Birding From Dawn ‘till Dusk: Day 3 Vail and Tubac

Mourning dove on nest in Vail, AZ 4-9-10

We started our day with coffee and birds at a friend's house in Vail, AZ. Vail sits at the vase of the Rincon Mountains and at the edge of Saguaro National Park.  Because of this it is rich in bird life and my friend Judy has numerous species in her yard…

… including a nesting family of Harris Hawks! This is the nest in a silk oak tree right next to the Judy’s pool! The hawks and humans mostly get along though the hawks did eat the family cat last year.  You can just see the little baby’s fuzzy face just peeking over the top of the nest.

Meanwhile Mamma or papa keep watch from the utility pole at the corner of the front yard while the rest of the family is off searching for dinner!

Harris Hawks live and hunt in family groups.  This nest site was successful last year also and the family is growing.  I do not know how big it will get before they decide to branch off into another breeding pair.

Mexican Poppies and Desert Bluebells 4-9-10 

When we left Judy’s house we drove along a roadside covered with wild flowers.  I just had to get out and photograph this wild beauty.

View of wildflowers with the Rincon Mountains as a backdrop 4-9-10

Townsend’s solitaire on St. Gertrudis lane 4-9-10

Kathryn and I spent the rest of the day down in Tubac where we ate lunch and meandered through the little village viewing art.  As a final stop for the day we visited Santa Gerturdis Lane, a local birding hotspot just down the road from Tubac.  It is a private road with no through traffic but rich in bird life since the Santa Cruz River flows by.  To bird there you must park on the frontage road and walk in. As Kathryn and I searched the hedgerow for birds I caught sight of this plain looking bird.  At first I thought it was a mockingbird, but something wasn’t quite right. The posture was too upright, the beak too short, and there was no white in the wings. Plus, it had a white eye-ring. Suddenly it struck me what I was looking at and I couldn't believe my eyes for this bird has eluded me for 5 years!  It was a Townsend's Solitaire!  This bird is in the thrush family with robins and bluebirds. A bird of open forest and woodland edges, it is called “solitaire” for a reason.  It is never seen in flocks. The bird perched quietly in the dense brush but I was able to zoom in and catch a ray of sunlight on its body illuminating it just enough for this photo!  Life Bird* number 378 for me! However, this is a yard bird for Kathryn, but she still enjoyed seeing it.

*A Life Bird is the first time a birder see a particular species of birds.  Most birders keep a Life List of all the bird species they have seen in their lives.

 

Sycamore Canyon Update: Today is cool here in Sycamore Canyon with a morning low of 40 degrees at 4:30 AM after a cold front moved through late yesterday afternoon and dropped out temps from 80 to 70 in little over and half hour.  With it came a brief but fierce rainstorm and high winds.  Our low temperature for yesterday was reached late last night. It was 46 degrees at 10:30 PM which was the last time I checked. We started the day yesterday at 63 degrees! Don’t worry, sunshine and warmth will return tomorrow!

Skywatch Friday: Harris Hawk Sky

Harris Hawk by Kathiesbirds 3-25-09 Vail, AZ

Portrait of a Harris Hawk 3-25-09 by Kathiesbirds


Harris Hawk Landing in Tree 3-25-09

Harris Hawk tail showing white base 3-25-09

Harris hawk, "Don't mess with me!"

Tree in Vail, AZ where the nest is. 3-25-09

Last week my friend, Judy, invited me to her yard in Vail, AZ to see her nesting pair of Harris Hawks. Though she told me they were right over her head, it was still hard to believe until I saw it for myself. The tree the bird's have built their nest in is a mere 15 to 20 feet from her pool in one direction and her house in the other. I stood almost the whole time I was there because I kept seeing so many birds. The Harris Hawks flew over our head numerous times and didn't seem disturbed by our presence at all as evidenced by her husband cleaning the pool right beneath the tree! This is the hawk's first year nesting here. I do not know what kind of tree it has built its nest in. I have never seen this species of tree before. If anyone knows, please feel free to enlighten me and everyone else! I do not think it is native to Arizona. today Judy told me they have seen the baby for the first time, so I suppose another photo trip is warranted. I hope to have baby Harris Hawk photos for everyone very soon. For now, enjoy this Harris Hawk Sky!

Harris Hawk on Utility Pole in Vail, AZ on the street in front of Judy's house.

Click on the link to visit more Skywatch Friday Skys.

(Click on any photo to enlarge for the best view.)

All of today's Photography is by Kathie Brown with the Nikon D80.

Thanks Skywatch team! You are the Best!

My World: Birds Small and Large

Plumbeous Vireo 1-14-09 by Kathie Brown

My World is a world of birds and birding. In quest of Big January I have gone birding almost every day this month. Last Wednesday I decided to visit Sweetwater Wetlands where I hoped to pickup some new species of birds. Sweetwater is undergoing some maintenance right now, so the main parking lot and front ponds are closed, but the County has set up temporary parking down the street with an alternative access to the back ponds. Most people come to Sweetwater to see ducks and the resident family of Harris Hawks, but many smaller species live in the cattails, rushes and willows. When I arrived the heavy machinery was right near the road and I had to walk past it to access the trails. I wondered how there could be any bird here, but I was pleasantly surprised. The ponds are full of hundreds of Northern Shovlers as well as Wigeons, Mallards, Ruddy Ducks and Coots. Around the edges of the ponds today a display is set up with a group of school children learning about the wetlands and how they work. I walk the perimeter quietly and wait for the silence to come. Soon the school children leave and most of the early birders. I am almost alone here now and the birds emerge from their hiding places to feed in safety once again.

