When I am with family and friends I try to fit in birding, but often the birds I see are a byproduct of our travels or walks along our Brown Sign Vacations. Here are some birds from three days of 6 different National Parks, National Monuments, or Historical Sites in Central Arizona.
After we left Sandia Crest we drove most of the day with short stops at Meteor Crater and Walnut Canyon National Monument. Our initial stop at Walnut Canyon impressed us so much that we would return another day in the near future. Fortunately, we spent the next two nights near Flagstaff. This allowed us to explore the area and spend time outside of the car rather than time in the car as we had the previous two days when we covered 1100 miles.
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| (Left to Right) Juniper Titmouse with Dark-eyed Junco intergrade between Red-backed and Gray-headed subspecies. |
After we left Sandia Crest we drove most of the day with short stops at Meteor Crater and Walnut Canyon National Monument. Our initial stop at Walnut Canyon impressed us so much that we would return another day in the near future. Fortunately, we spent the next two nights near Flagstaff. This allowed us to explore the area and spend time outside of the car rather than time in the car as we had the previous two days when we covered 1100 miles.
Friday, December 22nd, we headed to Grand Canyon National Park for the day. At the visitor center, I spent more time outside taking photos of the common birds than reading the signage or watching the videos like the rest of the family.
With many scenic photos, a hike along the rim, and a handful of snow to satisfy our curiosity we drove to Wupatki National Monument. We enjoyed short hikes and reading of previous generations that lived in the area. We did not find many birds but Mountain Bluebirds and Common Ravens were abundant. Saturday morning we returned to Walnut Canyon for a hike around the remnants and then headed south via the winding roads north of Sedona.
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| (Left to Right) Townsend's Solitaire at Walnut Canyon and Spotted Towhee at Grand Canyon. |
At Tuzigoot National Monument I wandered to the small natural areas while the kids completed their junior ranger booklet.
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| (Left to Right) Life birds Black-throated Sparrow and Crissal Thrasher |
After hiking around Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well National Monument I parked the car at the side of the road to quickly take a picture of these two species. Both seemed very accommodating to a person walking down the paved road with a camera and fortunately, the kids were okay waiting 5 minutes before heading south to Phoenix.
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| (Left to Right) Life bird Phainopepla and Sage Thrasher |
We stayed in Phoenix, where we picked up Grandma Cindy before heading toward Yuma and Great Grandma Swecker for Christmas. Christmas Eve morning I snuck out early and walked around the closest cemetery while everyone else slept in. I added five life birds that morning and had a glorious hour and half completely to myself without being in the van!
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| (Left to Right) Rufous-crowned Sparrow and lifer Abert's Towhee |
We made the three-hour drive to Yuma late morning and had Christmas with four generations. The next blog post will be photo highlights of birding around Yuma, including some birds that were added to my life list (not pictured above) seen during this three day period.
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