Nope, this is definitely not Kansas, Dorothy! After weeks on end of waking up to sub zero temperatures in northern Minnesota, Molly and I packed up the car and drove south for a vacation. The birding habitat down here could not be more different from my Boreal Forest. Instead of watching owls in snow flocked pines, I am finding birds amongst the cactus! Even the names of the birds in this desert region are hard to pronounce! Here is a Phainopepla (lifer) I spied this morning in the USFS Sabino Canyon Recreation Area (worth a hike / visit).

It was fun to try and get images of birds that showed off the unique desert habitat.

Cactus Wren (lifer)

Male Ladder-Back Woodpecker (lifer)

Yesterday, my first morning in the region, I drove over to Catalina State Park and joined the Tuscon Audubon Society weekly birding hike. Our two hosts were fantastic, and helped this kid from northern Minnesota learn both bird song and ID’s of almost every bird (all but one or two were lifers for me!) Thanks Tucson Audubon! They have many birding hikes every week. Follow the link!

Birds from Catalina State Park …

Albert’s Towhee (lifer)

Black Throated Sparrow (lifer)

Bluebird

Canyon Towhee (lifer)

Northern Cardinal

Gila Woodpecker (lifer)

Great Horned Owl on Nest

Lesser Goldfinch (lifer)

Female Ladder-Back Woodpecker (lifer)

Vermilion Flycatcher (lifer)