Day 5: Life Bird #747, Scott's Oriole

Thursday 2 April 2015 86 °F

Today my aunt, uncle, and I took a long day trip for birding from the town of Tubac, Arizona, where we are staying to Ash, Hiller, and Ramsey Canyons.
Just a short while into our drive, my aunt spotted two GREATER ROADRUNNERS beside the road. They were very photogenic and presented some of the greatest photo ops of the trip so far.

Our first planned stop was the Ash Canyon B&B Feeder Station, where we were hoping to see the extremely rare Lucifer Hummigbird that has been seen there recently. This WILD TURKEY was the first bird seen:

CURVE-BILLED THRASHER:

WHITE-WINGED DOVE:

A wonderful male MAGNIFICENT HUMMINGBIRD showing off his iridescent green gorget:

Male RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD hiding in a tree in the back:

Male GILDED FLICKER:

This SCOTT'S ORIOLE turned out to be my only life bird today:

Male YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, "Audubon" subspecies:

Male MEXICAN JAY:

Male LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER:

LINCOLN'S SPARROW:

Although the feeders were alive with birds, like every other target bird I have chased on this trip so far, we missed the Lucifer Hummigbird! :-(
Hopefully the rest of my trip can be spent making up on those missed birds...

We ate lunch at a picnic spot not far from the Mexican border. Here you can see the fence between the two countries:

Those mountains are part of Mexico!

A stop at an apple orchard with a fantastic hummingbird feeder display yielded five species of hummers, including this gorgeous male MAGNIFICENT HUMMINGBIRD:

A big thank you to my uncle for driving today!

So, although we missed our target, the Lucifer Hummingbird, other birds were found today. Bird-of-the-day goes to my only life bird today, the SCOTT'S ORIOLE. Runner-up to the MAGNIFICENT HUMMINGBIRD, of which I saw six individuals today (3 males, 3 females). The full bird list for the day can be found below.

Stay tuned because tomorrow I will hike with my family in Madera Canyon and I hope to find the uncommon, beautiful Elegant Trogon!

Good birding,

Henry
World Life List: 747 Species (1 life bird today: Scott's Oriole)

57 avian species today:

life bird

Wild Turkey
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Gray Hawk
Swainson's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Rock Pigeon
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Greater Roadrunner
Magnificent Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Anna's Hummingbird
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Broad-billed Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Gila Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Gilded Flicker
Say's Phoebe
Vermillion Flycatcher
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Cassin's Kingbird
Loggerhead Shrike
Bell's Vireo
Plumbeous Vireo
Mexican Jay
Chihuahuan Raven
Common Raven
Bridled Titmouse
Verdin
White-breasted Nuthatch
Bewick's Wren
Curve-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Lucy's Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Painted Redstart
Abert's Towhee
Cassin's Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Black-throated Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Lazuli Bunting
Western Meadowlark
Brewer's Blackbird