Wildlife

Bird Photo – American Kestrel

Jeff

I was walking by my picture window yesterday afternoon and I saw this bird perched on a wire near a telephone pole. I hadn’t seen this bird in our neighborhood before, but recognized its hawk-like persona and thought it might be an American Kestrel.

I posted the picture on the Bird Forum and sure enough some of the experienced birders there confirmed it was an American Kestrel. They ventured, perhaps, that this is a female because of the coloration. I am sorry that the bird was so far away, but these were the best pictures I could get.

An American Kestrel, Cave Creek, AZ

An American Kestrel, Cave Creek, AZ

An American Kestrel, Cave Creek, AZ

An American Kestrel, Cave Creek, AZ

Try as I might, I could not get that bird to turn around!

Birds at the Gilbert Water Ranch – 20150412 – Part 2

Jeff

NOTE: The order in which the birds and narratives appear are not the actual order in which they were seen during our bird walk.

As a follow up to Part 1 of our bird walk at the Gilbert Water Ranch, in Gilbert, AZ I am posting some additional pictures and narratives. As you might expect at something called a water ranch, this is a habitat for numerous ducks and other water fowl although having it in a desert is somewhat unique. The Mallard pictured below watched us as we watched him strike up a nice profile.

Mallard

We also came across what appears to me (and I’m no expert) a Snowy Egret. He was looking intently in the water for some victuals.

Snowy Egret

Every once in a while he looked up to allow me to snap this shot of him.

Snowy Egret

The group spotted a nest in this tree and there was a fair amount of activity around it. We saw a Verdin poised next to it. There was another nest nearby and we were wondering whether one was a fledgling nest while the other was home for adults.

Verdin

Although I had seen American Coots on a number of occasions, this is my best picture so far of the bird with its white beak. I also like the color of the eye against the dark feathers; nice! While this bird looks somewhat like a duck, it has a classification of its own.

American Coo

This fellow looked to me like a Great Egret.

Great Egret

One of the last birds we saw this day, which was a surprise sighting since we were sitting around having snacks and reviewing which birds we had identified, was a Cassin’s Kingbird. He just appeared high in the tree and stayed for a while so we could marvel at his beautiful coloration.

TCassin's Kingbird

I will finish the bird walk next week with some more notes and photographs. Which bird photo did you find most interesting?

Birds at the Gilbert Water Ranch – 20150412 – Part 1

Jeff

I awoke at 3:30am this morning to prepare for my “bird watch” outing at the Gilbert Water Ranch in Gilbert, Arizona. We had to be at the park by 6am and my wife and I were going to car pool with a person we had never met so we needed to be on time. Their home was 22-25 minutes away and they wanted to leave at 5:25. Of course I needed my requisite cup(s) of coffee and I also needed to get my STATUS QUOtes out to my mailing list.

[Self promotion here: If you like quotes, really good quotes, check out my STATUS QUOTes posted daily on this blog. Click here – STATUS QUOTes– to view the entire category.]

In any event, all went smoothly and we met up with our tour guide, Kathe, and proceeded to the Gilbert Water Ranch arriving on schedule. We saw a good number of birds this day. I might also mention that this is a transition time for birds in our area and some are moving out while less are moving in ahead of the long, hot summer days.

As we started our tour, a some birds already on my seen list were spotted. The first new-ish experience for me was a Mourning Dove in the crook of a Saguaro cactus. I have seen many Mourning Doves, but not in the arms of a Saguaro! Most likely this was a nest built by a Curve-billed Thrasher and usurped by the dove.

Mourning Dove in Saguaro Cactus Nest

As we walked along the paths meandering through the reclamation ponds, we came across a white-crowned Sparrow. I am sure I had seen these before, but never noted it so this was a new entry on my list.

white-crowned sparrow

Even though this is the desert, we do have riparian and oasis-type areas that draw water birds. One such resident this day was the Neotropic Cormorant.

Neotropical Cormorant

Walking on the path ahead of us was an Abert’s Towhee.

Disclaimer here: There wasn’t much light early on the walk because it was cloudy. My Superzoom really needs a lot of light to render crisp, clear shots so this may be a bit “fuzzy,” but certainly good enough for my bird-spotting history.

Abert's Towhee

There were several sightings of Great Blue Herons. This particular bird remained perched on a man-made platform for some time so we could get a clear picture.

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

When we came to the bird below, there was some discussion whether this was a Lesser Yellowlegs or a Greater Yellowlegs. For those non-birders, this is what we do! After referring to the the Sibley Field Guide and a brief debate, it was decided that based on the size of the bird and markings, it was a Lesser Yellowlegs.

Lesser Yellowlegs

As I might have mentioned in one of my previous posts somewhere on this blog and most certainly on my previous Internet persona, Gardening on the Moon, we live on the edge of the desert and one bird we have in large numbers is the Gambel’s Quail. These birds are round and not exactly aerodynamic and thus they would rather walk or run than fly. Approaching them in a car often causes them to scurry ahead, but when forced, they do take to the air. It is unusual to spot them perched high in a tree as the bird below was spotted posing for its closeup.

TGambel's Quail

The last bird I will present today is a Green Heron. It is an unusual name for a majestic bird that doesn’t actually contain much green anywhere in its plumage! Supposedly under certain conditions, it has a blue-green “gloss.”

Green Heron

We saw a good many other birds this day and I will post our other sightings soon. Until then, I hope you have enjoyed following me along my birding journey.

Photographing Squirrels at Play – Vadim Trunov

Jeff

It is often said that “timing is everything” and in my life I have found this to be true on many occasions. When viewing the photographs below, we can note that timing was probably an important factor, but patience, persistence and skill were also on strong display. We owe a big THANK YOU to photographer Vadim Trunov for capturing these whimsical photographs of squirrels acting in many ways much like other living creatures.

“Squirrels

“Squirrels

“quirrels

Via

You can view much more of Vadim Trunov’s work on his 500px page

Birds of Arizona – Curve-billed Thrasher

Jeff

The Curve-Billed Thrasher is an interesting bird, especially in the mid-to-late spring. They often “claim” a saguaro as their own and stand guard over the ripening seed pods which mature into sweet, tasty treats. Native Americans would collect these and make some delectable edibles out of them. If you want to collect them today, you need to be prepared because the Curve-billed Thrashers are patient and when the fruit is ripe, they dive right in.

These Sonoran Desert denizens are prevalent and can be seen throughout the year. They have a very distinctive call which is easy to discern. I especially like the very rich orange-yellow color of their eyes.

“Curve-billed

“Curve-billed

The pictures above were taken on February 9, 2015 during a hike at the Jewel of the Creek Trail, Cave Creek Arizona. The “Jewel” is a riparian habitat with a number of birds taking refuge there at various times of the year. The water runs most of the year and provides a home for frogs and other water-loving creatures.

You can read more about the Curve-billed Thrasher at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology