Day 11 Birds

This morning at the Granite Dells we hiked around.  I saw quite a few Bushtits, another Gambell's Quail, a Western Scrub Jay and a life bird - a Phainopepla!  I was so surprised to see it perched atop a tree!  I played its call and it came in a bit closer.  

This is a Bushtit and they fly around in small flocks making pipping 
sounds. They look kind of crabby to me and it makes me smile 
when I see them. This bird was a life bird at the Arches NP in Utah.

While hiking I saw a black bird post up on a distant bush.  I 
continued on and then I remembered my plan when the trip 
started...don't assume I know what the bird is.  Look at every bird.  
When I looked I was shocked!  I'd only seen this bird in field guides, so 
I was really happy to see it and I'm so glad I took that second look!

The Phainopepla was a life bird!  It is a sleek, glossy black bird with 
a red eye.  Brad say it reminds him of a black cardinal.

I was happy to see another Gambel's Quail on the trip.  I was tipped 
off to his whereabouts by the sound he was making.  This one was 
perched in a tree.  What a cool looking bird!  The males have
 the larger plume.

This is not a bird, but a really interesting statue of 
a person with wings.  We saw it at the Hoover 
Dam.  I wish I had wings!

Day 10 Life Birds

The highlight at Red Rock State Park was the Bridled Titmouse, which was a life bird!  That was the second titmouse of the trip.  Other cool birds at that park were the Black-chinned Hummingbirds and the Yellow-breasted Chats.  At Page's Fish Hatchery we saw a Black Phoebe, which I really like!  We also saw 4 Great Blue Herons, 1 Black-crowned Night Heron, a Green Heron, a Great-tailed Grackle and some others.

Then when we were driving around Dead Horse SP, we saw an odd looking bird, so we went back to take a look and it was a lifer - a Gambel's Quail! There were three of them and they were so unique looking and they made odd sounds.  This is one of my favorite birds of the trip. I was hoping to see a quail while out here. Then as I walked away, I saw my first Verdin up at the top of the tree singing. That was a great 10 minutes!  Brad has been so great to work birding into the trip!  I've really enjoyed it! 

The Bridled Titmouse - Life bird!

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Black-crowned Night Heron

Black-throated Sparrow

Gambel's Quail - Life Bird!

Green Heron

Lawrence's Goldfinch - Life Bird!

Day 10 - Travel to Sedona

It was rainy yesterday and all night, so we had to pack up a wet tent. We are headed to Cottonwood now and that was to be my big birding day as its a hotspot, but there is off and on rain.  Hopefully I will see some new birds!

As we traveled the clouds started to break up and the rain let up.  We are in Sedona at a place that boasts 101 omelets!  It was good stuff!

Then we went to Red Rock State Park to hike and bird.  It was hot, but it was a really neat place with a hummingbird garden.  We checked out a fish hatchery for birds and saw some interesting birds there.  We checked into our motel at Cottonwood, which was quite nice and very reasonable.  We cleaned up and went to Bocce's Pizzeria for supper. It was fantastic! Brad did his homework when he planned this trip.  

Then we drove to Dead Horse State Park to bird and I found two life birds there!  An odd thing around here is that visitor centers close at 5:00 PM and they gate off large sections of their parks at 7:00 PM, so we didn't get to those parts of the park that we had planned, but we do get a lot done in a day! 

We saw Gambel's Quail there!  Check out the post titled:  Day 10 birds.

We saw quite a few of these really tall plants.  They were maybe 8-10 ft. tall and really pretty!

It had beautiful blooms!

We stopped by this bridge and hiked around.

This guy needs to use some skin moisturizer! Just kidding!

I can't remember the name of this neat park where we birded.

Some of the unusual flora here is quite tall!

The scenery in Utah and Arizona was unique and colorful!

I love this view of the Sedona, Arizona area.

This pizzeria had very good food and a fun, lively atmosphere!

Day 9 Birds - Grand Canyon

The life bird I saw on this rainy day was the Juniper Titmouse!  That was the first titmouse I'd ever seen, so that was neat! They were putting up quite a ruckus because there was a Western Scrub Jay was harassing them. 

Lifer - Juniper Titmouse!

Western Scrub Jays were commonly heard and seen.

