A Weekend at the Ranch

This morning stayed overcast. The temperature held at a nice 60 degrees and the cloud cover stayed in place all day. This made for some GREAT birding, and some lousy photography. I saw three new birds today: a Northern Harrier, a Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, and a Ruddy Duck, and I've got the blurry photos to prove it!

I got to the Gilbert Water Ranch nice and early, waiting for a beautiful sunrise and some avian action. The birds started to stir, but the sun just never really came up. A thick layer of clouds had rolled in during the night, and even as I write this now, they hold the valley in a dusky lighting. The birds and the birders loved the shade, and they were all over the place. The camera didn't like it so much, and anything more than ten feet away was going to be a blurry capture.

Nonetheless, the first bird of the day was a new one. This female Ruddy Duck was sitting, unescorted, at the dead center of the main pond. She seemed a bit surly, perhaps worried that the other ducks were prettier. While I assured her this was not the case, she still stayed well away and free from further scrutiny.

                                      

There were reports of a Eurasian Wigeon hidden somewhere among the dabbling ducks. Even though the Marsh Wrens kept me company in my stake-out, I didn't see any Eurasians. Soon, my attention moved on from the ducks to the local Coots, as it often does...

I've been taking lots of Coot photos lately, and this one may be my favorite so far, even though there are no Coot feet to be seen! This is the sort of pose you see Swans making in an ice sculpture, not so much Coots in a muddy pond. They're just full of surprises.

The desert shrubs that border the pond played host to the usual populations of Verdin, Abert's Towhee, and Sparrows. These chilly days have now brought the charming addition of Kinglets to the Phoenix area. With their soft yellows, bold eye-rings, and flashes of ruby and gold, they add a fluid vibrancy to the vegetation as it turns sallow in the dry autumn chill.

The Kinglets surfaced off and on throughout the morning, and at long last I had one perch just in front of me. Time seemed to slow down as the autofocus honed in. Kinglets can't hold still for more than 0.014 seconds though, and with the lighting so poor there was little chance of increasing shutter speed. As I pressed the button, the inevitable happened. The Kinglet had a spasm and then promptly flew off. See the crown? New bird number 2!

The always-handsome Lincoln's Sparrows could be seen flying in and out of the drying foliage at the water's edge. They never quite came out in the open, but I love that they have all of those autumn colors represented so well in their feathers and their choice of perches.

                               

 The birds were moving around pretty quick this morning, but this Black Phoebe seemed a bit slow in the head. It wasn't doing very well at catching flies, and it seemed to be following and trying to imitate a group of Lesser Goldfinches. I was able to take advantage of his stupor to get close enough for some better photos of this usually skittish bird.

               

Space cadet

      

This female Northern Harrier was the third new bird of the day. Seeing this streamlined raptor flying low over the drying grass was totally unexpected. Even at a considerable distance, it was clear this was no Harris's or Red-Tailed Hawk. She didn't seem to be hunting so much as just terrorizing the Sparrows. She always kept her distance from me, but she continued to make her strafing runs throughout the morning.

The Osprey is a more common raptor at the Water Ranch and it is equally impressive. She spent a while on one of the constructed perches out in the middle of the ponds, but when she seemed to have a mind for breakfast, I began to really begrudge the gloomy weather.  She's pictured here retreating from some grackles. I always wondered why raptors let themselves get bullied by such birds. Maybe it's just not worth their energy to retaliate, but do they ever think of their reputation?

After chasing these predators around the ponds, I decided to pick a spot and sit for a while. I hid myself behind a couple granite boulders and waited to see birds came along to feed on the mesquite.

The Yellow-Rumped Warblers have to be some of the most commonly seen birds now in these late weeks of autumn. They outnumber the Mourning Doves at the Water Ranch, and would probably give the Eurasian Sparrows a run for their money. They typically like to stay hidden away in the trees and feast on insects, but every now and then they'll come down to ground level and forage.

                           

This unfortunate Curve-Billed Thrasher was hanging out by the picnic area, and his unusual gait caught my eye. His right leg was missing just below the joint, and a large ball of scar tissue or infected tissue or maybe even a tumor had sealed it off. Despite this handicap, he was pretty mobile. He probably has one heck of a story to tell.

It's always a pleasure to see Say's Phoebes. They've got a bit of bulk to them, they're colorful, and they're pretty confident to boot. They're comfortable on the ground, in the trees, and hovering anywhere in between.

                         

When this female cardinal flew into a nearby tree, I briefly exalted in the thought that my search for a Pyrrhuloxia had finally ended. No such luck, but the female Cardinal is still a beautiful bird, and they're increasingly uncommon this time of year.