It is now that I find this Plumbeous Vireo flitting about in the branches of a willow. While photos of ducks are much easier to capture, finding and getting close to these smaller birds is the real challenge. Vireos are very active insect eating birds closely related to shrikes. Their thick bills are hooked at the ends and this Plumbeous Vireo has white "spectacles" and wing bars.

I was delighted to catch this small song bird in the act of feeding. I watched from below as it captured...

...and gobbled up an insect. It ripped the legs off to swallow first...




..then repositioned the bug...

...and gobbled it up!

Like any well mannered bird, it cleaned its beak on a limb...

...before continuing the hunt once again. You can see the white spectacles and double wingbars in this photo as well as the hooked beak.

And while I am watching the Plumbeous vireo, this little yellow-rumped warbler is watching me. Yellow-rumped warblers come in two varieties: Audubon's with the yellow throat, and the more eastern Myrtle with a white throat. Once considered separate species,the two were combined into one currently called Yellow-rumped for the bright yellow rump they both sport. Many birders call them "butter butts" which is an easy distinguishing field mark.

Most of the ducks are napping at this time of day with their beaks tucked into their downy feathers. A few float serenely on the pond, but they keep their distance. However, when this female Ruddy Duck came close, I couldn't resist snapping her photo. Ruddy ducks are small diving ducks and the males are quite colorful and clownish looking when they are in breeding plumage.

Here is what winter looks like in Arizona. It is 71 degrees today and I am in a T-shirt and Capri's. The warm sun beats down on me, and I am thankful for the shady paths in Sweetwater Wetlands.

Apparently this Ruby-crowned Kinglet likes them as well as it creeps along a willow twig looking for lunch. To me it looks like a birdy bouncing ball along a willow musical staff with green-leafed notes hanging down in some woodsy song. Do you know the melody perhaps?

I have seen the resident family of Harris Hawks hunting over my head since I arrived. One has finally landed close enough for me to get a shot with my Nikon D80 and 300mm lens. I zoom in as it looks over its red shoulder with the sun glinting in its dark eye.

These tall eucalyptus trees along the Roger Road Waste Treatment Plant are their favorite lookouts. The family of five nests in one of them. Harris Hawks are unique in that they hunt cooperatively as a family. I have seen at least 3 of them today with one carrying a twisted stick into the tree to replenish the nest.

But this one has had enough of me photographing it and takes off. This photo shows the best field marks with the dark body, red shoulders, white base to the tail and the white terminal band. You can also see the formidable talons used to capture prey. I saw 33 species of birds at Sweetwater and added 7 new species to my Big January Count. I thought I was done for the day, but then I decided to stop at Lakeside Park.

Lakeside Park is located off Golf Links Road on 8299 East Stella Road between Kolb and Sarnoff. It is a lovely small park with picnic areas, ball fields and a man made lake. While ducks, grackles and blackbirds frequent this body of water, I know it is also a reliable place to see Spotted Sandpipers.

And sure enough I find on in winter plumage on the far shore. I have to hike all the way around to get close enough for a picture, but it is well worth it. There are always fishermen here trying their luck in the well stocked pond. But as I walk the edge of the lake counting mallards and wigeons I round the curve of the shoreline to discover a fisherman I never expected to find here.

This large bird silhouetted on the rusting sign warning people not to swim is unmistakeably a Brown Pelican! But what is it doing here?

I snap a few shots, then walk farther down the shore to get the bird in better light. The bird doesn't seem to care at all as it sits atop its chosen perch and preens away in the sunlight.

I finally sit myself down on the curbing and snap to my heart's content. The sight of this bird is a gift in more ways than one. I smile at its comical appearance and enjoy this special moment. I wonder if anyone else knows about this bird and when I am home once again I find it has already been reported on the Southeast Arizona Rare Bird Alert.

I am birding at breakneck speed and spend the weekend couting birds. Now, on Monday morning it was 59 degrees at 6:00 a.m. In the past 50 minutes it has dropped to 56, but as soon as the sun rises the temperature will soar rapidly and by this afternoon it will be in the mid 70's once again in My World. I am going back to Madera Canyon today to meet a fellow blogger named Kathy from Kentucky. Perhaps we will spot that Black-throated Green Warbler again today and one of us will capture its picture! Her blog is Life, Birding, Photos and Everything and she and her husband are out here for the Wings Over Wilcox Festival. She has a really beautiful blog and her photography is excellent. She also visited Sweetwater Wetlands recently as well as The Sonoran Desert Museum where she witnessed Raptor Free Flight. If you have the time, take a look.

For now, here is my Big January Update:

75. Cinnamon Teal; Sweetwater Wetlands 1-14-09

76. Harris Hawk; Sweetwater Wetlands 1-14-09

77. Yellow-headed blackbird

78. Marsh wren

79. Common Moorhen

80. Sora

81. Great Blue Heron

82. Spotted Sandpiper; Lakeside park 1-14-09

83. Brown Pelican; Lakeside Park 1-14-09 (New Arizona Life List)