Well, the forecast extreme cold did arrive, and I’ve been out in colder, but I’ve noticed that my camera doesn’t like it much, so that’s my excuse for staying in this morning. Instead, let’s look back at another great trip to a warm place I had the good fortune to take in 2025: Arizona.
If you were following along then, you may recall that things got off to a great start when I found my first Costa’s hummingbird (Calypte costae), feeding from the plantings in the nice xeriscaping they added in front of the rental car center at Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix. How’s that for reinforcing my mantra of “always be birding!”
After we did the crazy hike that my sister, who had planned the whole trip, wanted to do in the canyon on day 2, we got my first good look at a pygmy nuthatch in the forest atop the southern rim.
Later that day we drove up to Page, AZ to visit Antelope Canyon the next day, but before we headed out on that adventure, we visited the golf course in town where we found dozens of gorgeous white-faced ibises (Plegadis chihi) frantically foraging for morsels in the grass.
Farther along the course, we spotted this darling black-chinned hummingbird, my first adult male.
Lastly, we eventually had to go for our scheduled slot-canyon tour, which was amazing, and when we emerged at the “upstream” end of the slot, look who was there to greet us, our very first lark sparrow (Chondestes grammacus). Ha!
Things are supposed to warm up a bit in Estabrook by morning, and the wind is supposed to die down a bit, so the wind chill should only be in the negative 20s. I’ll see if I can’t get my camera to cooperate, and I’ll let you know if I see anything pretty or interesting.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 