The Whole Bloomin' Garden!

The Desert Botanical Gardens have long been a birding staple of Butlers Birds and Things. It's nearby, has a good variety of species, and brings the birds in close. But into the winter months, they often prune heavily and remove lots of the flowering vegetation. As such, the number of species and sightings drops off dramatically and birders are forced to look elsewhere. Well, the spring planting is now well established, the Gardens are in full bloom, and the birds are coming back. It was a great pleasure to return to these familiar grounds and have another great birding experience, as I had so often last year.

Not all of the winter birds have left yet, and the first to greet me was this confident White-Crowned Sparrow--a bird with a kingly bravery to match its kingly name.

And of course, there were Verdins. There are always Verdins, lots and lots of Verdins. I've never not seen a Verdin at the DBG. I've never gotten tired of seeing Verdins at the DBG : )

The Verdins and White-Crowned Sparrows had no problem being out in the open, nor did the multitude of Anna's and Broad-Tailed Hummingbirds that have descended on the flowering Gardens en masse. There were also some skulkers, some shy birds keeping to the shadows hoping the spastic camera man would pass them by. Wishful thinking birdies!

This Orange-Crowned Warbler was one such wallflower, the first of many I will see this spring.

This male Gambel's Quail was also being a bit mopey. Maybe he was just feeling a little bit trapped. Oh sigh, Mr. Quail, the grass is always greener on the other side...

Speaking of green, this frog was in a very bullish mood, and he filled the small swampy circle at the DBG with his boisterous boasting. This would be all well and good if I were not trying to 'pish' a Common Yellowthroat out of the reeds. Alas, the bullfrog won that singing contest.

This young male Anna's Hummingbird made for some particularly fun observations. He did not seem to like feeding while in flight, and would instead try to perch near or on his desired flower. When he found a nice perch on a fairy duster plant, he blended in very nicely.

When he turned his head and revealed his developing gorget, it was very complementary, his green back and spot of red fitting the color palette perfectly. Soon he'll have his full, manly gorget, and he'll terrorize the flower gardens and try to chase all the other birds away. Of course, this will attract all the more attention from us birders.

Warbler Envy at Rio Salado

I've had warbler envy lately. The definite focus in Arizona is the wintering waterfowl, but now I find myself yearning for those flighty tweety birds too. One can always count on the Orange-Crowned and Yellow-Rumped Warblers in Phoenix in the winter, but to diversify one's sightings beyond there requires some work.

I had stopped off at the Glendale Recharge ponds on Saturday in  the vain hope of seeing a reported pair of American Redstarts. While I did have a nice time looking and conversing with other birders there, we all struck out on the birds themselves.

Next I decided to check out the Rio Salado Audubon center that's in south-central Phoenix. I had visited this center in the summer and seen some Wilson's Warblers, along with some Green-Tailed Towhees, but hadn't been overly impressed. There had been recent reports on the AZ listervs though of Black-and-White Warblers, Myrtle Warblers, a Summer Tanager, and some Redhead Ducks--all new birds for me--at the center now, which was more than enough motivation for me to get outdoors instead of grading papers.

While I did not see any of the above species, I did get some good looks at Common Yellowthroat, Marsh Wrens, Kinglets, and Lincoln's Sparrows. My photographic nemesis the Common Yellowthroat continued to elude my camera. At one point I thought the curse might end, but then a large loud family passed by making as much noise as possible, and all of the birds flushed. Arrgh.

I did see a male Black-Throated Grey Warbler from far away, the first male of the species I've seen, so it was still a pretty good outing, even with the heavy clouds.

Here's the namesake black throat, which is not actually visible on the female.

Like most Warblers, he stuck around for all of 3 seconds, and then took off.

Here is a more aesthetically pleasing shot of the female Black-Throated Grey I saw this summer at the Gilbert Water Ranch. Note the non-black throat.

On the way home from work...

I stopped by Encanto Park, only a slight deviation from the I-10 highway. I only saw the resident Lewis's Woodpecker at a distance, but it was very nice to just sit and observe for 15 minutes. There are plenty of Ring-Neck Ducks in the ponds, and always a few Kinglets and Gila Woodpeckers bumbling about. This Pied-Billed Grebe, done up right nice in his breeding plumage, was a special treat:

Here's a non-bredding Grebe, meaning it is without the namesake stripe on the bill, for comparison:

You can hear and see the Yellow-Rumped Warblers just about everywhere in the autumn and winter months. I must admit, I usually ignore them. But when it's a slow evening and there's not a lot of activity, you're forced to focus on every bird, and it makes me appreciate them once again.

