Category Archives: Corvids

Savoring Sedona: Guest Post by Roger Kohn

We are delighted this week to present only our second ever guest post, by long-time reader of FatherSonBirding, Roger Kohn. Roger and I met at UC Berkeley and roomed together for a time at Cloyne Court Co-op. Since retiring from a distinguished career with the EPA, he and his wife Claudia have settled in Bend and have pursued birding with a passion. Recently, they embarked on their first Arizona birding adventure, kicking it off with a place Braden and I have never birded, Sedona. I asked if he would give FatherSonBirding readers a taste of what it’s like to bird one of the world’s most beautiful places!

Inspired by Sneed and Braden’s adventures in southeastern Arizona last year, and eager to see more bird species and beautiful southwestern landscapes, my wife Claudia and I hopped a flight to Phoenix this past April to start a two-week birding vacation. Our plan was to focus on southeast Arizona. Before heading south, however, we visited Sedona to revel in its awe-inspiring landscapes. Although not known as a birding destination, I was confident we would see some good birds. After all, it was spring in Arizona.

Rising early on our first day, I stepped out onto our deck, which faced a large yard with bird feeders and had more green space beyond. I quickly spotted nine species, including two Lifers: an Inca Dove and a Northern Cardinal (a male, in all its bright red glory), a species I had wanted to see for a long time. Welcome to Arizona! The trip was off to a fine start.

After breakfast we drove a short distance to the location we selected for Day 1 birding: Red Rock State Park, known for its stunning vistas. At the Visitor Center viewing platform, we saw a Turkey Vulture, followed by two dark raptors with white bands on their tails circling above us. “Hawks!,” I exclaimed. I wasn’t sure what species they were, but I knew it was one we hadn’t seen before. The answer came quickly from a park ranger who was standing nearby: Common Black Hawk. Lifer! And who doesn’t love raptors? What a great way to begin our park visit.

**A Lifer Common Black Hawk soars above Red Rock State Park.**

After getting looks at another Northern Cardinal, as well as Lesser Goldfinches, House Finches, Red-wing Blackbirds, and White-crowned Sparrows, we followed the Bunkhouse Trail a short distance downhill to Kingfisher Bridge, which spans Oak Creek. The creek was wide and gushed with fast-moving water. This would prove to be a surprising theme of the trip: plenty of water and lush landscapes–not what one thinks of in a state known for its desert landscapes! Tall, bare trees grew right out of the creek, giving a bizarre, otherworldly quality to this striking scene.

We didn’t see any kingfishers at their namesake bridge, but we did see a couple of Black Phoebes (a flycatcher species) perched on branches above the creek between breakfast-gathering forays. Crossing the bridge, we headed west on the Kisva Trail into riparian habitat next to the creek. It was very birdy here, although not always easy to see the birds. Violet-green Swallows zipped back and forth, and a couple even were cooperative enough to perch and allow me to photograph them. We could hear the harsh calls of Gila Woodpeckers reverberating all around us. The Audubon app describes their calls as “a rolling churrr.” To me, the calls had a bizarre, almost electronic, quality. We were not able to see the woodpeckers, but they are very common in Arizona and we would see them many times in a variety of different habitats on the rest of the trip. A little further on, we could see a lot of bird activity in the treetops. Benefitting from Merlin Sound ID, we knew we were looking at Lucy’s Warblers, another Lifer!

**A Lifer Lucy’s Warbler in the treetops along Oak Creek in Red Rock State Park.**

The Kisva Trail took us to the Eagle’s Nest Trail, which gradually ascends to a summit with a commanding 180-degree view of the surrounding red-rock country. The scenery in and around Sedona is absolutely jaw-dropping, with layers of colorful rock rising into towering formations that lend an epic, cinematic quality to the landscape. This is why we came to Sedona!

