Birding in Flagstaff

Visiting northern Arizona is always a treat, especially when you add Flagstaff to the itinerary.  Not only does the area have a cooler climate, but it's a convenient gateway to an endless list of parks and attractions like the Grand Canyon and the Painted Desert.

And the state's highest mountain is just a few miles away.   At 12,633 feet, Mount Humphreys soars as a distinctive landmark from many distant points in the northern half of the state.  Its own unique destination, it offers alpine skiing in the winter along with camping and hiking in the warmer months.

At almost 7,000 feet itself, Flagstaff is situated within the highest contiguous forest of ponderosa pine trees in the world.  Throughout the area there are also numerous groves of aspen trees bordering wide, grassy meadows.  Coupled with the mild summers, an escape to the region promises an exciting birding opportunity that contrasts sharply with desert bird watching.

Maybe it's the dense forests, or the climate, or perhaps just the thin air, but while the wildlife isn't especially different than that in the Prescott mountains, it seemed to be more cooperative with this photographer on a recent visit.  On the campus of the Lowell Observatory on Mars Hill, I got a number of easy shots of western bluebirds, mountain chickadees, white-breasted nuthatches, dark-eyed juncos, a hairy woodpecker and a rufous hummingbird.

I had similar success in nearby Munds Park, but the subjects were slightly different in that the birds seemed to be preoccupied with their young and their nests.  A pair of nesting Brewer's blackbirds nervously distracted me from their just-hatched chicks.  In a grove of ponderosa pine trees, two Steller's jays seemed to be teaching a juvenile how to forage in the wild.  Western bluebirds flashed cobalt blue before entering their birdhouses.  Meanwhile, far above the menagerie, a nesting osprey soared en route to his fishing excursion in the community's lake.  On the same body of water, Canadian geese and their goslings glided far from shore.  And all around, swallows - both violet green and barn - hunted invisible insects.  When they did pause, their beaks were layered with mud for nest building.

While it feels like the dead of summer in the Arizona desert, it's clearly still spring in her mountains.  Busy parents are tending to their nests and young, while curious fledglings are exploring - telltale signs that flowers aren't the only beautiful blooms ready for a new season.

Arizona at its peak, Mount Humphreys near Flagstaff.

Ponderosa pine trees and a grassy clearing - used as a golf course - in Munds Park.

Grove of aspen trees.

White-breasted nuthatch with long-legged insect in its beak, on Mars Hill.

Male hairy woodpecker drilling for lunch.

Dark-eyed junco on Mars Hill.

Mountain chickadee, a new candidate for cutest bird in the high country.

Rufous hummingbird, either a female or adolescent male.

A pair of Brewer's blackbirds.  The male, in black, has a mouthful of insects for the chicks they're raising.

Western bluebird checking out a box nest in Munds Park.

Juvenile Steller's jay.

A curious juvenile Steller's jay.  He landed uncharacteristically close to the photographer.  Smartly, he stayed in the shadows - while not good for a photo, it might keep him safe from predators.

Barn swallow collecting mud in Munds Park.

Osprey in a distant nest atop a dead pine tree.  The other birds are lucky - he mostly eats fish.  So their hatchlings, nestlings and fledglings have a chance of maturing to see us when we return to Flagstaff at some future date.