                                  

 The Red-Wing Blackbirds seem to really congregate as the weather cools down, and I've been pursuing a good Blackbird photo in earnest now that they're plentiful in Phoenix. It's a tricky task to catch the black feathers and eye, while also showcasing the brilliant red and yellow shoulders. This picture came out a bit blurry, but I really liked the pointedness and sort of flame-like quality that the blur adds to the bird here. It was a bit of inadvertent artsiness.

There's been a funny trend to my recent birding outings in that the last bird I always see is a Snowy Egret. Solitary and composed birds, they usually make for good photographic subjects, and their methodical wading has a very calming effect on the observer. It was a lovely day of birding and a great day for the List. The Water Ranch never disappoints.

Power Birding

I fit a 15 minute birding bout in this evening at Encanto Park. The Lovebirds, Grackles, Pigeons, and Mallards were all over, and the visiting Ring-Necked Ducks were also well represented. The surprise of the evening was seeing a Brown Creeper. I did not have my ISO adjusted for the dimming light, and he had moved on before I got a picture, but it was nice to glimpse. Brown Creepers are cool birds and ones I forget about until they pop up here and there, just to remind you of their humble existence before they move on, resurfacing from time to time and seldom when I expect it.
There was also an interesting Gild Woodpecker hanging around, who was catching the light on his undersides in a way that gave him a yellow belly. To make a birding joke, he was trying to become a Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker.

There's a little gang of Embden Geese at the park. They don't make for exciting viewing, but I like the way their neck feathers congeal, and their big blue eyes.

It should hold me over until the weekend.

I believe the term used these days is 'Epic Fail'

I went out to the Tres Rios preserve again this Sunday, hoping to get some nice footage to post during the week. For the first time in my short bird-photographing career, I was totally thwarted! I don't know if it was just impatience, but the birds all seemed extraordinarily skittish, and I did not come away with a single good photo. I'm sure this is all part of the job, but it's still pretty surprising.
Anyhow, I hope to get something nice this weekend. In the mean time, I took a few blurry pictures of some Stilts next to a rancid-smelling dairy farm on the drive home.
: ::sigh:: : Ya can't win em' all...

A Brisk Morning's Birding

It was chilly today, for maybe the first time this fall. Rainclouds had come in over night, and they kept the temperature around 42 degrees this morning. Dressed in my normal shorts and a thin, long-sleeved shirt, I assumed it would warm up pretty soon (as the weather usually does in Arizona). I was wrong. My unpreparedness cut this Saturday's birding excursion a bit short, but it was still a nice jaunt around the Papago Ponds.

A Northern Mockingbird was my first avian specimen for the day. Despite being pretty close to me, he seemed to have other things on his mind. I asked him if he wanted to talk about it, but he just flew away in a huff.

It was a little bit surprising to see frogs around the pond edges, and not just because they have a pretty good camouflage. It's possible that today's cold caught them by surprise (and that it wasn't actually that bad). They're usually much more elusive when the weather gets chilly.

There were still plenty of Ring-Necked Ducks around the ponds, including a few juveniles. I had never seen this stage of development before, with the red eye and the singular ring on the bill, so it was a nice shake-up, even if they weren't new birds.

Some nearby mesquite afforded me another try at photographing Gnatcatchers this morning. As I've mentioned before, I have a lot of difficulty getting satisfactory Gnatcatcher photos. Given the amount of opportunities I've had, they may in fact thwart me more often than any Warbler, but it's always nice to observe them nonetheless.

On the other hand, this Snowy Egret was very cooperative. He seemed very proud of his little rock and was determined to hold, regardless of the weather or camera-wielding gawkers. It's kind of interesting how the yellow is showing through on his legs, and some black is showing through on his feet. It looks like the tougher skin has rubbed away. This is probably pretty common with these kinds of long-legged birds, but I'd never noticed it before.

My favorite part of the chilly day had to be catching this Coot out of water. I love Coot feet. Their reptilian texture and color, along with the oversized lobed toes are totally unique.

Coot faces are also very pleasant, even with a potentially menacing red eye, and I had never noticed their white rumps until today. I had always assumed the slate gray/black color went all over, but their little white tuft sticks out at about the same length and width to match the beak--pretty symmetrical.

Neotropic Cormorant

I have a really hard time telling the Neotropic and Double-Crested Cormorants apart. In Texas it was easier, but here in Arizona, it's possible to find both inhabiting the waterways, and I see Cormorants all over the city.