We didn’t see many birds on our way up, or as we descended on a loop trail that took us back to Oak Creek. Walking along the creek, we got good looks at a Townsend’s Solitaire and a House Wren, perched and singing a sweet and enchanting aria for all to enjoy. Later I saw a black and white bird darting back and forth among the trees. I wondered if it could be a species that I was really looking forward to seeing based on my pre-trip bird study. Could it be… yes it was… a Bridled Titmouse! Lifer! With what eBird calls a “crested head with striking black-and-white pattern unlike any other bird,” the Bridled Titmouse makes up for its lack of color with a combination of elegant form and bold contrast that give the species a big WOW factor. We loved these guys and saw them on several other occasions in the next two weeks.

A House Wren sings its heart out next to Oak Creek in Red Rock State Park.

Relaxing back at our rental with a fine locally produced beverage made with barley and hops (and love), we snagged two more Lifers: Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay and Canyon Towhee. As the sun sunk toward the horizon, we reflected on the excellent first day of our Arizona birding adventure.

**A Lifer Canyon Towhee says hi at our rental.**

We awoke to another gorgeous early spring morning on Day 2 of the trip. Our plan was to bird the West Fork Trail, which follows Oak Creek in the Coconino National Forest. After a pretty 30-minute drive through rugged country north of Sedona, we arrived. A pair of bright blue Steller’s Jays and a group of cackling Acorn Woodpeckers greeted us in the parking lot. As we gathered our gear to get ready to walk, a few black and red birds flew over us and landed in the trees above us. This had to be something good. Focusing our binoculars in high branches where the birds landed, we were delighted to discover that they were Painted Redstarts, a Lifer for both of us! We got great looks and absolutely loved this warbler species, with its gorgeous black, red, and white plumage. Although we would get glimpses of this species again later in the trip, this was by far our best sighting.

**A show-stopping Lifer Painted Redstart in the West Fork Trail parking lot.**

Starting our walk, we enjoyed views of three other warbler species near a footbridge that spanned the creek. Lucy’s Warblers were present, although hard to see as they flitted around in the treetops. We got good looks at Yellow-rumped Warblers, and a beautiful Yellow Warbler foraging in the trees.

Continuing, we passed the ruins of an old cabin and were delighted by the beauty of this place, with cliffs in hues of pink, white, and gray rising to dizzying heights above the canyon floor. We saw Ruby-crowned Kinglets, House Wrens, American Robins, and many Acorn Woodpeckers (which live in family groups), with their colorful and clownish face patterns. Soon we reached a waist-high creek crossing that we didn’t want to attempt, so we turned around. On the way back, we enjoyed views of a pair of Common Black Hawks harassing a Peregrine Falcon. The raptors flew gracefully and at high speeds, making sharp turns as the hawks pursued the falcon, all set against a dramatic background of colorful canyon walls.

We loved the beauty of the landscapes in Sedona and would love to return. As our two-day stay wrapped up, we had seen 38 species, including eight Lifers. Now southeast Arizona, which Tucson Audubon calls “one of the most fascinating areas for birding in the United States,” with over 400 bird species seen annually and approximately 500 recorded, beckoned. Early the next morning, we eagerly pointed our car south toward Tucson.

**The author in his natural habitat, a brewery in Tucson!**

eBird Checklist – 12 Apr 2023 – Red Rock SP – 18 species (+1 other taxa)

eBird Checklist – 12 Apr 2023 – Coconino National Forest, Sedona US-AZ 34.83181, -111.80798 – 4 species

eBird Checklist – 13 Apr 2023 – Oak Creek Canyon–West Fork – 12 species

Birding Japan: Kamakura by the Sea

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Since we published them, our birding posts about Japan have been read in more than a dozen countries. If you are planning your own trip to Japan, you’re in luck! Sneed’s new book, FIRST-TIME JAPAN: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE FOR THE INDEPENDENT TRAVELER, tells you everything you need to know about how to plan your trip to this remarkable, yet sometimes intimidating, country. Order now by clicking here.

Welcome to the second installment of my birding reports from Japan. To read the first report, click here, and of course feel free to share these reports with others—and add your own experiences in the comments section. Thanks for reading!

