Before the “cuties”, let me own up to a birding failure. Yup, like most of us I make birding mistakes and this morning’s was a doozy. I decided to drive over to Mount Lemmon, and left a bit before 6 am … beat the crowds and get out birding early. Sounds good, right? The temperature when I left my Oro Valley AirBnB was 60F, and it always get hot in the desert, right? I drove the car up to 8,000 feet in elevation and got out to take my bird hike … 43F with strong winds. I am wearing shorts and golf shirt. Thankfully I had a “cotton” sweater vest in the car. I managed to bird for one hour before I decided the warmth of the car sounded extremely inviting. Note to self … for a boy from the flatlands … temperatures fall dramatically and winds increase exponentially as one goes up tall mountains. My dress was woefully inadequate for a windchill just above freezing. Way down below me a nice warm desert morning was in progress.

I did have a nice hike over at Sabino Canyon yesterday morning. The weather was warm, and I did remember to pack water for my hike. My birding walk started at 6:45 am, and I had a great time. Sabino Canyon is a beautiful spot, and even without birds I enjoy the location. I also hike off the main trail / road, and this always insures me solitude early in the morning.

Here was my view hiking up the trail just beyond the Cactus Picnic Grounds. I ultimately hiked up the saddle to the right beyond the first hill in this image. If you are birding the desert make certain you get out early. Birds tend to hide from the extreme heat of midday.

Early on in my hike this individual was soaking up the morning sun. I did not have the heart to ask it to move, and took a detour off the path.

My real fun of the morning was hoping this Curve-Billed Thrasher would stay on top of the cactus from which it was singing long enough for me to hike to the proper vantage point. I really wanted the classic Saguaro Cactus in the immediate background! In the first image shown below I have spotted the bird, and in the subsequent photographs I have hiked to my desired position!

This Cactus Wren hung out for me, but did not sing.

Finally, I really love Pyrrhuloxias, even if I have trouble pronouncing their name!