A Rose-breasted Grosbeak in Prescott

The large number of cardinals that migrate through or into Arizona, not to mention the two colorful species of the family that live here year-round, were an early source of inspiration and excitement when I caught the birding bug a couple of years ago.  

The scarlet-colored northern cardinal ranges over a wide swath of the state and its drabber cousin, the pyrrhuloxia, lives in the lower third, with both residing here year-round.  But most other members of the cardinalidae family that we might see are migrants, coming seasonally into the state for summer breeding or flying  through en route to their seasonal homes north or south.  It was this latter case when a lazuli bunting pair showed up briefly in my Prescott yard last spring.  

What was the chance that during this year's fall migration the same bird might show up in my yard during its trip homeward?  Slim to none was my first thought, and to date I've not had to question that calculation.  However, thanks to very lucky timing I saw a brand new cardinal arrive in my yard's seed feeder just last week.  

I took a casual glance out my front window only to spy what looked like a spotted towhee but that I sensed was different.  I couldn't ponder him very long because in a sure sign he was a migratory bird he divined my closer stares and flew into a nearby tree.  He must have been hungry because opening the front door didn't scare him too far away, giving me the opportunity for a quick couple of distant shots.  But several clicks were enough for his patience and he flew off.  

Thanks to the grainy pictures I did capture, I was able to identify the feeder's visitor as a juvenile male rose-breasted grosbeak, my first encounter with this bird.   It might be a once-in-a-lifetime meeting, at least in this state, as Arizona is not in his normal range  even during migration.  He breeds mostly in northeastern North America but sometimes as far west as northern British Columbia.  His migratory route takes him home to Latin America normally across or along the Gulf of Mexico.

But lucky for me strays do appear in the American West from time to time.  Maybe some of this summer's offspring from Western Canada find the route to their winter home easier through the Rocky Mountain States.  With headwinds and rain from Hurricane Rosa entering Arizona this week, I wish him Godspeed.