Meanwhile, Back on the Ranch

The Gilbert Water Ranch provided the setting for another excellent day of birding with some good pictures, some bad pictures, some easy IDs, some tricky IDs, some heavy clouds, and some direct sunlight. The only consistent characteristic of the day, other than the fundamental reality that birding is fun, was the 40 degree temperature.

I postponed this excursion since Saturday was overcast and rainy. Even though the rain clouds were supposed to clear up, their lingering presence made my first couple hours at the ranch somewhat nerve-racking. The last time I was in Gilbert, I saw several new species and would have had some good photo-ops, but the overcast weather severely limited any photography. The cloud cover was less thick today, and there would even be periods of open sunshine! These brief bursts of light energized all of the birds and watchers alike that abounded at the Gilbert Water Ranch this morning.

As you approach the wildlife ponds from the northern entrance, you can feel the mist in the air, and the tang of cattle farms further south just begins to sting your nostrils. As you come upon the first pond, everything seems still, even deserted, but this is the Gilbert Water Ranch, and you know better! After a moment, all of the different bird shapes begin to materialize out of the morning mist, and the birding begins!

Far in the foggy distance, atop his own little mountain in perfect peaceful solitude was the first bird of the day, a Least Sandpiper. Truth be told he was not actually as isolated as the picture makes it seem, but he was the only Least Piper that I could see. At these inland ponds, they're usually in groups of 2-8. This guy must've had some serious thinking to do this morning, so he set off alone to his hill of contemplation.

Not far from the Sandpiper was a timid gang of Dowitchers. They were thoroughly silent--perhaps because it was still early and they don't drink coffee--and this made identification pretty difficult at my distance. At this point in the morning, most of the ducks and shorebirds were still curled up and tucked away, so for the time being I decided to search the chaparral and see which sparrows were out and about.

I was on a role with sparrows earlier this fall, when I got about 6 new species in a two-week period. Since then, things have settled down substantially. The Water Ranch becomes the dominion of the White-Crowned Sparrows in winter time, and in fact there may be more of them residing there than all the other birds combined. There is constant movement into and out of every bush, beneath every shrub, and always just enough to lead you on. Sometimes they stay hidden and silent, keeping their identity a secret until the last second. Sometimes they'll take seed right out of your hand. Other times they'll bolt before you've even raised your binoculars. All that being said, I didn't actually get a good picture of an adult today, but this juvenile posed nicely with the rising sun.

Danger lurks around every corner with these foggy mornings at the Water Ranch. Sometimes you have to watch your step. Although the rising sun somewhat illuminated the landscape, it took a while for the fog to clear out from the ponds and declivities. With predators like this Green Heron waiting to ambush their unwary prey from out of the morning mist, I may well have been lucky to escape alive...

The ducks seemed to feel uncomfortable with the deeper ponds until the fog cleared out, but that did not stop this Osprey from trying her luck. Although she was unsuccessful here, I like the rich colors in the background foliage and the steamy pond. It reminds me of a 500 piece jig-saw puzzle for some reason.

When the sunlight finally started to cut through the clouds, it was time to revisit the duck ponds. I've been anxiously awaiting the full arrival of this year's wintering ducks. From previous experience, I knew that all of the different Teal, along with the Pintails and Shovelers, would be inbound to the Ranch. I didn't see much when I visited 3 weeks ago, but now they were all represented. The number and diversity of waterfowl that the GWR draws is pretty incredible. However, it's also somewhat difficult and frustrating to get good pictures of all the ducks. They like to stay far out in the middle of the ponds, and most of the observation areas are on the east side, which means the sun is usually against you. I've been hopeful that some of these beautiful winter migrants will move in to some of the other water features around Phoenix  (as is the case with Ring-Necked Ducks and Wigeons at Grenada Park), but for now I must stay content with what the Ranch provides.

Here is the first Cinnamon Teal I've seen this winter:

And the first Green-Winged Teal:

And the first Northern Shoveler:

At certain spots throughout the Ranch, you can find tidy colonies of Black-Crowned Night Herons. At one point I've seen as many as 11 crammed into one tree. Today there were a half-dozen or so on display, including 1 juvenile. When you've got a big bird in dense foliage, it's hard to get a full and unobscured body shot. While trying to maneuver for a better view, I knocked into a lot of plant growth that was still retaining the night's rainfall. The resultant wet chiding was excellent encouragement for me to stay on the trail. It's probably lucky my camera was unharmed, and I was also lucky not to startle the Herons. Night Herons are such suspicious and grumpy birds. More that most, they're prone to sit hunched up for hours and hours on end. I wonder what they think about...

This sulking juvenile was in some sort of time-out, forced as he was to inhabit his own, separate tree.

Occasionally I'll give in-flight photography a try. It is seldom fruitful for me, but it's definitely an area where I want to improve. Unfortunately, I clipped this poor Egret's wing. I'm glad he can still fly.