Day 9 - Grand Canyon South Rim

We slept in until 6:00 AM. It was great sleeping there with cool temperatures and we are so tired that we slept well.  Brad reserved campsites about a year ago and he did really well because our campsite is quite private with a wooded area behind us.  This morning we awoke to a cloudy day with off and on showers. We had eggs and bacon with two Western Bluebirds that sat on the picnic bench or flitted around the picnic table. They are SO pretty and that made me happy! The raven watches until we are done eating and then it snoops around for scraps.

After breakfast, we caught the shuttle for the Rim Trail and we hiked a few miles of that.  It was very cool and it took my breath away sometimes to look down so far into the canyon.   

I guess that it's good we are here because we have had quite a few people excited to see our SD license plate for their state game.  Some men from Germany were going around taking photos of license plates and they were happy to see ours.  They were equally impressed to see Brad start the car with his key chain! They wanted to know how he did that.

Then we came back in the rain to do laundry, shower and have an early supper of grilled burgers.  Now we are off for a drive and hopefully I will see a condor.  I forgot to mention that the plant life here is really unique to me and I saw some cool flowers today too. There are many elk here and signs warning of Mountain Lions in the area. I'd love to see one!

It was really rainy and we didn't get any good photos today, but we still took it all in.

On another note...we see many folks with "Escape" vans. They appear to be rented out of California and they are decked out for camping with beautiful, artistic paintings on the exterior. Some even have tents that are pitched at the top of the van.  What a great way to get more people outdoors!

Brad taking photos of the Grand Canyon.

Relaxing with a beer in the rain.

A beautiful, red cactus flower.

Here I am at the Grand Canyon!

Day 8 To Grand Canyon-South

We were up at 4:00 AM! Brad seems to be keeping "birder hours" these days. We quickly left for Point Imperial.  The view was amazing!  The Grand Canyon is so expansive!  After sunrise we drove to Cape Royal to hike. I really liked the Angel's Window area.  These viewpoints around the Grand Canyon are quite dangerous with drop offs around the edge, but there is no way to put a fence around all of that!  

I heard a bird singing and I drew a blank at first.  Then I saw my first  Black-throated Gray Warblers, so that was a surprise.

After the hike we drove back to the cabin, we quickly showered and packed the car. We ate breakfast at the lodge overlooking the Grand Canyon. That was really cool! I've wanted to do that ever since I first saw the photo of that place in a book.

The drive from the north rim to the south rim was 211 miles and took us over 4 hours. We saw more beautiful scenes along the way and this are of the rock dwellings that were interesting! 

 I was very sleepy this afternoon for awhile. When we got here we had a picnic with a raven, we set up the tent with an elk and then we caught the shuttle to a great sunset point called Mather Point where some lady argued with me that the Turkey Vulture we were looking at was a California Condor.  Sigh... 

We stopped at several viewpoints to take photos and I think we got some nice photos of the canyon at sunset!

This was a cool place.  Later we hiked out to the top of it.  It took 
my breath away for a moment.

There are so many spectacular views here, but sunrise 
and sunset when the light is low brings out the color of the canyon.

The Grand Canyon at sunrise.

Here is the view from our table at the Grand Canyon Lodge.

I loved dining here with this beautiful view!

These rock dwelling were used as temporary or permanent homes for people long ago.

 

Brad rounded up some Provo beer.

Day 8 Birds

This morning on the Cape Royal trail I saw my first Black-throated Gray Warblers! They came quite close.  They were so beautiful!  I wasn't expecting them.  Then when we drove back I saw a Pinyon Jay fly in front of us.  Tonight at the south rim of the Grand Canyon I saw my first Zone-tailed Hawk.  What an awesome bird! 15 lifers so far!  It's a bit like Christmas as a kid!  

I heard the song first and I knew it was one I'd learned, but I drew a 
blank. Then it came to me that it was a Black-throated Gray Warbler! 
 I searched for it until I found it. This was lifer #15!

Unfortunately these weren't the sharpest of photos.  It was flitting 
all over and I was lucky to get these photos.

I saw more Mountain Chickadees this morning.

I think that this is a Red-tailed Hawk.  I wish I could have seen its back.  
I wanted it to be a Red-shouldered Hawk, but it sure was a nice looking bird.

This is a Violet-green Swallow even though the violet isn't 
showing up in this lighting.

This Zone-tailed Hawk was soaring around the canyon.  I got really good 
looks at it, but by the time I fumbled around to get my camera 
up it was quite distant.