Birds and Blooms and Birds on Blooms

Even though we had no winter this year (temps in the 80s through February), it's clearly spring time. This is not something I can tell from the position of the sun in the sky nor exclusively from the fact that now driving to work is no longer done in the dark, with with the sun directly in my eyes (not sure which is better). Everything is starting to bloom now, and even in a place not necessarily known for its colorful fauna, that indicator holds true in Phoenix just as well as anywhere else. The mesquites and palo verde are bursting with their dainty yellow flowers, while all the century plant and aloe groups are shooting up stalks (those that flower annually) with a quaint resemblance to tiny bananas. 

The cactus are all getting their bloom on as well, much to the delight of everything that eats them.

The ground has finally thawed enough that rodents are exiting their winter hibernation and shedding their thick winter coats, changing from their white robes into more appropriate desert brown.

Another strong indicator is that all the Phoenix residents are nesting. Hummingbirds are courting, Mourning Doves, Curve-billed Thrashers, and Cactus Wrens all have raucous chicks in their prickly fortresses, and Abert's Towhee juveniles are already bumbling around, bad at everything.
Despite all that change and twitterpation, some species re carrying on much the same as they always have. Verdin are constantly foraging and building nests, which they seems to do through winter, spring, summer, and sometimes fall just to be sure. There is no big they won't chase and no position too awkward for them to hold in their pursuit.



While the eastern half of the nation mobilizes with its 'nocs and Bengay for some outrageous Warbler migrations, Phoenicians will have to content themselves with Verdin antics and the occasional Townsend's or Hermit interloper. Yeah there are Orange-crowns too but who cares, and has anyone ever actually seen a MacGillivray's?

Anyway, it's a good time to be in the valley, even if we're relatively less spoiled for the birdies right now. Besides, I'm still on Gray Vireo detail this weekend. Warblers can wait.

P.S. Check, out how many bugs are on this plant. In addition to the Verdin's overflowing maw, there are ants and gnats all over the upper stems. Tis' bountiful.

Early Birds

Here are some of the Arizona backyard desert scrub essentials, photographed din early morning light. These birds are part of the staple base for good desert birding. The boost daily birding lists and provide the foundation for less frequent but more exciting findings. They're the staples that hold everything together, and even though staples are, let's be honest, one of the less-fun office supplies both to shop for an to use, these staple birds are still pretty important. And they still look pretty good too.

Gamble's Quail are about as handsome as they come, and their chicks are some of the cutest too. They nest in oleander hedges and other concentrations of vegetation all around town, and their anxious clucking fills the evening air.

 Northern Mockingbirds need no introduction. They're sharp birds, both in their aesthetic and in their attitude. They're pretty big jerks actually, and seem to prefer making enemies to making friends or allies, but hey they're successful, so much so that they're the official state bird for Florida, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Texas.

I probably post too many Verdin photos here, if that's possible, but they're basically the only little pretty desert Warbler-esque (they're not actually Warblers of course) birds that are found year round and are pretty cooperative photo subjects. Interestingly enough, the name 'Verdin' translates to 'yellowhammer' in french. The Yellowhammer is also another (antiquated) name for the Northern Flicker here in the U.S., and there's a whole different species of bird called Yellowhammer in Europe. Curious.

Curve-billed Thrashers are expected anywhere around Phoenix except, oddly enough, at the famous 'Thrasher Spot' west of the valley which is the only place to see Le Conte's, Bendire's, and Crissal Thrashers--all the rare ones. Though they reside the less wild/more boring areas of the state, they're big fans of dramatic posing, so it evens out in the end.

Mourning Doves are common everywhere, and I do get sick of seeing them or flushing them from a bush when trying to track some other less usual species. They're pretty in their own right though, and sometimes they can be downright delightful, which I guess goes for just about anything in the natural world. Hope y'all saw some good birds this weekend!

Better Go to Papago

I'm still on a high from this morning's birding. Waking up at 6 am, this morning did not feel any more glorious than Saturdays past, and with my intended destinations being the Desert Botanical Gardens and Papago Ponds--two areas I had birded very often and with few surprises--there was little reason to expect anything but the usual. I'd been on some great birding trips recently, but my photography is always lacking when I visit knew areas. The plan today was to focus on some local spots and get some better shots of common Phoenix birds. The temperature had dropped a little bit, winterfowl were starting to arrive, and there's always the off-chance for a vagrant.