After playing paparazzi to the herons and egrets for a while, I wandered back to the northern and sunnier portion of the GWR. The increase in foot traffic and fishermen here means there are fewer of those uncommon and less gregarious birds, but it does mean that those birds you find are more used to people. They'll tolerate a closer approach and You'll usually have a great look at them.

Sometimes, that's not enough, and here's the tricky ID of the day. Given that it's December and most Warblers should be gone, what could this be? Is it a Female Wilson's? Female Yellow Warbler? Immature Yellow Warbler? Fall plumage Wilson's or Yellow? I see little yellow birds like this pretty often, both at the GWR and at the Desert Botanical Garden. For a while I figured them to be either female or immature Yellow Warblers? Nowadays I readily admit that I just don't know. Any and all suggestions, if not identifications are much appreciated.

Find the dullest, most sleepy Hummingbird you can, and it's still a treat to see from any angle (and how they appear certainly does depend on the angle). This male Anna's was putting on quite a show from his proud perch. Like the Anna's I photographed a couple weeks ago, I couldn't quite get that perfect shot where you see the full brilliance of the bird's gorget. I can understand though if he wants to save it for the ladies.

Birding is full of watershed moments. Once you get that first sighting, it seems like the 2nd and 3rd sightings come right after. You might go years without seeing a certain bird, and then all of the sudden you'll get 4 in a week. For me, the most recent synchronicity is with blinking birds. Last week I captured a blinking Ring-Necked Duck, and then photographed a blinking Coot almost immediately afterwards. This male Anna's was in a blinky sort of mood as well, and I have to say it's pretty darn precious when he does it.

Despite my most polite requests and entreaties and pleadings that he turn his head ever so slightly, this haughty Anna's was determined to look west. I do believe that at this point he was just mocking me.

Magnificent though they are, Hummingbirds are not the only splashes of color around the GWR. There has been an incredible expansion in the wild Lovebird population over the last 5 years or so. While they can now be found in nearly every city park across the Phoenix metroplex, The Gilbert Water Ranch was probably the site of one of their first colonies, and they're still a reliable sighting there throughout the year.

A little bit more surprising was this immature Moorhen standing out in the open near the entrance to the Ranch trails. This was only my second sighting of a Moorhen, but if they're this brazen now, I expect there will be many moor in the future.

On the main entrance pond nearby was this sadly single female Ruddy Duck, who may not have moved since I last saw her 3 weeks ago. I can't wait to see some Ruddy ducks in their spring plumage. Is there any other bird whose bill changes colors like that? There wasn't too much color on display here, but you can see why they're in the stiff-tailed duck tribe. 

Once again the Water Ranch provided a great day of birding fun. The female Northern Harrier was still terrorizing the field birds (I didn't even try for a picture), and there were also some Scaups and even a leucistic Say's Phoebe reported in the area. While the drive out is daunting at times, the Ranch is definitely still the premier and preferred birding hotspot in Phoenix.

If you're in the area, Red Mountain Park is just a couple miles north, and it is the reported nesting area for wintering Yellow-Headed Blackbirds (or was a few years ago). I had no such luck today, and in fact it appeared that the entire lake area had been thoroughly conquered by quibbling Coots! I did add a new bird to the ol' Life List though, courtesy of this female (or immature?) Canvasback who had sequestered herself in the middle of the pond. If I'm not mistaken, it's somewhat unusual to see them very far inland during the winter. Success!

Autumn Staples

Visit any Phoenix pond between October and May, and you're likely to see 3 kinds of waterfowl. Mallards are year-round residents and are always well-represented. American Coots are also found throughout the year, but their numbers swell quite noticeably in the fall and winter months. In my experiences, the third most common waterfowl, and certainly the most numerous migrant, is the Ring-Necked Duck. I seldom take Mallard pictures anymore, but the Coots and Ring-Necks provide some difficult photographic challenges, and I always find them to be interesting subjects.

With the stark contrast between the dark head and yellow eye, and also between the black and white on the bill, the Ring-Necked Duck provides a significant challenge in getting the proper exposure. Too much light and you lose the detail in the eye and in the white stripes. Too little light and you lose the detail on the head, neck, and tip of the bill. With the proper angles, lighting, and exposure compensation, you can capture all of the facial contrasts, as well as the subtle purple iridescence of the head, and reveal what a visually complicated bird the Ring-Necked Duck really is.

Waterfowl often provide excellent photographic opportunities for a number of reasons. They tend to be larger, slow moving (except in flight), and not especially skittish. The physical aspects of their surroundings also provide for a fun photographic environment. Capturing the bird's reflection always adds another dimension to the image, and it's also pretty cool to capture the water coming off the bird, or congealing on its back.