As mentioned in my last post, one of my goals in birding Japan was to reach 1,000 bird species for my life list. I arrived in the country needing 31 species to hit that mark, but picked up only 13 new lifers during my daughter’s and my first three days in Tokyo. A day trip by bullet train, or shinkansen, to the northern town of Sendai added Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker and Varied Tit to my total, but I felt like the next stop on our itinerary, the seaside town of Kamakura, would have to perform better if I were to keep on pace.

Kamakura lies only about an hour by train from Tokyo and has earned a reputation as a weekend getaway and favorite place for surfing and other water sports. Anticipating that we might need a break after five days in the Big City, I had rented us a tiny apartment only two blocks from the beach, and as soon as we stepped off the train, the area enchanted us. The main train station sits adjacent to a vibrant street full of food and crafts shops, but to reach our lodging we had to hop on the cutest little train you can imagine, ride a few stops, and then roll our luggage a half a kilometer through a quirky little beach town that easily could have been on the Oregon Coast or in Southern California. While trying to find our accommodations, we crossed a little bridge over a canal when a scintillating blue flash caught my eye, followed by another. I didn’t get a great look, but knew immediately what they were—Common Kingfishers, one of my favorite birds and, as it turned out, the only time I got to see them on the trip.

The Island of Sodor? No, but the delightful Enoshima Electric Railway made us wonder!

We arrived at our apartment too early to check in so decided to sit in a children’s playground for a few minutes to rest and recover from our hectic travel morning. I felt eager to get out and find some birds, but there in the playground I didn’t have to. Instead, the birds came to me. First, a dove landed on a phone wire only a few yards away. My adrenaline surging, I whipped out my binoculars and sure enough, it was a lifer I had been hoping for: Oriental Turtle-Dove! Then, I espied a bluish bird flitting around on a nearby rooftop. Swallow or flycatcher? I thought to myself. Instead, I was surprised to identify another lifer I had desperately been wanting to see—a Blue Rock-Thrush. Right there in the playground, we were also joined by a Warbling White-eye and either Japanese or Varied Tits, though I didn’t get a great look at the latter.

**My lifer Oriental Turtle-Dove landed next to our lodging in Kamakura, and we were fortunate to also see them on Enoshima Island and other locations on our trip.**

Leaving our bags, Tessa and I walked down to the beach. Perhaps a hundred surfers crowded the two- to three-foot waves, and Tessa and I saw Carrion Crows and Black Kites for the first time on the trip, both species Braden and I had seen in Israel right before the pandemic.

I’m not sure what this Carrion Crow has in mind, but Tessa and I had great fun watching it and its colleagues on Kamakura’s beach.

Since the forecast called for a rainy weekend, we tore ourselves away from the beach and hiked a mile or so to Kamakura’s most famous attraction, the Great Buddha. This forty-foot-high bronze sculpture was completed around the year 1253, and truly impressed both of us. When we arrived, a rock pigeon perched comfortably atop the Buddha’s head, a fitting signal that the Buddha welcomed both of us! After taking the mandatory photos, we sat on a stone wall and chilled in the statue’s peaceful presence before grabbing an early dinner at a café and then checking into our residence.

**The Great Buddha, or Daibutsu, of Kamakura is apparently the second largest Buddha in Japan and harkens back to about 1252.**

We had plans to take a genuine forest hike in Kamakura, but unfortunately the weather forecast turned out to be all too true. Saturday, umbrellas in hand, we braved the Kamakura food street next to the station, but were forced back home by chilling wetness—though not without nabbing a box of fresh mini-donuts! Sunday, we took the cute little train down the coast to Enoshima, famous for its picturesque island just offshore. A short causeway connected the island to the mainland, and on the way across I spotted the trip’s first Eurasian Wigeons, a species Braden and I are lucky to see once a year in Montana. I was also surprised to find Herring Gulls sitting atop light posts.

A Herring Gull? In Japan? Apparently, the birds know a lot more about their distributions than I do.