American Coots are not rare vagrants, and in fact descend on Phoenix by the thousand each autumn.

Since the DBG does not open until 8am, I pre-gamed at the Papago Ponds. The Papago Park has some nice rock formations, but the three little ponds are not very scenic. Even so, they are one of my favorite places to view waterfowl in the Phoenix area as they're fairly narrow and allow for closer looks without spooking the birds. This was my first trip out in several months, and I was immediately greeted by some Northern Pintails, Coots, and three Ring-necked Ducks. The Ring-necked Ducks were already in their breeding plumage but the Pintails were still being all solar-eclipse.

Floating out with the Ring-necks was a different, curiously shaped specimen. It had a spiky, erect tail, and since its head was tucked away I wondered if it might be some weird Ruddy Duck. As the bird turned around though and revealed its slender beak, revealed itself to be some sort of Merganser.

This was exciting! I'd never seen a Merganser in Phoenix before, although it's not a super uncommon sighting I'm sure. I knew that Common Mergansers turn up in the fall and winter--I'd just never seen them--and Red-breasted sometimes migrate through. But this bird was smaller than those other possibilities. At maybe eighteen inches, with a dark grey and yellow beak (as oppose to the pinkish-orange Common Merganser) and white showing on the primaries...this was a female Hooded Merganser. Hey, it's not a jaw-dropper, but it's uncommon enough that I knew eBird would flag it, and don't that sort of thing just make a birder feel like a million bucks?

After observing the Merganser for some time, watching her dive, bathe, and preen like some sort of creepy person, I headed down the canal to the DBG. I still consider the Botanical Gardens to be one of the best desert birding areas in Phoenix, but today they were a total bust. I saw eight species inside the grounds. Eight! Not a single Lesser Goldfinch, Cactus Wren, or even a Mourning Dove!!! It was very weird. There were lots of people there already, in part due to the late opening time and there seemed to be some sort of upcoming feature event. Whatever the reasons, the birds were nowhere to be found. Despite the DBG being largely deserted, I did see a Yellow-breasted Chat in the Wildflower Garden, which was a very pleasant surprise, especially given the otherwise low turn out.

The birding was much better at Papago so I decided to walk the desert trail out of the DBG and back to the ponds, thinking maybe I'd find a Rock Wren or Roadrunner along the way. About a quarter mile in I flushed a long-winged gray bird--clearly some sort of goatsucker. Without too much hope, I watched it fly away, expecting it to disappear into the distant hills. To my surprise, it only flew a short distance before landing in a creosote bush.

I had not seen distinct white flashes when the bird flew, and it seemed a bit small to be Lesser Nighthawk. However, the bird clearly had a long tail, too long for Common Poorwill. Regardless of the final ID, I was very giddy. I'd been wanting one of these sightings all summer, to be able to finally study a stationary goatsucker in the daylight.

I'd always loved watching these birds hunt in the twilight hours, appreciating their physique and dexterity even before I was an obsessive birder. But only with better light could I finally see the incredible feather detail and all the subtle coloration. Totally stunning.

Eventually the Nighthawk noticed that I'd noticed, and it took off. I felt bad to flush the bird a second time, but at least no one else would be passing through for a while, so it'd get some peace and quiet for the rest of the day.

Back at Papago the Merganser was still cruising around (in fact, the earlier photos were taken on this second visit). The Finches, Towhees, and Thrashers that should've been partying at the DBG were all crowding around the ponds too, while skulking Green Herons stood watch in the trees.

A few dozen White-throated Swifts flew overhead and spent a few minutes snatching invisible bugs out of the invisible air. It was neat to see them in action so (relatively) close and I was able to snap a few distant shots of these fast flyers.

I left Papago feeling totally rejuvenated. It had been a few weekends since I had a really good bout of birding and photogrpahy, and the aftershock of this morning will keep me going for a while. Picking up Hooded Merganser, Lesser Nighthawk, and White-throated Swift puts me at 253 species identifiably photographed, passing the 250 goal I set for this year. Good birding!

Early Nerd Gets The Bird

Birding on Sundays is a delicate business. Sunday is the day when I have to do all of the work I put off doing on Friday and Saturday. Sunday is also my Sabbath day (a good reason not to procrastinate on Friday and Saturday). The English Premier League (soccer) has started. Also Sunday is a great day to have dinner with the family. It's a busy day, so Sunday morning belongs not just to the early birds, but to the early birders. While the initial push to get out of bed at 5 am is difficult, it does have its own rewards. The sun rises much more elegantly in the morning than I do, and it's really something to see. 

