Got to Carr Canyon well before dawn (even though I didn’t mean to 😊), so set up the chair and enjoyed the dawn chorus, including a Poorwill! A Hepatic Tanager was fairly close, and the two cliff wrens sang up on the mountain! Started the BBS Protocol at sunrise and got the normal players heading up (Bridled Titmice and Mexican Jays in the foothills, juncos and pewees higher up), but the road was bad enough that I decided never to go up again, especially since I didn’t get the Buff-breasted Flycatcher! ☹ (But with the passage of time already I’m starting to reconsider that… 😊) The Virginia’s Warbler halfway up was a nice consolation prize, and once up at The Reef, heard some accipiter squealing right over my head and was hoping I had the reported Goshawk, but after analyzing the video and getting better looks at all three birds (and also comparing the squeals of the two species) they all proved to be juvie Coopers (although someone did  report Goshawks up there the same day I did…) It was actually pretty dead up there; stopped at all the places I historically got the buffie with no response, and a walk around the cul-de-sac only yielded a gorgeous Mountain Spiny Lizard! The one cooperative bird was a Hairy Woodpecker on said pines. My dilemma was now: where to find the buffies? Sawmill Canyon was way too rough when I did it years ago, and even though they’re reported at other high-elevation spots, Carr is the only place I’ve gotten them period, much less consistently, but unless they’re a sure thing, it’s not worth worrying about whether you’re gonna blow a tire on one of those rocks on the way up! (Later a friend was telling me about these tires made of Kevlar – maybe I should invest in some!)

While a family of Goshawks were reported here, all I could find were these Cooper’s: buffy head, even tail bars, thin streaks, and whitish breast all rule out Goshawk.

Normally great Buff-breasted Flycatcher habitat

Mountain Spiny Lizard

Hairy Woodpecker

Ramsey was much more productive: a crowd was at the Inn because both a Beryline and Violet-crowned Hummer had shown up (I had forgotten about the Beryline), so I spent about 15 minutes there filming the usual suspects before heading up to the VC, which turned out to be closed! While the website said they were open on Thursdays, the building apparently isn’t, but you can still hike the trails. So I poked up to the upper feeders and sat with a gal who volunteers at Ash Canyon and was spending her birthday up there (that came up as she apologized ahead of time for her phone constantly going off with well-wishers 😊)! After she left the Violet-crowned came in at point blank, so that was nice! Three other birders came in, huffing and puffing, about the time I headed back down; spent another hour down at the Inn, and by that time the place was really packed! The Beryline actually did come in briefly according to the young guide who spotted it, but it came and went before I could see it… ☹ A nice male Western Tanager showed up in the trees behind the inn, and the normal seed birds were coming in to those feeders, but honestly, I didn’t even pay attention to those!

Trail to the feeders at Ramsey Canyon

Violet-crowned Hummingbird

Adult male Rivoli’s look all black...

...until the light hits them just right!

Headed to Beatty’s after that, and sadly that trail up to the controlled access feeders is way too scary now (for me, anyway – a normal person with good stamina and balance would be fine…)! Also found out from a Field Guides group that was leaving as I arrived that the White-eared was not coming in to the feeders, but was up the trail almost a mile coming in to some flowers! So I wrote that one off almost immediately, as it was already hot enough to douse myself with water, and there was no way I was gonna attempt an uphill hike in that heat (the controlled access area notwithstanding)! But even though the White-eared didn’t come in (Tom showed up and confirmed that was unlikely seeing as they have plenty of natural food right now), got some nice hummer video, including a female mountain-gem! Tom’s Redbone Coonhound Ruby followed him up and loved on me (and vice versa); I thought it was interesting that he had them radio tagged, and he explained that they were always wandering off and getting lost, so that’s how they kept track of them! After he left another couple from Virginia (I think) came up, and they enjoyed the show, including a female Broad-tailed that I thought was reflecting the red of the feeder at first! And this is where I had those two whiptails where, upon closer inspection, one of the “Sonoran Spotted” turned out to be a Gila Spotted! 

Scene from Beatty’s Guest Ranch

Broad-billed Hummingbird

Black-chinned Hummingbirds

Female Blue-throated Mountain-gem

Sonoran Spotted Whiptail

Ash Canyon was next, and a Lucifer had shown up just before I got there, but after an hour plus he never did again ☹. But had a nice chat with Carol Sykes, who with her hubby Tom has guided several tours to Costa Rica with Richard Garrigues, so I wanted to hear about her experiences! Hummer video was a little better here as the light was perfect, and a young male Rufous came in for the day. The guy who was sitting next to me pointed out a Chipping Sparrow, and just as I was leaving I heard a Gila Woodpecker, so back I went to get him on film!

Ash Canyon feeders

Mexican Jays

Anna's Hummingbirds

Gila Woodpecker (left) and female Ladder-backed Woodpecker