Following a beautiful paved winding path up the island’s mountainous terrain, we encountered birds that were now becoming familiar to both of us including Brown-eared Bulbuls, White Wagtails, White-cheeked Starlings, Eurasian Tree Sparrows, and a trio of Oriental Turtle-Doves. The highlight of the day, however, turned out to be a small, gorgeous red shrine tucked away in the trees near the summit. It apparently is one of three shrines on the island collectively known as Enoshima Shrine, and it was built to worship the deities of fishing and sea transport. We weren’t sure what to do there, so I quickly texted Ryosuke, a Japanese foreign-exchange student who happens to be spending the year at Tessa’s high school and who had been tutoring me in Japanese. He quickly texted back instructions, and we paid our respects before heading back down the mountain. Thank you Ryosuke!

Don’t look into his eyes. Just move on slowly. Nothing to see here.

Lifer count for the weekend? A mere two species, making our next destination, Kyoto, essential for my evil plans to reach my life list millennium mark.

My Enoshima eBird Checklist.

An Owl a Day . . .

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Our recent post on Montana’s famous Northern Hawk Owl generated an astonishing two million views . . . or was that, er, two hundred? Either way, that’s pretty good for us, but it did put us in a quandary over how to follow up. Our answer? Look for more owls!

But first, I promised you some other winter birds. As revealed in past posts, Braden and I have discovered that one of the best way to make sure we see certain winter birds is to go to Discovery—ski area, that is. This year, on the way back from seeing the Northern Hawk Owl, we detoured through Anaconda to see what we could find. Fate seemed to shine on us as we spotted a Golden Eagle just outside of Anaconda, but when we pulled into the crowded Discovery parking lot, we didn’t see a single bird. “Hm, that’s strange,” Braden murmured. “And we forgot to bring bird seed with us,” I added.

**Though more common than some other winter birds, getting to see Steller’s Jays up close made us realize anew how spectacular these birds are.**

Prepared for disappointment, we climbed out of the minivan, cameras and binoculars slung around our shoulders, and began trekking around the parking lot. After fifty yards, Braden stopped and said, “Hear that? Clark’s Nutcracker.” We followed the harsh calls toward the back of Discovery’s first aid hut, and saw a promising red flash of something flying. Drawing closer, we hit a veritable bonanza of winter birds cashing in on a generous scattering of bird seed behind the hut. Mountain Chickadees flew out to greet us first, but we soon encountered almost every other bird we could imagine: Steller’s Jays, Clark’s Nutcrackers, Evening Grosbeaks, and our favorites, Pine Grosbeaks. Each had a different strategy for attacking the food supply and we stood mesmerized for twenty minutes watching them.

**This male Pine Grosbeak may be one of my favorite bird photos I’ve ever taken. Gotta love the pose, which shows off the bird’s “Ooh” and “Ah” factors to the max.** **Good thing I got it, too, as the bird signed with a major talent agency minutes afterward.**

“The only thing we haven’t seen,” I said, “are Canada Jays.” As we began walking back toward the car, however, Braden spotted a silhouette on top of a distant tree. He raised his binoculars for a moment, then turned to me. “Guess what it is,” he said. “Canada Jay?” I hazarded. “Yeah.” We laughed and moments later had a great photo shoot with two CAJAs that ventured closer. Leaving Discovery, we drove some side roads looking for Great Gray Owls, and the bird Braden most wanted to see before he returned to Maine for spring semester: Northern Pygmy-owl. Unfortunately, this winter the Owl Gods have decreed a limit of one owl per day for us and we saw no other Strigiformes (the bird order of owls) for the day.

Though not exactly rare, sightings of Canada Jays in Montana are unpredictable, so getting good looks at these “ski area” birds is especially appreciated. These birds apparently survive by stashing perishable food under the loose bark of trees for later retrieval. **Climate change may be eroding the conditions the birds need to survive along the southern parts of their range.**

Still, we both really wanted to see a NPOW before Braden left, so a couple days later we headed out to Maclay Flat, where we’d seen our very first NPOW in 2016. They weren’t reported too frequently, but they were being seen, and as soon as we got out of the car, we heard the distinctive periodic advertising call of a Northern Pygmy-owl. We followed the sound toward the river, and then crunched through snow down a side trail—only to discover a photographer set up with a very long camera lens. He silently pointed up into a tree and we worked around until we could see it—a small, fuzzy blob about thirty feet above us.

