Great West Tour of North America 2009

(Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming , Montana, New Mexico and Idaho )

 

On this tour we'll have plenty of time (six weeks) for birding.  We'll start from Seattle and we'll head westwards to the Olympic NP. This National Park is one of the rarest primeval rainforests in the temperate climate (temperature and precipitation) around the world. The ecosystem "temperate rainforest" is the species-richest region within it's climate zone. A few days later we are planning to go south along the west-coast of Washington, Oregon and California. The main target birds on this route are waterfowls and shorebirds like plovers, stilts and avocets. By the end of July we will leave the coast and drive east to the massive "sky island"  in Southern Arizona best known as  the Chiricahua Mountains. The mountain range with  varied  habitats ranging from desert scrub and  arid grassland to moist forests (conifer forest and riparian woodland). The nearness to Mexico and the the range from 4000 to almost 10.000 feet produce a awesome variety of different fauna especially the avifauna. After almost two weeks in the Chiricahua Mountains we will drive Northeast to a famous rock formation the Coyotes Buttes North and South at the state border  of Arizona and Utah. In this part of our journey the main photo targets are  insects, reptiles and of course landscapes especially canyons, arches, natural bridges, gorges, continental sand dunes, hoodoos and narrows. The last two weeks are reserved for four different NP and three State Parks. The first one will be the Great Basin NP in Nevada. We visited this NP last autumn but most of the roads were already closed by high snow fall. Yellowstone NP, Grand Teton NP and Crater Lake NP are the next points of our interest. Over the last years we truly used to like the Yellowstone NP although we expect that this legendary park is crowded in summer when we are there. We have never visited the Crater Lake NP in Oregon but on the last days of our Great Tour 2009 we will have enough time on the way back to Seattle. In those parks we expect mammals (Moose, Pronghorn Antelope, Mule Deer and Black Bears ) and also tremendous landscapes.   

 

 

The Wave (North Coyote Buttes / Paria Canyon/ Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness)

 

 

 

 

 

 

just in comparison with me

 

waiting for the sun at 41°C (106 °F)

 

Mount Rainier NP 

 

 

 

 

Joshua Tree NP

 

 

 

 

Yellowstone NP

 

 

 

 

 

Hoary marmot - Eisgraues Murmeltier -  Marmota caligata (subalpine meadows)

 

 

 

Moose -  Elch - Alces alces

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pronghorn Antelope - Gabelbock - Antilocapra americana

 

 

 

Coyote - Canis latrans

 

 

Bison bison

 

 

 White-tailed Antelope Squirrel - Weißschwanz-Antilopenziesel - Ammospermophilus leucurus

 

 

 

House Wren - Hauszaunkönig - Trogladytes aedon

 

 

 

 

Black-headed Grosbeak - Schwarzkopf-Kernknacker - Pheucticus melanocephalus

 

 

 

 

Crissal Thrasher - Rotsteiß-Spottdrossel - Toxostoma crissale

 

 

Sandhill Crane - Kanadakranich- Grus canadensis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Blue-throated Hummingbird - Blaukehlnymphe - Lampornis clemenciae

 

 

 

 Broad-billed Hummingbird- Breitschnabelkolibri - Cynanthus latirostris

 

 

Black-chinned Hummingbird - Schwarzkinnkolibri - Archilochus alexandri

 

 

 

Eugenes fulgens - Dickschnabelkolibri - Magnificent Hummingbird

 

 

 

Anna´s Hummingbird - Annakolibri - Calypte anna

 

 

  Berylline Hummingbird - Beryll-Amazilie -Amazilia beryllina

 

 

Allen´s Hummingbird - Grünrücken-Zimtelfe - Selashorus sasin

 

 

Burrowing Owl - Kaninchenkauz - Athene cunicularia

 

 

 

 

Loggerhead Shrike - Louisianawürger - Lanius ludovicianus

 

 

 

 

 Acorn Woodpecker - Eichelspecht - Melanerpes formicivorus

 

 

 

Arizona Woodpecker - Picoides arizonae 

 

 

 American Avocet - Amerikanischer Säbelschnäbler - Recurvirostra americana

 

 

 Black-necked Stilt - Amerikanischer Stelzenläufer - Himantopus mexicanus

 

 

 

Arizona Sister - Arizona Eisvogel - Adelpha eulalia

 

 

 

 

 Pale Tiger Swallowtil - Pterourus eurymedon

 

 

 Kriemhild Fritillary - Perlmutterfalter - Clossiana kriemhild

 

 

 

 Painted Lady - Vanessa cardui

 

 

 

 

 

 Queen - Danaus gilippus

 

 

 

Red-spotted Purple - Basilarchia astyanax

 

 

 

Flame Skimmer - Libellula saturata

 

 

 

 Eastern Pondhawk - Erythemis simplicicollis

 

 

Horse Lubber grasshopper  - Taeniopoda eques 

 

 

Diamondback Rattlesnake - Diamant-Klapperschlange - Crotalus adamanteus

 

 

Sonora Whipsnake - Kutscherpeitschennatter - Masticophis bilineatus

 

 

Clark´s Spiny Lizard - Clark's Stachelleguan - Sceloporus clarki

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

wird fortgesetzt

is continued / to go on