Friday, February 26, 2010

Florida Wash,AZ Rufous-capped warbler

Howdee all,

This past Wednesday, Jeff, Kathie from Sycamore Canyon blog, and I went in search of the Rufous-capped warbler.

A rare visitor to Arizona..from Mexico..read about the bird here

Jeff had GPS coordinates and a some brief directions..

The GPS coordinates took us to us to a work station off the Florida Wash.

Florida Wash _008

Jeff's directions said we were to look for a dam..and a tree above the dam. I headed downstream to where we crossed a small bridge over the wash.

Was this where they meant?

It wasn't a dam.Florida Wash _010

We decided this wasn't the area and went back to the parking area and started following a trail that crossed the water filled wash.

Florida Wash _014  Luckily, while on the trail, we met a photographer on his way back to the parking area.

He was out trying to get photos of the bird..he wasn't able to find it, he said he had been three times previously with no luck,

Florida Wash _018

He did give us detailed directions to follow to the dam. Also the time of day the warbler was previously spotted 11am and 3pm.Florida Wash _024It was around 9:30, so we thought we may have a chance… Florida Wash _028 So we thanked him and went on our way..gaining a bit in elevation..Florida Wash _034 Then to the dam…and the burnt sycamore above the dam.

Florida Wash _036 We looked around the wash for the bird…

We were told it would be down low in the reeds…Florida Wash _037…it was very quiet..…no birds..

Jeff went further up the wash…

Kathie and I stayed behind to hang out and wait …

Florida Wash _038 No birds ..

but always something of interest..

Cactus growing on rock… Florida Wash _040 Spiders…

Florida Wash _043

  Kathie and I then heard a bird calling..close to the Sycamore tree..

We located a Canyon wren..and since we saw no other birds..focused our attention on it..

It was around 11am…

I happened to turn to my right…Florida Wash _039And out pops this little critter…

I was so excited…

I called Kathie as softly as my excitement would allow me..tee hee..

She started clicking away with her Camera..

check out her photos here….

also check out this photo I found on flickr Florida Wash _052 (Large) (2) I took these photos after I calmed down..

and realized the bird was sticking around for a bit..  

There was another couple upstream looking for the bird as well and I motioned to them…

Still no Jeff….Florida Wash _053We had awesome looks!

…the warbler was working its way upstream..  Florida Wash _057 (Large)Luckily, Jeff was on his way back to the area..and he was able to see the warbler

We followed the bird further upstream until it was difficult to follow any further..     Florida Wash _060We were all thrilled… We saw our target bird..and it was beautiful!

A life bird for all three of us!

Florida Wash _116Happy and Hungry we headed back to the car..Florida Wash _117

Another great day of birding!

14 comments:

  1. How exciting! What a cool looking warbler. Great job of capturing those photos of the rare visitor!What's his name?

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a great find--such a beautiful bird, the rufous-capped warbler You were rewarded for all your hard work.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Another wonderful adventure in the belt hoop. Love new discoveries like that cute little rufous-capped warbler. Smiled reading about containing your enthusiasm.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Birding with Kathie *and* a rufous-capped warbler? No fair! Too much fun for one day and one blog post.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Dawn,
    I looked at Kathies shots already, just great. Is this the first time you have seen that species.

    ReplyDelete
  6. WOW! What a beautiful little guy! Love that russet cap...wahooo... congratulations! Patience pays off!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nice post dawn and you got great pics too, ....like the spider too,

    dan

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a wonderful and lucky find--congratulations on your lifer!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Exciting post...Yeah! I'm glad you got your bird, and how fun that you got to meet up and go birding with Kathie. I love meeting other bird bloggers. I'll head over to Kathie's for more photos of the birds. He's a real cutie...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Neat little bird, love the rufous cap. Nice capture, Dawn.

    ReplyDelete
  11. So striking. Love those colors together.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hey Dawn, can you see me jumping up and down for you guys? How exciting! All of you getting your target bird and photos of it too. I was getting worried reading your post that Jeff was going to miss out but alas, he made it back in time.

    The Rufous-capped Warbler would be a lifer for me too. I wish I could have been there.

    For all of you readers that don't know, Dawn is the master of getting bird bloggers together for these birding trips. If she is coming to your town, you definitely want to meet up with her and her wonderful hubby Jeff for a great time.

    Congrats you two!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks everyone for your very kind comments..It was so exciting to see this beautiful little warbler.

    @Larry..Thanks so much..you make me blush! Wish you could have been here too!

    ReplyDelete

ok what do you really think?????