Florida Canyon with Laurel and Ken

In early August, I spent a couple of days birding and bugging in Southeastern Arizona with my friends Ken Russell and Laurel Devaney. I got to know them in the early 90’s when we all lived in Corvallis, Oregon. Now they live in Fairbanks, Alaska, where they showed me my lifer Boreal and Northern Hawk-Owls in 1996. This was their first trip to Arizona during the monsoon, so they had several breeding birds to look for, such as Five-striped Sparrow. Also since their last visit about 10 years ago, Black-capped Gnatcatcher has become a regular breeder.

Laurel Devaney

Ken Russell

First, here are some photos from our morning in Florida Canyon on August 3.

Siva Juniper Hairstreak

Smoky Beefly, Exoprosopa fumosa

Click on the photo to read Andy Calderwood's interesting comments on the above species.

Spine-tipped Dancer, Argia extranea

Springwater Dancer, Argia plana

Tonto Dancer, Argia tonto

Red Rock Skimmer, Paltothemis lineatipes

Le Conte’s Soldier Beetle, Chauliognathus lecontei

Myzinum sp., Tiphiidae wasp

Mournful Duskywing

wasp Triscolia ardens, Scoliidae

Michner’s Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa micheneri

Leda Ministreak