Balent, Ken, and Steve check out Arizona
Our trip started Thursday night at 10:30, when I picked up Steve and
Balent at the airport in Phoenix. By 2:30 we were at Patagonia Lake State
Park, ready to get some sleep after a nice meal at an In-N-Out. Three
hours after getting to sleep, we were up birding, and we birded nonstop
for the next 15 hours. By 8:30 we were exhausted, and found a motel. The
next day, we did some good birding in Madera Canyon. Balent and Steve
positively identified a "wild" turkey:
After 2 days of southeast Arizona, we headed to the Grand Canyon for
sightseeing.
There were birds there, too, like a California Condor flying near a
Violet-green Swallow:
Sunset at the canyon was cool:
The next morning started out with some great birding, including a
Peregrine Falcon flyby and full stoop, a mere 50 feet away at eye level.
It was awesome.
The view of Plateau Point from Yavapai Point:
Desert View:
Overall, the trip was 4 days and 1150 miles- a little crazy, but it was
all worth it. If you want to see the full bird report, click here.