I joined Wings Birding Tours for their tour of Arizona and Utah, Fall Migration in the Canyonlands. 
The tour superbly combined birdwatching with some of the most spectacular landscapes in the Southwest. I recommend it.
On our first day on the road, we visited Boyce Thompson Arboretum, east of that sun-baked madness known as Phoenix, and then rose up to the southern end of the Colorado Plateau. 
Don’t forget Monument Valley and the Petrified Forest/Painted Desert! 
We explored the pine-filled White Mountains near the New Mexico border. 
On our last day, we descended from the mountains to the desert, feeling the temperature rise 50 degrees, passing through the lesser known but no less spectacular Salt River Canyon, and ending in the Water Ranch, a riparian wonderland in Gilbert, AZ, made of reclaimed water and a magnet oasis in greater Phoenix’s suburban sprawl. 
Birds I: Some Old Friends and Variations
7 responses to “Birds I: Some Old Friends and Variations”
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Absolutely beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
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Did you leave the birds’ ID out as a quiz for birders?
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Mmmmmmaybe….
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Ok. My guesses. 1. juvenile rock wren 2. bald eagle 3. juvenile snowy egret and black-necked stilt 4. juvenile red-tailed hawk 5. female less goldfinch 6. first winter female yellow-headed blackbird 7. summer tanager 8. common raven 9. great-tailed grackle 10. juvenile cowbird though it’s awfully gray 11. Wilson’s warbler 12. Stellar jay (THAT was easy!) 13. white pelican
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A great run down! But take another look at 5’s bill. 10 also is incorrect; this maybe be a real challenge since it looks as grey as the desert parking lot here and was taken from some detail-obscuring distance.
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5. not a clue. 10. so many potential choices – so many reasons to disqualify them. Not: bluebird in spite of the hint of rust on the sides and hint of blue on the back – wrong shape bill; Mexican or western scrub jay – wrong shape bill. The bill is somewhat tanager-ish but the color isn’t there and the tail is very long. Okay – I give up.
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The yellow one (5) is a Western Tanager. The gray one (10) is a Canyon Towhee.
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Backyard and Beyond 
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