While owls aren’t guaranteed, Maclay Flat is definitely one the best places in Montana to see owls. We were glad this Northern Pygmy-owl came through for us on Braden’s last birding expedition before returning to college.

Braden and I grinned and gave each other a quiet Hi-Five. After taking some photos, we settled in to watch it. The photographer said he’d heard at least three NPOWs calling back and forth—which seemed odd in broad daylight, and seemingly well before breeding season. Biologists I’ve talked to, though, emphasize how territorial these birds are, so perhaps the vocalizations help maintain their territories all year long. Whatever was going on, we—like most people—can’t get enough of owls and once again felt privileged to enjoy them as part of our world. It helped soften the blow of missing Braden when I took him to the airport a couple mornings later. Just not enough.

Counting Down Braden’s and Sneed’s Top 2022 Birds

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A tradition Braden and I have formed over the years is to make top birds lists after any big trip or, as this year, for our entire year of birding. This probably stems from the many hours I listened to Casey Kasem counting down the American Top 40 every weekend as a youth. Our own “Top 40” lists have diverged a bit since Braden is now on the East Coast for most of the year—but this year we still managed to have a lot of birding adventures together, and so have a lot of common birds on our list. It’s funny, though, how some birds we might have been super excited about when we first saw them often drift lower on the list. I suppose it’s like being super excited about Barry Manilow when you first heard him—and then realizing you could be listening to the likes of the Rolling Stones, Neil Young, and John Lee Hooker. Anyway, we thought you might enjoy our Top 10 birds of 2022—and hope you might share some of your own!

# 10

Coming in at Number 10 for Braden was the Florida Scrub-Jay, which is remarkably vulnerable in Florida, but Braden got to see with his birding buddy Nick Ramsey on their epic Spring Break Florida adventure. Read about it here. Sneed’s #10 was an unlikely Cape May Warbler—his Lifer—that he spotted in front of the house of his good friends Mollie and Craig Bloomsmith in Atlanta this fall.

**Florida Scrub-Jays are the only bird species entirely restricted to Florida.**

Braden had excellent adventures with Northern Saw-whet Owls while out in California, running into some adorable juveniles while thrashing through the woods during his job with the Institute for Bird Populations. Elegant Trogon finished #9 on Sneed’s list—an exotic bird if there ever was one! And yet, both Braden and Sneed wondered why this bird didn’t finish higher on either of their lists. Probably just too much on the beaten birding path. (Photo at top of the blog.)

**Non-stop birding for his job throughout the summer led Braden to a remarkable encounter with these juvenile Northern Saw-whet Owls.**

Braden’s night car camping (literally) in the Everglades landed Chuck-will’s-widow on his Top 10 while Zone-tailed Hawk swooped out of a flock of Turkey Vultures at Madera Canyon to nab Sneed’s Number 8.

**Zone-tailed Hawks are well-known mimics of Turkey Vultures and often hang out with them—which is where we spotted this one at Madera Canyon, Arizona; only our second ZTHA ever.**

Ah, who doesn’t love a Swallow-tailed Kite—especially one that swoops right over your head? Braden obviously DOES, as yet another bird from his Florida trip snagged a Top Ten spot. Sneed, meanwhile, went with the shockingly beautiful Scott’s Oriole for Lucky Number 7. He and Braden both fell in love with these birds, and were lucky enough to see them several times on their Arizona adventures. In fact . . .

**Braden never tired of seeing Swallow-tailed Kites on his and Nick’s epic Florida adventure.**

Scott’s Oriole grabbed Braden’s Number 6 while Sneed went with Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, also in Arizona, in a case that he couldn’t quite explain. “There was just something mysterious and intriguing about that bird,” he was quoted as telling a New York Times reporter.

