Pennsylvania Penny Birds

There are many great aspects of birding in a new area--tons of new species to see, new areas to explore, the excitement of discovery all renewed. As I discovered in my recent trip to Pennsylvania (and if you all are tired of hearing about this trip, apologies, cause there's still much more mwuahahaha!), another great effect of birding away from home is that, wherever you're staying, you get different yard birds. By this I mean those normal, common species you see up close and around the house, around the park, in the alley, etc.

And perhaps none are so common as the Grey Catbird

In Arizona one can expect Mourning Doves, Inca Doves, White-Winged Doves (in hot months) Gamble's Quail, Curve-Billed Thrashers, Mockingbirds, Abert's Towhees--in essence the less vibrant desert birds. It was nice to briefly exchange these common visitors for the Robins and Catbirds in the northeast, for the Wrens and Cardinals and Chickadees. They didn't bring the same excitement as new life-list birds, but they really helped to set the atmosphere, an atmosphere very different from the Phoenix bird scene. And isn't that in large part what a vacation is all about?

House Wrens are fairly common and pretty noisy, but you won't find many of them around central Phoenix. This House Wren had a very tidy little straw hovel at Ridley Creek Park. It would pop out every few minutes to get a sense of the neighborhood goings on, and then disappear again into its house.

This was the closest I've been to a House Wren, and of course Of Course there's one little twig obscuring the bird's eye. Ugh...

When it comes to little brown birds around the yards and parks, the Chipping Sparrows give even the Eurasian House Sparrow a run for their money. They're a bit more shy, but also more vocal and, if I may so proclaim, more beautiful.

The Unspotted Towhee err.. Eastern Towhee, is another important denizen of the old wood undergrowth. They don't have the spots like our nifty (western) Towhee, but they're still very pretty and they work hard as they shuffle around the leaf litter.

Rest assured Eastern Towhee, someday you'll earn your stripes...I mean spots.

Verdin

Verdins have a family all to themselves. Small and active, they inhabit the southwestern U.S. Verdin's heads are a strong yellow, and while the breast and back is a uniform whitish-grey to brown, they have unique red shoulder patches that require more than a passing observation. Some books show there to be a slight dark streak across the eye as well, and this seems to vary on an individual basis.
Living in Arizona, Verdins were one of the first birds I observed that helped me appreciate the beauty and detail in many birds I otherwise wouldn't have given a second look. Their yellow and red really isn't very visible unless they're very close, and it really impressed upon me how much detail the casual observer can miss if a bird seems pretty bland from far away.

I recently got to capture a fun series of shots of a Verdin eating lantana berries for dinner. They were quite a mouthful, but she was determined. (Click on images for larger view).

The setting sun always lends a wonderful glow to pictures that makes up for its fading light.

With the sun going down, Ms. Verdin decides it's chow-time.

I've been told it is not polite to watch someone eat...something about it being undignified.

One of the last ripe berries. You can see how the clusters have been selectively cleared out.

Her beak has to open pretty wide to swallow this berry, but she doesn't seem too worried about it. I was very glad Ms. Verdin let me join her for dinner.

These are some of my earlier Verdin photos. All of my Verdin pictures have been taken at the Desert Botanical Gardens.