The Exotic Hotel

There are many exciting birding prospects in North Carolina, now not to far around the corner (though, alas, after migration). Some are near, many are far, and one will be as close to home as possible. In the N.C. we will have a proper yard, a yard where living creatures will want to be! NOw getting into middle age and also being a Dad, Yard Birding is the Ultimate.

Despite doing some significant landscaping here in PHX the last few months, B's Bs yard list is still hovering around 15 species, and as such I do some subsidizing for my local and organically sourced birding needs with the neighbor's plot across the street.

The irony, or course, is that the birds and their purchase there are anything but locally sourced. Date Palms and Royal Palms are probably the most common transplants around Phoenix (other than snowbirds) and while they suck up a lot of water and contribute little shade, they do serve as havens for many avian transplants. Rock Pigeons and Eurasian Starlings nest in the niches and cavities where old fronds were cut. Within the last few weeks, a Red-eyed White Dove has taken up residence as well, after a harrowing escape, release, or mutation from primordial pet shop ooze.

The Rosy-faced Lovebirds--Phoenix's favorite and best ABA-countable exotic--also love the palms for nesting, and seem to hold their own in terms of numbers and aggression against the other larger tenants.

Lovebirds are notorious for their networking ability, and apparently this extends to others in the Psittacidae family. A liberated blue Budgerigar has now also taken up residence in the date palms, making for at least 5 species of exotic/introduced birds also nesting in the introduced palms. 

Now if I could only log some House Sparrows there we'd really be in business.

It's perverse. It's corrupt. But this exotica erotica is the most exciting birding going on in the hood these days. Fortunately I did get down to Tubac for some formal birding (we wore Tuxedos), so better stuff to come.

P.S. learned that the Australian slang for a men's Speedo swimsuit is a "Budgie smuggler."