Of course, it's pretty common for birders to get up at all manner of uncivilized hours so they can gear up and hit the road for maximum birding. It's just harder to do on Sundays when you know you won't have a day after when you can catch up on your sleep. Even so, I've never had a morning of birding that would've been better spent sleeping.

This Sunday I had two stops, the first at the Desert Botanical Garden for better photo opportunities and the second at the Glendale Recharge Ponds for a vagrant Roseate Spoonbill. While the opportunities to see new or unusual birds at the DBG come few and far between, it's still one of the best places in Phoenix for nature photography, combining the desert's birds and blooms in one compact little park.

And then there are those non-indigenous interlopers like the Rosy-faced Lovebirds, everyone's favorite invasive species. They were surprisingly terse on Sunday, dare I even say laconic!? Usually they're squawking up a storm, more garrulous even than a gang of grackles.

In the morning, the Lovebirds are most often found catching the early-bird special around the Sunflowers and Mesquite trees at the DBG. They are joined, and in fact greatly outnumbered, by the humblest of finches, the Lesser Gold. Try as they might, they just don't have the brilliance of their American Goldfinch cousins.

They still catch the morning light well, and are plenty charming. But the number of times I've seen one of these yellow flashes in a tree and chased after a potential migrant Warbler is, well, embarrassing.

Considering it was still 5:30am at the DBG, the award for most vivacious and acrobatic bird goes to the Verdin. I'd submit they also deserve the overall prize for "Best in the Garden." This fella was demonstrating his Least Bittern impression. He's got the ability, but I don't know if he's got the look.

It was surprising to see young Curve-billed Thrashers, yellow gapes and all, still foraging under the large sumac trees (well, not surprising to see them foraging, just to see them at all). It seems too late in the summer for Thrashers to look this young, but if they don't mind then I won't mind. Come to think of it, it makes me rather glad.

The Birds Speak at Fish Creek

Last Saturday, I made the spectacular drive up to Apache Lake. Our driving itself was not especially spectacular (at least, mine wasn't), but rather the scenery, the winding desert canyons of the Superstition Mountains wowed and amazed with their colorful expanses. We took The Apache Trail/Hwy 88 up to about mile marker 224 and then parked in one of the canyons. After a brief descent, we found ourselves in the verdant, shady declivity known as Fish Creek. The creek runs for a couple miles and empties into Apache Lake. While it is not always flowing, it does serve as a nice shady respite for  lots of wildlife, and our two mile hike was filled with critters.



Upon entering the Fish Creek canyon, we were immediately greeted by Hooded Orioles and Bell's Vireos in the cottonwood trees. A few Northern Cardinals sang along the banks, and another interesting red bird, the marvelous Summer Tanager, paused to observe the curious bipeds stumbling along. This was one of two new birds we saw on this trip, and one I had been hoping to see for some time.



We saw many of the other expected desert/canyon species, including Abert's Towhees and Canyon Wrens. There were also lots of Yellow Warblers, including one male who was constantly followed and harassed by his recently-fledged chicks.While I was following this bubbly group of yellow birds through the desert scrub, I heard a harsh cry echoing through the canyon.

We looked up and saw a magnificent Zone-Tailed Hawk soaring overhead. This was a new bird for me, and it was an incredible experience to see it circling around on the canyon thermals, belting out its dominant call.

We hiked for another mile, observing Kingbirds, Gnatcatchers, and Black Phoebes all gathering nesting material. They were too busy to stop and pose for me, but the myriad of desert lizards were much more accommodating. Maybe it was just their cold-blooded nature combined with the overcast weather, but either way they were very reticent to move from their warm hang-outs. 

Eventually the water in Fish Creek ran out and so did the shady trees. We decided to turn back for the car, but not before I picked up a very nice sunburn. Much like the sunbathing lizards, I have since shed my skin and now feel like a new man!

On the way back, we were treated to more displays from the Zone-Tailed Hawk. The first bird was missing a couple of its primary feathers, and so it was easily recognizable. It was now joined by its mate, and together they glided along the canyon walls with a lofty grace and very appropriate sense of superiority.

Occasionally they would stop and perch on the dried century plants. I was never able to get very close, though I picked up lots of consolation lesions for my troubles. Nonetheless, the Zone-Tailed Hawks and their powerful calls were the highlight of the day, and provided one of the best new-bird sightings this year.