Monday, November 3, 2008

The Birds of Sabino Canyon

The summer birds are gone and the winter population is moving in. We counted this little bird near Sabino Dam in the thick of the brush.

Whitecrowned sparrow by kathiesbirds 10-14-08

Out in the sunshine a White-crowned sparrow looks over the land.

Hammond's Flycatcher 9-16-08 by Kathiesbirds


In September the last of the hummingbirds were still hanging around. Only a few linger now. Nearby this little Hammond's Flycatcher hunts insects in the brush.



Juvenile Cooper's Hawk 9-16-08 by kathiesbirds

Across the creek a juvenile Cooper's Hawk keeps watch for the slightest movement.


Clark's Spiny Lizard eats insect 9-16-08


We rarely finish our hike without seeing at least one lizard, but it was a real treat to find this Clark's Spiney Lizard with a mouth full of beetle beneath some brush. Burp!



Come back tomorrow for MY WORLD TUESDAY!


Sabino Canyon Bird Counts:
Location: Sabino Canyon Recreation Area

Observation date: 9/16/08

Notes: IBA Survey transect with Jean, Peggy and Pam. I counted all the way back to the car as well, a half mile farther than the transect.

Number of species: 28

Gambel's Quail 3
Turkey
Vulture 2
Cooper's Hawk 3
Red-tailed Hawk (Western) 2
Prairie Falcon 1
Mourning Dove 5
Broad-billed Hummingbird 4
Black-chinned Hummingbird 6
Anna's Hummingbird 3
Gila Woodpecker 3
Red-naped Sapsucker 1
Hammond's Flycatcher 1
Black Phoebe 1
Bell's Vireo 5
Plumbeous Vireo 2
Common Raven 1
Verdin 4
Cactus Wren 3
House Wren 4
Curve-billed Thrasher 2
Lucy's Warbler 2
Wilson's Warbler (Mountain West) 2
Green-tailed Towhee 1
Abert's Towhee 2
Northern Cardinal 1
Black-headed Grosbeak 1
House Finch 1
Lesser Goldfinch 20
Location: Sabino Canyon Recreation Area

Observation date: 10/14/08

Notes: IBA survey plus the hike in and out. 44F@ 7:00AM. No wind or clouds. We weren't seeing many birds until we were halfway through the transect. This is probably due to the cold temps and the construction going on at the beginning of the transect where 2 new restrooms are being built. Transect is along Sabino Creek. Once we were south of
the construction zone and the sun started to hit the canyon the birds came out in force.

Number of species: 19

Gambel's Quail 15
Mourning Dove 6
Gila Woodpecker 3
Black Phoebe 1
Common Raven 1
Verdin 5
Cactus Wren 7
Rock Wren 4
House Wren 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Hermit Thrush 1
Northern Mockingbird 4
Curve-billed Thrasher 2
Phainopepla 5
Abert's Towhee 4
Song Sparrow 1
White-crowned Sparrow 1
House Sparrow 10

8 comments:

Larry said...

Nice photos! I'm always trying to catch a decent picture of mature White-crowned Sparrows but they seem to always be blocked by a branch or something.

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

Wonderful pix as always Kathie.
I love the Coop standing on one foot.

Kathryn said...

Love the pics! I think my favorite is the white crowned sparrow. Also, at first glance I did not notice the hawk on one foot, I had to go back and look closer thanks to lynne's comment. Great shot! Supposed to snow the next 2 days, you know how I am looking forward to that.

Lilli & Nevada said...

wow those are some great photo specially the last one. Nice world you live in

Deborah Godin said...

Wonderful group of birds, and that's a really big beetle, wonder how you heimlich a lizard...

Anonymous said...

Some interesting Winter visitors Kathie and some nice photos.

Quiet Paths said...

Awesome shots, Kathie. I just love that flycatcher; what a variety you have there. We have here more species of raptors in the Mission Valley than most places but I often wish we saw more songbirds.

Its Time to Live said...

awsome, you inspire me still