Camelback Pt. II

As promised, I returned to Camelback with our camera for another weekend's adventure. We were prepared for the wildlife and the view this time around, and while the Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher did not make an appearance, we left satisfied nonetheless.

We took the more gradual and scenic Cholla Trail up Camelback's East side, preferring it and the camera's safety to the much steeper Echo Canyon. I was constantly distracted with peripheral movement, first saw the Greater Roadrunner slaloming its way down the slope early on.

After a brief foray of photographing and a water break, we were lucky to see the Roadrunner actually take flight and glide to another outcropping--the first and only time to date that I've seen a Roadrunner fly. As we continued upwards, we began to encounter Chuckwallas, a large, chunky lizard found throughout arid regions of the U.S.,  and Broad-Tailed Hummingbirds.

Our continued ascent soon brought us to the spine of the mountain, where we were met with a pleasant breeze and a vantage point providing total circumspection of Maricopa County.

We shared the view with a few Red-Tailed Hawks, and saw some rock wrens as well as sort of unidentified sparrow.

We were feeling the heat by the time we reached the summit, and we had no luck photographing the charming Gnatcatchers we had seen on our last visit. Even so, it was a pleasant romp among the mesquite trees and over granite boulders as we saw many more hummingbirds and got a close-up of a Juvenile Red-Tail, as well as a sleek Garter Snake. The descent was quick, and the experience was most satisfactory.

Juvenile Red-Tailed Hawk

This Western Juvenile (the Eastern Juveniles look different) was both active and photogenic atop Camelback Mountain. There's enough variation among Red-Tails too that multiple postings seems more than appropriate.
These are also among the first in-flight shots I've been able to capture.
When mature, this young hawk's tail will have reddened, her back will have become a darker brown, and her eyes will turn a rusty orange.

Broad-Tailed Hummingbird

These hummers seem to have a large population on the top on Camelback Mountain in Phoenix. They're still too impatient to pose very well, but their antics are always fun to watch while recuperating from the steep ascent up Echo Canyon. The Broad-Tailed is the most common Hummingbird in Arizona and in the Southwest up to Southern California, and it's nice to have colorful birds that stay in Arizona year-round, and in good numbers.
Their ruby-red throats also have a bright green on the sides, which I had never been able to see without the use of still shots. They have the shiny green backs common among hummingbirds, and the females (pictured first) lack anything more than a few freckles on their throats.

Greater Roadrunner

There is no Lesser Roadrunner that I am aware of, but nonetheless this emblematic bird of the American southwest is pretty great. At almost 2 feet long, these zygodactylic (two toes front, two toes back) cuckoos (family cuculidae) are one of the more interesting ground specialists in North America. With its shaggy crest, long tail, and predatory nature, these birds do establish a certain harkening back to the dinosaurs.They also have bits of iridescent blue throughout their tail, head, and face, which makes them more than just an oddity to see, and the males sport an excellent, flame-like streak back from their eyes that moves from blue to orange.
I was very lucky to get some great shots of this Roadrunner at the Desert Botanical Garden in Arizona. A good birding trip really needs one of those power moments, when a cool bird is identified or photographed and done with extreme thoroughness and satisfaction. That was very much the case for me with this fine specimen. Be sure to click on the pictures for a larger image.

He first strolled rather lazily by while I was actually staking out my nemesis, the Wilson's Warbler

He then proceeded into the brush without too much urgency

He then emerged a few minutes later with, one might say, a cold-blooded kill.

After he had showcased his catch, he left again, exactly the same way he went before.

(08/2011) We had a couple run-ins with the Roadrunner, and have as of yet been unable to get a really satisfactory photo, but these few get the idea across.

This specimen did not have as dark or pronounced a crest as other roadrunners I've seen, nor did it have the nifty blue and orange eye-stripe, which leads me to believe it was either adolescent or a female, or both.

Red-Tailed Hawk

Red-Tails are the most common hawk in North America, and their variation in color and plumage can make them both beautiful and frustrating to observe on any given outing.
They have broad wings, a consistent bit of dark brown and white mottling on their back and wings, with a more pleasant, downy white and brown on their legs. Their reddish-orange tail is diagnostic.

This particular specimen paused for a drink at a drainage ditch at a park in Phoenix. Some bloody residue on his talons indicated a recent feast. He was kind enough to swoop just overhead right as I was beginning to despair at the skittish behavior of the other birds at the park. He briefly paused on a lamp post, and greatly disturbed the local grackle population before landing  at the little irrigation trench. I'd never seen a hawk on the ground like this, but he seemed pretty comfortable both with his position and the close proximity of a gawking two-legged land mammal (myself).

Rock Pigeon

The ultimate urban survivor, it often seems pigeons have adapted better to city life than people. In their original plumage, pigeons can still be attractive birds. Their large size and iridescent necks give them an unusual pizzaz for a city bird. However, pigeons are also often sooty, mottled, missing toes, and deformed in other ways from their unsavory lifestyle.
Still, they have uncanny navigating abilities. This has something to do with the highly polar magnetite mineral deposits above their beaks, which serve as built-in compasses.

A New Lead on Camelback

Wife and I hiked Camelback Mountain this last Saturday morning. I decided to leave the camera at home, thinking that birding would be minimal and collateral damage considerable. The hike was very nice. It was energizing and not unduly hot. It also provided a great excuse to spoil ourselves with restaurant brunch afterwards. However, I was totally off about the birds. Despite the summer heat having driven away many birds, the mountain top was teeming. We saw over a dozen ruby-throated hummingbirds, some wrens, blue-gray gnatcatchers (a first!), and even some fleeting glimpses of a western tanager and a loggerhead shrike.
I hope to follow up soon with some pictures.

Double-Crested Cormorant

The Double-Crested is the most wide-spread Cormorant in North America, and is really the only species to be found very far inland. I've seen them in flocks of hundreds, if not thousands, off the Trinity River in Dallas in the evening.

The crests become very visible during the spring months, when the Cormorants try to attract a little extra attention.

Lynx Spider

I don't know anything about spiders, and I find Spider-Man to be an underwhelming superhero. Still, this Green Lynx Spider was too cool to pass up. Shot on a macro 70mm lens.

Black-Chinned Hummingbird

The Black-Chinned Hummingbird is one of the less vibrantly colored species, being mostly iridescent green with a bit of dark, even purple on the chin. However, they live and breed in the Southwest and Arizona throughout the year, unlike most of the Southwest's pretty birds, so I give them respect for that.