Harris's Hawk

Although they don't often stray outside of Southern Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, the Harris's Hawk is still a common and pleasing sighting in the area. Their darker coloration, dark eyes, and rusty shoulders make them immediately recognizable, as does their proportionately longer beak. They can be seen hunting and socializing in small groups (I've seen 3 together at times), and have a very raspy, drawn out call which they seem to vocalize more often than other raptors.
The Harris's Hawk is a buteo (contrast with an accipiter like the Cooper's), which means it has longer and broader wings relative to its body size that help it glide with minimal exertion.

 It's hard to catch the brown eye with all the dark of the head.

Would that we all could scratch our backs so easily.

I love the eyebrows here, and the slight sense of indignation at having someone taking pictures of his undersides.

This Harris's Hawk Was a good 80 feet away, at the top of a very tall palm tree. It was exceedingly bright out as well, but even without the ideal conditions this was still a neat experience. It was very windy and you can see him catching the thermals to rise up without even beating his wings.

 Here you can see the whites on the tail, both at the base and the tip. With the yellows legs and beak, rusty shoulders and thighs, and dark wings, the Harris' Hawk has got to be one of the more intricately colored raptors in North America.

Inca Dove

With a relatively small range (for a dove) that does not much exceed the Southern parts of Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas, the Inca Dove has much less of an empire than its now-extinct namesake. However, they did outlast the Incas, and they have no dearth of competition from larger doves or grackles either. Their feathers have a scaled look to them that encompasses their entire body, unlike other semi-scaled birds such as the California Quail, and their soft call combined with mild manners makes them a pleasant addition to the typical batch of Southwestern birds one might see making a ruckus about the feeders.

I like their eyes. Unlike other, larger doves who seem to always have a blank stare, the Inca Dove eyes seem to have a slight glimmer of kindness and gentleness behind them. These are grandma birds if there is such a thing.

For a size comparison, here is an 8 inch Inca Dove in front of a 10 inch Mourning Dove

Hermit Thrush

Hermit is a good name for this skulking Thrush. Hermit Thrushes have a very pleasant, somewhat melancholy song and prefer to feed in the leaf litter underneath thick shady trees. They're soft, spotted, and polite, yet also fairly inquisitive within their small domains. I don't see them that often in Arizona, and their preference for shade can make them tricky to photograph. Rather oddly, the best opportunity I've had thus far came at the Desert Botanical Gardens.

This first shot summarizes the bird well--close to the light but never fully illuminated.

Like finches and sparrow, Thrushes have something very appealing in their simple colors, but unique and intricate plumage.

Here is the diagnostic rufous tail, the surest way to tell the Hermit Thrush apart from other, similar looking Thrushes.

They're compact and have good posture. It's a small little niche they inhabit, but it's always a pleasure to enter into the Thrush's world.

Canada Goose

The Canada Goose has become one of the most common and easily recognizable geese in North America, and that is fine with me. They're better behaved and more aesthetically pleasing than most other geese, even if they are becoming a bit of a nuisance in certain areas. They used to only winter in the southern states and spend their Summers between the Arctic and Minnesota, but now they're in Phoenix year-round.

This may be the saddest looking goose I've ever seen, but he did live on a golf course so he'll be ok.

Great Blue Heron

The tallest and most common of Herons, the Great Blue lends a certain dignity and calmness to whatever lake, pond, swamp, or mud flat he visits. They can surpass 4 feet in height, and fish expertly with their dagger-like beaks and serpentine necks, always coiled to strike. Despite their impressive physical presence, they're pretty skittish. I've rarely gotten within ideal photo range before they take off, and then they act all indignant and let out their grunt call while they retreat, even though it would probably beat me in a fight.

Notice one of his feet is actually curled up next to his gut. I'm not sure how he fit that legs up that high, but what goes on behind the belly feathers of a Great Blue Heron is one of Nature's greater mysteries.

White-Winged Dove

Despite what the bird books may say, these doves are bigger than Mourning Doves. I don't know if there is a great debate about such things, but I've seen some bird books place the Mourning Dove at 12 inches and the White-Winged Dove at 11. I think both numbers are a bit generous, and White-Winged Doves certainly appear bulkier, and also usually win out when wrestling for the best spot on the feeder.

They much prefer the arid regions of the U.S. and Mexico, however, and seldom venture beyond Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and Southern California/Nevada. They're common enough on telephone wires in Arizona, but only during the hot months of spring and summer.
Their tails are rounded on the end, unlike the Mourning Dove's, and they shows their namesake white wing-bars when in flight, and along their flank when their wings are folded.

Chinese Goose

Also known as the Swan Goose, this once rare inhabitant of Mongolia and Northern China has since been domesticated and distributed throughout the United States. They can crossbreed with the Graylag goose, the most common (and also introduced) goose to be found in North America behind the Snow Goose and Canadian Goose.
I don't care for Geese. They're disheveled, mean, overly messy, and often ugly. These geese also resemble the two-headed dragon monster that Val Kilmer slays in the movie Willow. Don't believe me? I pasted some photos below for comparison. Their attitude matches as well.

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.