Birds and Other Nature Sightings

     Last week I went on an extended family trip to Arizona.  It was only my second visit to the Grand Canyon State.  Most of the trip was spent in beautiful Sedona, with a day at the Grand Canyon and about a day and a half in Mesa.  There were 11 of us in the party and there was an itinerary of which I agreed to follow.  My birding was, as usual during these getaways, mostly incidental with a few sneak away treks.  All in all, though, I managed to see 63 bird species; 19 of these were year birds.  Of the year birds, three were also life birds.  I also saw two life subspecies of birds and some other interesting creatures from the desert state. As I usually do, I scouted the local eBird checklists for the area leading up to the trip and made a wish list of bird species I would like to find.  Some of these were what I thought would be likely to see and the rest ranging up to if I’m lucky to see .  My three new birds fell somewhe...