Photographing Rare Birds In Southeast Arizona
Sinaloa Wren edition
When I first moved to Arizona in 2014, I was a just a guy with a camera who liked to get out in nature. I definitely would have never considered myself a “birder”.
But since Sierra Vista, Arizona is such a desirable destination for those who do love bird watching, it was inevitable that I would run into and interact with many birders.
… and that I would discover that birds are really fun to take pictures of.
Fast Forward to the spring of 2015.
By this time I was regularly taking pictures of birds, including some such as the Elegant Trogon which are unique to this area.
For a couple of weeks in the end of February and beginning of March, the birding forums and Facebook groups were all excited about sightings of a rare Mexican bird in Huachuca Canyon.
The Sinaloa Wren
Huachuca Canyon was already one of my favorite places to head with my camera in the mornings after work (I was on the overnight shift at the time).
Some mornings there would be a dozen or more people with cameras and binoculars hanging out near the little creek.
I didn’t join into the crowded vigil, but I did chat with them a little about what they were looking for.
Then one morning …
I got out to the little creek in the canyon at about 6:30am, and I had the place all to myself.
After wandering around for a bit I heard some rustling in the leaves near the creek.
I slowly crept over and sat down with my 200mm lens to wait.
It wasn’t long before I was rewarded by some movement. So I started clicking the shutter.
It was definitely a little brown bird.
Most of the pictures weren’t usable (too noisy in the low light).
But I was happy with a couple after processing.
Mind you, I was not a birder, so I still wasn’t sure this was the bird that everybody had been looking for on those other mornings.
After uploading my images to the Birding—Arizona and the Southwest Facebook group, I quickly had my confirmation …
I had indeed photographed a bird that is rarely seen north of the border!
10 year down the road, and many, many bird pictures later, I still don’t tend to follow the crowds when a rare bird is sighted in our area.
But since I’m out and about with my camera a lot, I won’t be too surprised the next time I run into a bird that’s not supposed to be in our area.
… and hopefully I’ll capture a useable image or two. 😎
How about you?
Do you have any pictures of things you wouldn’t have expected to see?
Til next time,
Todd
p.s. while I’m still a member of the Facebook group, these days I also share most of my birding pictures on https://bsky.app/profile/ilookatclouds.bsky.social