**Though relatively widespread in the Southwest, Scott’s Oriole is a bird Braden and I wondered if we’d ever really get to see—or even if it really existed. It does!**

Unfortunately, the same New York Times reporter caught Sneed cheating for Number 5, as he listed THREE birds tied for #5: Mexican Whip-poor-will, Whiskered Screech-Owl, and Elf Owl. “How can you possibly justify this?” demanded the reporter. “Well, I only ever heard these three birds, but we listened to them on a magical night in Portal, walking down a darkened road. It’s just a night that Braden and I won’t ever forget.” Meanwhile Braden went with his many amazing experiences with Prairie Warblers this year for his #5 spot, seeing them throughout Florida, including the Everglades, in Maine, and during the Collard Family’s epic New York City trip in May.

**It blew Braden’s mind to learn that Prairie Warblers breed in the mangroves of Florida.**

The night walk in Portal also left a big impression on Braden, giving him his Number 4 in the form of Mexican Whip-poor-will. Sneed, meanwhile, went with Red-faced Warbler, spotted just a few miles and a couple thousand feet away—the first, and still only, RFWA the father-son duo has ever seen.

**Another fairly common Southwest bird that had eluded us until this trip, the Red-faced Warbler immediately captured our hearts. This is still the only we have ever seen.**

Number 3 is getting into some Serious Birds, and Braden selected Spotted Owl for his. Not only did Sneed and Braden both see them for the first time in the Chiricahuas, Braden got to see the California subspecies several times during his summer job. Sneed went with his recently self-found Long-tailed Duck—the first male he had ever seen—and one he discovered pretty much in his backyard near Missoula.

**When you find a bird by yourself, it naturally ranks higher in a Year List. Such was the case with this male Long-tailed Duck Sneed found near Frenchtown last fall.**

Braden paid for his Number 2 bird, Long-tailed Jaeger (a second cousin to former lead singer for the Rolling Stones) with repeated upchucking over the side of the boat during his summer pelagic boat trip out of Half Moon Bay. After cavorting with a bunch of Sabine’s Gulls, however, this bird took flight and then passed only ten feet above Braden’s head. He celebrated by once again barfing into the sea. Sneed opted for White-tailed Ptarmigan, just one of the coolest birds on the planet, seen during his and Braden’s stunning hike up to Piegan Pass in Glacier National Park in August.

**Blurry photo notwithstanding (or puking as was the case), this Long-tailed Jaeger flew into Braden’s #2 spot for the year.**

Drum Roll . . . And their Number 1s are . . .

The adventure and thrill of seeking out and finally finding a LeConte’s Thrasher on the east side of the Sierras stayed with Braden strongly enough to make it his Number 1 Bird of 2022! Remarkably, Spotted Owl, which had been only #4 on Sneed’s Arizona Trip list mounted an epic comeback to grab his Number 1 spot!

Braden’s #1 for 2022: LeConte’s Thrasher!

Thanks for tuning in as we’ve relived our top birds. Be sure to click on the links to get the full accounts, and may 2023 generate a memorable list for you, too!

Arizona 2022, Part 4: To Patagonia Lake, Madera Canyon and Beyond!

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This is the last installment of our four-part Arizona adventure. We’ve had a great response to these posts and want to thank you for all of your enthusiasm! Keep birding and supporting birds however you can, and we will share more adventures soon!

We departed our Nogales hotel the next morning to find a gorgeous Vermillion Flycatcher sitting on a bench outside the front door. It boded well for the day as we headed to our first destination, Patagonia Lake State Park, a place featured in the movie The Big Year, though undoubtedly not filmed there. Patagonia indeed upheld its reputation as a great birding spot, and we checked off two more Life Birds—Northern Beardless Tyrannulet and Bell’s Vireo. We also saw Summer Tanagers and got our best experience ever watching Phainopeplas, which sport the ultimate in cool with their silky black suits and blazing red eyes. Alas, we missed Braden’s top target, Varied Bunting—but picked it up at a small rest area just up the road!

**Although we missed Varied Buntings at Patagonia Lake, we got good looks at them at several more sites, including this one at Madera Canyon.**

Our Patagonia Lake checklist!

