Not all bird photographs are taken to be "wall art;" the
rarity of certain birds draws birders from near and far to
see them, and almost any recognizable image of such a
rarity has value and is worth taking. In many cases these
photos serve as documentation that a certain bird occurred
where it hadn't been expected, and photos are used by state
records committees to clinch the identification of some
troublesome species that look very much like closely
related species that are expected to be in a certain place.
I am as much of a birder as I am a photographer, so I will
always be attracted by reports of rarities and wil try to
see them (first) and photograph them (if possible).
Since I might get only one or two useful images of such
rarities I've decided to give them special status on my web
site by putting them in this rarities section, rather than
bury them among the Avian Galleries elsewhere
on this site.
The Arizona Field Ornithologists web site at www.azfo.org has the best
information on rare birds seen in Arizona with an
extensive collection of photographs taken by field
observers. Each bird is accompanied by details about
when and where it was seen and photographed, plus
usually some background on the history of the species
in Arizona. I encourage anyone interested in any of
the rare birds I've photographed in AZ to explore the
photo galleries at AZFO to learn more and see other
images.