Birding: Paint Box Colors on the Arizona Trail

We were looking for a short hike while staying a few days at Pine Grove Campground near Lake Mary (which is near Flagstaff, AZ). So we checked out our maps and discovered that there was a trail head for the Arizona Trail on a nearby forest road. The surprise for the day was that it was a fabulous area for birding.

The open meadows edged with pine and dotted with juniper and sage were muted earth tones, but they were splashed with flying primary colors right out of an artist’s paintbox.

There were Western Bluebirds…

Western Bluebird Out on a Limb

and amazingly intense Male Mountain Bluebirds…

Male Mountain Bluebird Perched on a Branch

Brilliant Male Mountain Bluebird

and slightly more subtle females.

Female Mountain Bluebird Eating a Fat Caterpillar

There were brilliant Western Meadowlarks both high…

Western Meadowlark Singing at the Top of a Pine

and low…

Western Meadowlark Foraging in the Grass

Western Meadowlark in the Grass

All in good numbers, and all in a relatively short span of only a few miles.

There were, of course, many of the more conservatively clad avian representatives, striving to keep a lower profile.

Lark Sparrow Just Blending In

It’s always fun to stumble upon a little birding hotspot when you least expect it. Kind of lifts your spirits if you know what I mean.

Thank you little dinosaurs!