**We had seen Phainopeplas before, but got to spend about fifteen minutes watching them flycatch at Patagonia State Park—an experience that made us even more impressed with them!**

We had debated what to do with the rest of the day and had considered going for Whiskered Screech Owl in the rugged mountains west of Nogales, but with serious heat and the prospect of rough mountain roads to negotiate, we decided for the more comfortable alternative of Madera Canyon, a place we had both adored on our Big Year visit in 2016. We felt grateful for our decision after we staked out a campsite and availed ourselves of the marvelous bird feeders at Santa Rita Lodge. There we picked up Rivoli’s Hummingbird and Arizona Woodpecker for Braden’s Big Year list, and had much better looks at Varied Buntings, Hepatic Tanagers, and more.

**We feared we had missed Arizona Woodpecker for the trip, but Madera Canyon delivered. We just love the unique, brown motif of this Arizona specialty.**

As we were watching a group of Turkey Vultures, I suddenly saw one make a quick move that didn’t look right. “Braden, look at that!” We both got eyes on it and Braden shouted, “Zone-tailed Hawk!” We had seen one before, but had no idea of their close association with Turkey Vultures. In fact, it looked so much like a Turkey Vulture that it left no doubt that some kind of mimicry or convergent evolution had shaped it. Some speculate that potential prey (birds, reptiles, mammals) feel safe with Turkey Vultures overhead—giving a sneaky Zone-tailed a chance for a surprise attack!

**The “Turkey Vulture Hawk”, Zone-tailed Hawk, looks so much like a Turkey Vulture, we only ID’ed it after several double-takes.**

That afternoon we also enjoyed the company of multiple Mexican Jays and Painted Redstarts at our campsite and, later, heard the calls from the same trio of night birds we had enjoyed two nights before in Portal—along with our year’s first Common Poorwills! Oh, and did I mention Braden’s ears also scanned in the calls of Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers and Elegant Trogons? “Again,” Forrest Gump might groan.

**This curious Mexican Jay kept us company as Braden and I read aloud to each other at our campsite during the peak of the afternoon heat.**

The next morning, before aiming toward California, we had one more task. After rolling up camp, Braden guided us to a place called Montosa Canyon in the same range as Madera. Why? To find a recently-sighted, highly-coveted Five-striped Sparrow. I really didn’t know what our chances might be, but it took about thirty seconds for Braden to locate it, a handsome bird similar to Black-throated Sparrow. As an added bonus, Braden said, “Daddy, look over there.” I focused on a hummingbird and immediately recognized a species I’d read about countless times—a male Costa’s Hummingbird! The Costa’s was superb and we did a little dance, thinking it was Braden’s 400^th bird for his Big Year—the goal he had set for himself in January! We later learned, however, that we had inadvertently seen a juvenile Costa’s at Madera the day before, so 400 would have to wait for California Scrub-jay later that afternoon.

Our Montosa Canyon checklist!

Our first adult male Costa’s Hummingbird!

Many more birding adventures would unfold in the coming days as we made our way to San Diego to visit our cousin Laura, and then drove up to the Sierras to deliver Braden to his job monitoring Northern Goshawks for the summer. Sadly, from there I would continue home alone, hitting Modoc National Wildlife Refuge in Alturas and spending a fun three days with my friend and college roommate—not to mention avid reader of FatherSonBirding—yes, you guessed it, Roger Kohn. Roger showed me some of his favorite hotspots around his new home of Bend—and spotted a bird I especially wanted to see, White-headed Woodpecker. He also showed me the delights of Bend’s many brew pubs, but that, unfortunately, concludes this tale. Stay tuned for many more adventures including my recent fabulous birding in Billings and beyond, and Braden’s report(s) from the High Sierras. Who knows, I might even do some more truck birding this summer! Also stay tuned for more progress on Braden’s Big Year. After he hit 400 on our trip, I pushed him to reluctantly lift his target to 450—but between you and me, I think 500 has a much nicer sound to it. Will he go for it? I think he just might!

Braden’s Big Year total when I dropped him off near Sonora, California: 411 (New Goal: 450)