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Red-faced Warblers in the Bradshaws

After encountering my first bear in Arizona last weekend -  click here to see that story  - writing about finding a new bird seems rather dull.  But even though that excursion culminated in my first real bear story, it started off in its own right as an ambitious trip to a birding hot spot.   As I noted in that post, I was only several feet into my hike on the Dandrea Trail in the Bradshaw Mountains when I had my very first encounter with a red-faced warbler this far north in its range.  And like with the bear, this find came as a total surprise.

I think I've seen one before in Madera Canyon, two hundred miles to the south.  Like many songbirds, it winters in central and southern Mexico and comes north in the summer to breed.  The red-faced warbler likes high mountain habitats for breeding and  lucky for us the peaks of Arizona and New Mexico are included.  Until now I thought they were limited to the sky islands in our state's southeast, but I now know they range into this area. 

Since the Dandrea Trail starts at over 6,000 feet and begins its ascent on the north-facing slope of Mount Davis, many fir and oak trees create a cool canopy for both hikers and wildlife.  At a saddle almost 1,000 feet higher, with a more southern exposure, the vegetation opens slightly.  On my hike in this higher area at the very beginning of last autumn, I encountered some painted redstarts and red-breasted nuthatches, both uncommon finds for me.  Common mountain birds like juncos and hermit thrushes populated the lower trails.  However on this trip, I didn't see any redstarts or nuthatches at the higher elevations and instead saw a couple of western tanagers.

Like with the bear, I was excited and surprised to meet a brand new animal in the wild on the Dandrea Trail this week.  But unlike in that encounter, I was ready with my camera when I found several red-faced warblers high in the trees. 








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