This past Saturday I led a free Jay's Bird Barn (now The Lookout) guided bird walk to Granite Basin. This is one of my favorite places to go birding locally. I've had a lot of amazing discoveries there - birds that "shouldn't" be in the Prescott area, yet somehow end up in this unique confluence of habitats.

A few examples of some of the rarities I've discovered at Granite Basin over the years include black-throated blue warbler, golden-crowned sparrow, varied thrush (on three different occasions) and rose-breasted grosbeak.

Many other birders have found equally, if not even more amazing, discoveries in the basin over the years, including hooded warbler, crescent-chested warbler and purple gallinule. This past December I had a Lewis' woodpecker on the day of the Christmas Bird Count, and last year I had a red-breasted sapsucker on the day of the count.

On our bird walk this past Saturday we were extremely fortunate to discover yet another rarity - a northern waterthrush. The name is a little misleading - it might make you think this species is a type of thrush, when in reality, it is a type of warbler.

We'd been birding for over two and a half hours, and we were making our way back to the parking lot to wrap up our bird walk when I saw the waterthrush in the middle of a trail near the edge of the lake. I had eleven birders with me, and I made sure everyone got on the bird - I didn't want anyone to miss it. Fortunately, we had a very cooperative bird - it stayed out in plain sight long enough for everyone to get great looks at it.

To emphasize what a good find this was, I pulled out my iPhone and opened the iBird Pro app. The range map, showing the distribution of this species, doesn't even show it as occurring in Arizona. I guess the bird didn't look at the map! That's not to say it hasn't been seen in the Prescott area before, but it is certainly considered a rare bird for Arizona.

What a way to cap off a spectacular morning. Even before we'd seen the waterthrush I considered our morning to be a tremendously successful bird walk. We'd seen so many beautiful birds including western and summer tanagers, Lucy's, yellow and yellow-rumped warblers and a zone-tailed hawk - to name a few.

Last Wednesday I experienced a very birdy morning in my yard. In a 10- to-15-minute time span I saw a male northern cardinal, a male Bullock's oriole, a male western tanager, a male lazuli bunting, a male Wilson's warbler and a male yellow warbler. I specifically mention that I saw males because of their striking colors and plumage. Additionally, I still had cedar waxwings and white-crowned sparrows in my yard. It was a banner day for birds.

The white-crowned sparrows have since moved on. I still have a few lingering cedar waxwings, but they will be leaving soon. At this point I'm still seeing lazuli buntings, western tanagers and a lot of black-headed grosbeaks in my yard. Most of all, I am thoroughly enjoying the male cardinal that seems to have claimed our yard as his home.

What a thrill to hear him singing morning and night. I can only assume he is looking for a mate. I've yet to see a female in my yard. I'm crossing my fingers he can attract a mate and they'll nest either in our yard or at least near our property.

Birding tip of the week:Don't forget to join the Prescott Audubon Society this Saturday from 4 to 7 pm at the Highlands Center for Natural History as they celebrate Migratory Bird Day!

Until next week, Happy Birding!