Day 18 – Through New Mexico to Arizona

Lark Bunting – one of the species seen better in Arizona than Texas

We left El Paso early and, soon after, crossed the State line from Texas into New Mexico. Two hundred miles later and we were in Arizona for an outstanding afternoons birding around Portal, in the foothills of the Chiricahua Mountains. We added a few ticks and saw some species we’d already seen in Texas, only much better. A truly memorable end to the day came when we were invited by Maya Decker to enjoy her yard birds – which included Magnificent Hummingbird, an America tick, a flock of 15 Lazuli Bunting and a supporting cast of Hummers, Orioles, Sparrows and Towhee! Supper at the Portal Stores & Cafe was a perfect conclusion to a great first day in South East Arizona.

Unfortunately the WiFi is too weak to upload any more photos at the moment – more to come later!

Post-script – now, with better internet, a couple more photos.

First of two American ‘ticks’ – Harris’s Sparrow