next to the marijuana dispensary, hmmmm. It has moved around a bit, but has been easy to find. It seems to be an adult male in mostly

December 23, 2023 Rufous-capped Warbler, Lower Florida Canyon, 12-22-23 These birds seem to be making a comeback locally. After all-but-disappearing between 2020 and 2022, they were found at Patagonia Lake, Patagonia Rest Stop (2 birds), and now at Lower Florida Canyon (2 birds). The recent pair may be the same birds that were resident up

December 4, 2023 Baltimore Oriole Tahoe Park 12-4-23 This beauty showed up at Tahoe Park, Tucson, on 12-3-23 found by Scott Olmstead. He was initially unsure of the ID, but he got audio and there were some photos obtained. Tiny Tahoe Park is in a very nice section of Tucson that looks to date from

November 30, 2023 Streak-backed Oriole, Arivaca Cienega, 11-30-23 So, as the reader will be aware, there are two Streak-backed Orioles at the Gilbert Water Ranch (Maricopa County). And on the 28th another was reported at the Arivaca Cienega (Pima County). The observer, a Janelle Willis, an unknown new birder. She recorded the bird’s call and

November 27, 2023 Rufous-capped Warbler, Lower Florida Canyon 11-23-23 This is amazing, three years after the previous sighting a pair of these wren-like warblers appear at the exact same spot as last seen – a seep at the base of an old dam. Brian Nicholas last reported this species on November 28, 2020. They were

November 21, 2023 Streak-backed Oriole, Gilbert Water Ranch 11-20-23 Several years ago I did the 2-hour + trek up to the Gilbert Water Ranch, a series of water reclamation ponds, in an upper-middle class burb of Phoenix. The attraction then was a Canada Warbler. The place is gigantic and impressive. Tucson’s Sweetwater Wetlands is tiny

November 17, 2023 This handsome Couch’s Kingbird was found by Mary Normandia on 11-16-23 at Tubac. It was initially thought to be a Tropical Kingbird, a usual summer breeding bird. But, it was vocal and soon determined to be the almost-mega Couch’s. “Almost” because we had another one last year (2022), first found about this