Big Bend and Arizona Wrap-Up

I’m back at SeaTac International Airport, getting ready to board my flight to Anchorage.  Which means if I’m going to do a wrap-up post for my last trip, I’d better make it snappy.  Here’s a quick one…

Miles by car: 1881

Miles by car over crappy mountain roads: 80

Miles by foot: 40 (approx)

Number of species seen: 128

New Birds for my Big Year: 15

Total Species Seen Since June of 2012: 624

Probability that I will hit my goal of 650 before my Big Year ends: 57.2%

Number of Stomach Flu Viruses in my gut during the AZ portion of my trip: 8,954,000,000

Coolest “Plain” bird: Juniper Titmouse

Coolest Abundant Bird: Ash-throated Flycatcher

Coolest “non-bird”: endangered Ramsey Canyon Leopard Frog

Place I never get tired of visiting: Cave Creek Canyon, AZ

Roughest Road: Tie – Road to Christmas Mountain Oasis and Carr Canyon Rd (pictured below)

Bird that wouldn’t give me the time of day: Miller Canyon’s Spotted Owl

Bird that was most “in my face”: Rock Wren

One of the only birds worth an 11-hour drive followed by an 11-mile hike: Colima Warbler

As I mentioned, I’m off to Alaska this morning – my very last trip of the year.  I’m a little nervous about this trip, as it’s my first trip to the 49th State, and I don’t really know much about birding Alaska.  I know where I’m staying almost every night, but my plans for what to do each day are still a little up in the air.  I found packing for this trip challenging too, as I’ll be gone for 15 days and need to be prepared for temperatures ranging from 25 F to 85 F.  Apparently spring is late arriving this year up there, and some roads that I was planning on using are still snowed in.  I’ll try to post some updates and photos when I get to a place that has good internet connectivity.  Whatever happens, there will surely be good stories to tell.