I'm Still Alive!!!

I've been fairly busy lately and haven't been good at all about posting on the blog. My apologies to the faithful few who read it. I'm still birding and it has slowed down a little around here for me. I believe things will change soon on the birding front ...

Any way, back to what has been going on with me over the last month and a half that I've been away from my blog. I took another business trip to Phoenix, AZ. I was able to get a little sight seeing done at the end of the trip.

We were able to hike up Camelback Mountain which sits within the Phoenix city limits. We didn't actually make it to the summit due to our limitations, meaning we weren't in shape to do it! We didn't want have to get hauled to the emergency room. That doesn't make for good sight seeing or birdwatching!




I did add several new additions to my life list on this trip. Below is a Verdin which is a very distinctive bird. This is a male which has a yellow head and throat. Females have less yellow on their head but are similar in markings. They were very quick little things and didn't feel like posing for any pictures!



Verdins also make very unique nests. They make a completely enclosed nest, not like most birds nest I'm used to which are bowl shaped. This particular tree had at least 6 nests in it.



This is a close up of one of the nests which has the entrance hole. I'm glad I got to see the Verdin's as they are unique from what I normally get to see in Arkansas.

I also added a Cactus Wren and a Gambel's Quail to my life list on the Camelback Mountain trip. I also made another visit to the Grand Canyon on this trip. It was a great birdwatching trip as we actually made a hike down into the canyon. Check back for the recap!!!