The difficulty of classifying them aside, I love to get a good look at Cormorants. It's fun to watch them swim with their somewhat serpentine bodies, and it's downright comical to see them hanging their wings out to dry, like a kid that just got his t-shirt all soaked. I also think that Cormorants have some of the most stunning eyes in the avian world (granted, I haven't seen a White-Eyed Vireo yet). Raptor eyes are large and piercing, but there's something about the aqua blue in the Cormorant eye that's totally transfixing (click for a larger view).

I believe that the strong white border behind the beak, along with the near lack of orange towards the front of the beak make this a Neotropic Cormorant (let me know if I'm wrong). Concealed behind a palm tree, I got to take a few nice shots and stare into the blue Cormorant eyes that take you away to a distant sea.

Hey there family and friends.

Be sure to check out the Butlers Birds and Things post on the Birding Is Fun! website, and stay tuned here for more fun to come over the next few days.

Happy weekend, happy birding!

http://www.birdingisfun.com/

Bird Tongues!

I made a post earlier this fall that examined different bird feet. The problem was, I hadn't become fascinated by them until I was able to examine the feet in the pictures, and so they're seldom actually in good focus. I now face this problem with bird tongues. Tongues are funny things on their own, even down to their spelling. They're kind of gross, but are also vitally important to our civilization (I'm referring to language). It's the same way with birds, although there is much more variation between the species, as there is between their feet and their feathers.
Here are some blurry bird tongues I've captured so far. I'd love to hear back from y'all and learn about some other bird tongues you've seen on your adventures.

I've often wondered how many birds, or for that matter animals in general, actually taste their food with depth and/or enjoyment. I imagine there is a sort of base recognition, such as 'sweet' or 'bitter', but does this go beyond an instinctive proclivity towards certain foods? This Red-Tailed Hawk seems to have the right equipment for advanced tasting, which would go well with his diverse diet.

This White-Crowned Sparrow was hitting the high notes when I took the picture. I know nothing about it, but I'd imagine that the Sparrow tongue is used primarily for vocal variation than for taste. It's interesting to note that a Sparrow song has lots of different notes in it, but the tongue barely extends halfway into the beak. The Red-Tailed Hawk tongue is long and wide, but a Hawk's call is relatively harsh and monotone. It's like with a violin string versus a bass string: longer and fatter offers more and deeper noise, but less versatility and frequency.

I have no idea how the Flicker's tongue pertains to its call (and would love to hear more about it from those of you who do), but it certainly does a pretty good job of snatching ants out of even the most secure nooks and crannies.

American Wigeon

This solitary American Wigeon was among the gang of dabbling ducks at Papago Park this Saturday. This is the first Wigeon I've seen since leaving Texas, and he presented an interesting and difficult photo opportunity. This male is in his 'eclipse', or non-breeding plumage (he'll develop a nice green and white stripe along his head in the Spring), and like all Wigeons he has what I'll call a sunken eye. The Wigeon head is unusually streaked/mottled, and while the eye is a nice almond brown, even red at certain angles, I discovered it is pretty difficult to get the eye to stand out from the rest of the head.

The Wigeon mingled with the Mallards and the Coots at the Papago ponds. There wasn't another Wigeon in sight, which is a little bit unusual. I seldom see single ducks, excluding Gary over at Grenada Park, but he seemed pretty comfortable with himself.

Except at the right angles, the almond eye gets caught in the contour shadow of the Wigeon's head. Usually with birds that have distinct contrasts, you can enhance or dim certain areas with the exposure compensation on the camera. I couldn't draw the eye out on my own, but had to rather wait for the Wigeon to turn its head favorably. However, the shadow over the eye does show the interesting cranial shape of the Wigeon. The upper head and jawline bulges in a kind of hourglass figure. Pretty neat! 

I like this 'eclipse' plumage a lot. It seems very autumn appropriate. The male's eclipse plumage is actually pretty similar to the female's normal coloration, but the richer chestnut sides set this masculine specimen apart. He's a very well put together duck--sturdy looking, with his feathers nicely composed. Just add an iridescent green cap above the eye, with a white streak right over the top, and he'll be making the lady wigeon hearts flutter come Spring time.  

I saw this male on 11/04/2011. Hopefully he'll hang around and I can get some closer images.

American Kestrel

The smallest, most colorful, most vivacious, and most common of American falcons, the Kestrel is many superlative things. I see them pretty often in Phoenix, but it's been difficult to get a close up picture since they prefer to perch in the palm trees and higher vantage points.
This falcon picked a particularly nasty lamp post for his perch, which unfortunately covered his lower half from the camera. It's still always a treat to see these tidy birds of prey.