This angle here afforded me a rare opportunity to actually see part of that infamous neck ring. I've often thought that Ring-Billed Duck would be the more appropriate label, and maybe someday I'll get enough signatures for a congressional overturn of the official name. When visible, the ring is a nice sort of cherry wood brown, providing a slight interim color between the black breast and dark purple on the head.

If you take enough pictures of a bird, eventually it'll have to blink! Generally they're much better about not blinking in pictures (especially compared to people!), and in fact it's pretty cool when you can catch them in the act. Like many waterbirds, the Ring-Necked Duck has a transparent eyelid. I assume this lets them see underwater, to an extent, without overly exposing their eyes to the murk.

By happy coincidence, this nearby Coot was in a blinking mood as well. I like how the closed eye, along with the leaning posture and bill slightly ajar, make this Coot look like its swimming in ecstasy.

Coot beaks present a similar problem to the Ring-Necked Ducks'. They're an alabaster white, with a bit of black. The Coot's slate-black body demands plenty of light to catch the details, but then, as you can see here, the beak often gets whitewashed.

It's a piercing red eye. When combined with the red shield on the forehead, it gives these birds a somewhat dinosauric look. In my opinion, their 'chirbb' call is also somewhat reptilian, as are their feet. Despite these interesting features, Coots are pretty mild birds. It's always fun and calming to observe them dinking around the city ponds.

They're not exotic, but these reliable pond squatters are always around to provide an easy and entertaining birding outlet for the urban birder.

Close Encantos of the Bird Kind

I managed to squeeze in some early morning birding at Encanto Park on Sunday. Since I had been thinking I wouldn't be able to go birding at all this weekend, everything I saw and photographed was already a bonus. The first bird of the morning was a handsome White-Crowned Sparrow. This was a peculiar sighting in that there were maybe a dozen White-Crowned sparrows in this little area, but only two of them had their full adult plumage. I have never seen such a high ratio of juveniles to adults.

They all kept pretty low to the ground, so when this adult flew up into the light for 5 minute's peace, I quickly snapped the picture and carried on my way. 

It's been bugging me a little bit that I did not yet have good Grackle pictures. You can find the birds just about anywhere, but it can be hard to find good specimens for photography. You don't want any of the mangy birds that are usually missing feathers or hanging out in dirty/unphotogenic places. You also want to get the light at the right angle so you can showcase the Grackle's impressive iridescence. This bold contender was occupying a little rock in one of the golf course ponds. Although the yellow of the eye is a bit blown by the excessive light, I'm keeping the photo as it marks an important milestone. This is my first action shot of a defecating bird!

A nearby female provided another photo-op. She was more composed, or at least more polite in front of the camera. However, a few theatrics wouldn't have hurt. The female Grackle is perhaps one of the most dull birds you'll see. To be fair, she has a bit of the iridescent green on her shoulders and back, but it's hard for me to get past the monochromatic brown. I imagine part of my hang-up is that I usually see Grackles in dirty places, which makes the darker colors seem all the more corrupted, and it's hard to shake that stigma. Of course, there's more to a bird than its color, and I was glad to finally have a pair of Great-Tailed Grackles added to my photographic collection.   

Seeing this male Anna's Hummingbird in all of his scintillating glory was definitely the highlight of the day. I spotted the flash of red atop a bottle tree and snapped. This first picture was taken probably 15 feet from the base of the trunk, with the treetop being another 20 feet high (my mathematical wife tells me that means it was around 25 feet away). I'm including this initial picture just to give an idea of how incredibly eye-catching his ruby helmet was in the morning light, even from a distance. 

This precocious Anna's started to fly rounds between a couple of the nearby trees and bushes, stopping briefly to sound his trilling call, take a breath, and then quickly move on to his next checkpoint. I was very fortunate to have him stop close by and give me a great look at his broadside. It's amazing to me, given the previous coloration, the total lack of visible red when he was perpendicular to the sun. Looking at this picture alone, I'd never otherwise assume this Hummer had anything but dark grayish/greenish feathers on his face.

I was unlucky that he did not turn fully into the sun (just as well, it probably would have been blinding). Even this slight turn of his head, maybe 20 degrees, filled his face with color. I love that even the little side patch behind the eye lights up. The scaly green back and fluffy leggings alone would make this a beautiful bird, but with that scarlet headgear it's almost an overload!

I was leaving the park feeling pretty great. From no birding at all to a pooping Grackle and a super cool Hummingbird, it was already a great Sunday. So it was icing on the cake when this Harris's Hawk landed on the divider for the adjacent golf course driving range. He let out his recognizable, hoarse "scrawwww" and declared this telephone pole to be solely his property. I see Harris's hawks a lot on the east side of town, but this was my first ever in west Phoenix.