"Tails" of a New Birder's Journey

Today I visited Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary. This is a place I previously visited when I was in Arizona in November 2024. In November, I went with a friend who is an expert birder. I was thinking a lot about that past visit and how much I’ve progressed as a birder. I think it was on that visit that I said to my friend, “Maybe if you didn’t ID every bird for me, I could learn them on my own.” Because that’s really how you learn how to identify birds. At least, that’s how I learn best. So my friend said, “Good point,” and it was up to me to ID what we saw. 

Then I realized what I was up against was the equivalent of someone who has dribbled a basketball having to play a one-on-one game with Michael Jordan. I struggled to ID basic birds like Yellow-rumped Warblers and Lesser Goldfinches, with my friend saying “Good! Good, Dawn!” like I was a 9-year-old. It became a running joke during the rest of our time together. I also remember that one of the guides said we could use one of the birding blinds* that are usually available for rent. We had a picnic lunch in a cooler and ate in the blind.

On this visit, I was by myself. I had a few target species–all Hummingbirds. I knew that Black-chinned, Costa’s, and Lucifer Hummingbirds had all been spotted there recently, and I really wanted Lucifer for my Life List. I also wanted to observe the Black-chinned and Costa’s because although we get them in California, they’re not there for long. 

I’d also read on the Arizona Birding Discord that a Lawrence’s Goldfinch had been spotted a few days earlier. Although this is not a rare bird for Cali, it’s highly unusual for Arizona. So it would be a good bird to get for my Arizona list.**

Ash Canyon has several viewing areas set up, with hummingbird feeders scattered around and lots of chairs and benches. It’s a place to go “Lazy Birding,”*** and with temps in the 90s, I was more than happy to be lazy. The volunteer that day was named Nick and he said he’d seen the Lawrence’s a few hours earlier. 

It soon became apparent that there a lot of different Hummer species there, and that the females of the species are ones that look a lot alike. I spent a good 2-3 hours there working on my Hummer IDs. With some help from Nick and another birder who was waiting for the LAGO**** to show up, I was confident about putting Sir Lucifer on my Life List. If only he’d been #666! How cool would that’ve been. 

I also got two more Life Birds here. A Scott’s Oriole, male and female, and a Blue Grosbeak. 

And wouldn’t you know it, but the Lawrence’s Goldfinch showed up! I had just got LAGO as a Lifer at San Jacinto after he evaded me for months in Orange County. I was at the seed feeders with tons of LEGOs when I noticed a Goldfinch with a black face, gray head, yellow body, and gray and yellow wingbars. It was Sir Lawrence himself! First, I got photographic proof in case Sir LAGO decided to make a quick departure. Then, I tried to alert the volunteer who I could see sitting in another section. Several loud Pssts did not get his attention–Nick may have been hard of hearing…

I noticed the photographer, Ed, was sitting at a closer section and I waved frantically to him. He waved politely back. Jeez Louise… I hiss-whispered “LAWRENCE!!!!” and he immediately sprang up from his lazy birding chair. Through some hand gestures, I managed to point out that he could get his photo from the trail leading to where I was sitting. After he got his photographic proof, he slowly approached and LAGO stayed for another minute or so before flying off. 

I’d talked with Ed earlier and learned he moved here from Michigan. Ed told me that LAGO was his 400th Life Bird! We high-fived and then I went to alert the volunteer, who then proceeded to call a couple friends to come see Sir LAGO. “Just let ‘em know the Lady birder from California is the one who spotted it,” I joked. I don’t think Nick heard me… On my way back to my car, I reflected on how much my birding knowledge has grown in just six months. 

There was one bird that gave me ID difficulty and it’s a bird I know well. In fact, I love this bird so much, that I want to change my name to its name: the Verdin. Ed told me that there were baby Verdins around, and when I saw this bird, I thought it was maybe a Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher due to the distinct white eye-ring. But, I knew the body shape was off, and it was also eating from the jelly feeder when Gnatcatchers, well, catch and eat gnats. I asked the volunteer for help and he said it was a baby Verdin! Apparently, they have eye rings as juveniles.

*birding blind: noun: Also known as a bird hide, this is a structure designed to conceal observers, allowing them to watch birds and other wildlife up close without being detected.

**State list: noun. A personal record of all the bird species a person has observed and identified within a specific state.

***Lazy Birding: verb. Birdwatching that involves a minimal amount of walking and lots of sitting, often in accessible locations like backyards, local parks, and designated birding sanctuaries.

****LAGO: acronym. The banding code for LAwrence’s GOldfinch.