Everyone's Favorite Highly-Adapted Micro Predator

It's been increasingly difficult to find good quality birding time in recent weekends. It's quite cruel that this always happens in late April and May, and to a much worse extent this year, because this time is also some of the best to be birding in Arizona. To make matters worse, I also tried to be sociable this weekend. It was always the plan to head down to Madera Canyon pre-dawn for some owling and then bird through the morning, and since I stayed up late (social moth instead of social butterfly?) it meant I pulled an all-nighter, something that hasn't happened since college. 

It was also overcast and rainy this weekend, something that causes birders and kite-enthusiasts to look towards the heavens in despair. 

It didn't seem like this would affect nocturnal birding, but it did limit the extent to which birds were calling and the extent to which I could hear them. The precipitation cleared by 4:45am or so, but that left only about 45 minutes in which to try and get visuals on the birds. Common Poorwill, Whiskered Screech Owl, and Mexican Whip-poor-will all registered, but I could not get visuals on any of them. 

That element was a disappointment, but for consolation here is a crushy Elf Owl to rub on one's face instead. I photographed this bird near its nesting cavity along the Salt River last Wednesday, and so it will now fall to the smallest owl in the world to compensate for the lack of all the other nocturnal birds. 

Here are a bunch of facts about Elf Owls. Some of them are true. Elf Owls are tied for the shortest Owl in the world, and are also the lightest, which makes them superlatively small. Elf Owls do not believe in Santa Claus. Elf Owls are super cute, but they are also voracious predators, with highly adaptive, highly sensitive vision and hearing that allows them to pinpoint prey in near pitch-black conditions. Elf Owls are known to enjoy the taste of human as well as horse flesh when it is seasonally available; thus the closure of Food City markets in Phoenix is a habitat loss concern. Elf Owls are in the minority that do not have ear tufts. Elf Owls think ear tufts are silly, and a clear compensation for something...err hem...Great-horned. 

Coincidentally or not, Elf Owls all ascribe to the adage, "It's not the size; it's how..."

Even though the nocturnal birding was less than fruitful this past weekend, there is still plenty to see and heard in the Santa Rita Mountains in the day, believe it or not. There'll be more from that trip coming later this week. Stay alive in the mean time; watch your back.

The 2011 Butler Bird of the Year

Well it took about a month and a half to decide, but the jury has finally reached a verdict on the best Butler Bird of the Year (also know as the B-BOY award, only slightly less famous than the Oscars). With close competition from Phainopeplas, a Townsends Warbler, and an inner city Lewis's Woodpecker, the award goes to...the Elf Owl!

This was certainly the most surprising sighting of the year, both because of the relatively uncommon and inconspicuous nature of the bird. I'm never really expecting to see Owls, which maybe explains why this and the Great Horned are the only two I've ever seen in the wild.

These tiny birds were hanging out at the Desert Botanical Gardens in September, and provided one of the best all-round birding experiences of my 2011 birding year. I'm definitely hoping to get some more owls this year, but I don't know if any of them will match this super fun sighting. Here's hoping!

See the full Elf Owl adventure recorded here

Elf Owl

At 5 and 1/2 inches, the Elf owl is the shortest owl in North America. It's range is similarly small; this uncommon owl is seen only in Arizona, New Mexico, and southwest Texas. They had recently been reported at the Desert Botanical Gardens, and were apparently in residence for a couple of days before Pops and I found them with the help of one of the Gardens' photographers. The first trio were pretty far back in the brush, and the two parents seemed to be dozing while their fluffy chick sat and contemplated little things.
You can see he still has lighter, downy feather while the adults in the background are a much darker shade. The sunlight was pouring into their little nook, but they seemed pretty content and somewhat out of reach.

This was already a great experience, with the Elf Owl being a new addition for both of our life lists. Before departing, Pops and I decided to retry the wildflower garden in hopes of seeing a rumored Yellow Breasted Chat that was supposed to be hanging around. While surveying a large mesquite tree, we saw what seemed to be a large-headed sparrow standing oddly upright in the tree. It really is hard to take in how small these owls are. Picture the large, Great-Horned Owls we've all seen, only without the ears. The same sort of strong claws, same sharp beak and large eyes, except everything is proportionately shrunken down so it could fit in the palm of your hand. It was simply amazing to see something so small and simultaneously realize that it was an owl.
This pair of adults was also dozing in the early morning light, and provided a much better photo opportunity than the earlier family. To date, this is probably one of the rarest and, by happy coincidence, better documented birds I've seen. They're pretty uncommon, and incredibly difficult to see. Our luck was in full force today as we happened upon them without even trying. Great Day!
Click on the images for a larger view.

I love the bristly feet here. This branch is maybe the width of a pencil, to help put their size onto a scale.  

The white eyebrows are pretty impressive. They match the stoic demeanor well.

There they are. Those big eyes looking past me and back into yesterday.

All of these blurry tentacles are criss-crossing mesquite twigs and branches. These owls were still a good 12 feet back in the canopy, and there was not a clear opening for a picture, but such circumstances come with the bird.