Oh great, now I'm singing the song from Oliver Twist.
Hubby needed a mental break from his job...a warm and sunny mental break, so he booked a trip to Arizona and off we went. It was mainly for birding since Son1 is a serious birder. Here I am with the kids, binoculars around our necks.
We weren't disappointed. At Catalina State Park, we had some good, close looks at Mexican Jays. (Remember to click on the photo to pull it up larger.)
At Cochise Lake outside of Willcox, there were a ton of Sandhill Cranes flying overhead.
More Sandhill Cranes...
Ok, one last one because I love them so much. ;)
Aren't these too cute? Son1 thinks they might be Semi-palmated Sandpipers. He's not as certain about shorebirds identification.
There were also flocks of American Wigeons. This is decent close-up of one of the males:
These are Northern Shovelers:
How about those honkers on the Shovelers?
It's not a perfect pic of the Northern Harrier, but can you see the banding on tail?
Almost as cute as the birds are my guys.
Right at the entrance of the lake area, there was a Say's Phoebe!
This isn't the best photo, but we saw a Horned Lark on our way out.
At San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Preserve, there were more White-crowned Sparrows than we've ever seen before in one spot. The bird on the left is a female Pyrrhuloxia.
Also at San Pedro, we had nice views of Lesser Goldfinches.
Does this remind you of a Stevie Nicks' song? White-winged Doves!
This was one of the most exciting birds for me on the trip: a Vermilion Flycatcher.
So that you don't get exhausted from all the excitement, I'll save the rest of the bird photos for - you guessed it! - part 2, next Monday. I know: how will you ever survive the week, right?
Have you been birding too? Did you do the Great Backyard Bird Count?
"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams
