Five-striped Sparrow

A few years ago, I posted a photo of this species on our blog. I ran into these and don’t know why I did not include them because they really show off features. This sparrow barely makes it into the United States and has only been found in Arizona, mostly south of Tucson. It mostly occurs in Western Mexico.

Elegant Trogon

The Elegant Trogon, a neotropical species, barely makes it into the United States. During the summer breeding season, it is found in Texas and in southeast Arizona. The call sounds like a muted barking.

Scaled Quail

I have seen this bird in the past, but I have never had a good look because it was too far away, or it was close, but in a high-speed run. This one posed for me for several seconds.

We just returned from eight days of birding in Arizona, a few days in and around Tucson and the rest of the time in Portal, AZ. I will get some of my better photos on this blog over the next week or two.

Yellow-eyed Junco

This species is found mostly in Mexico and parts of Central America. It just barely occurs in the United States and is found in the Southeast corner of Arizona and the Soutwest corner of New Mexico. This one was seen at Ramsey Canyon, Arizona.

The Elegant Trogon

It always amazes me to see a trogon in the United States because I associate this bird with the warmer parts of Latin America, especially Central America. This one was photographed near Portal, Arizona in a riparian area. When they are executing their “barking” song, they are relatively easy to find. When they are quiet, they are difficult to find in spite of their bright red breast.

Cooper's Hawk

This hawk is a sleek, rapid-flying bird that negotiates tree limbs at high speed when chasing its prey. One of its favorite prey is the Mourning Dove. Our backyard feeders attract Mourning Doves, so this means that this raptor is on the prowl.

When the backyard birds spot this raptor, they are gone in the blink of an eye. One second there are 2-3 dozen birds on the ground and at the feeders and an eye blink later there are zero birds. When this happens, I know this species is nearby.

Whiskered Screech Owl

The Whiskered Screech Owl is found over a small area of the Southwest United States. Its distribution extends down the western mountains of Mexico and into part of Central America. We heard several “tooting” during the night where we were staying in Portal, Arizona. Sometimes their toots sound like Morse code.