The Mystery Hawk and the Red Surprise

Tuesday, January 29

My birding day started with watching two ravens chase a red-tailed hawk out of our neighborhood. I am driving down Sycamore Leaf when I see them and I pullover to watch the drama. The ravens are relentless in their pursuit and tag team the hawk, one after the other diving in for the attack. When I reach Sahuarita Rd. I stop, and there on the utility pole is a kestrel. A good day of birding has started.

I am heading for a new location today, a park I found on eBrid called Lakeside Park. It’s much later than I wanted to get out of the house, but at least I am getting out. It is a beautiful day here in Tucson with sunshine and temps already in the 60’s. I have a long-sleeved shirt on over my t-shirt, but I won’t need it for long.

As I pull into the parking lot at Lakeside Park I see a hawk swooping down into an adjacent field. I quickly pull into a spot, grab my binoculars and bolt up the hill. The hawk is on the ground doing a Mexican hat dance. He’s trying to stomp on something but whatever it is is quicker than the hawk. The hawk has its wings raised for balance. With the morning sun streaming from behind the bird illuminating every feather it looks almost mythical there backlit by sunlight. I see legs feather to the knees, but no further. The hawk has a white breast streaked with brown. Its tail is long and when it turns there is no red in it, nor are there any “backpack straps” that would indicate a redtail. Through my binoculars the hawk seems huge and I am hoping for a ferruginous hawk, but this one does not have legs feathered to the toes, or the huge gape of the ferrug. No luck there.

The hawk flies up and lands on the chain link fence which surrounds what I now realize is a field next to a school. Ground squirrels are standing up watching this drama, just like me. Now I know why the hawk is hunting here. I walk the short distance back to my vehicle and get the D80 out, which I wisely brought with me this time. I pull my car up next to the fence parallel to the hawk and use it as a blind. After rolling down my window I snap a couple shots off, then decide to see if I can get some shots from outside the car.

I step out and start shooting. The hawk stays. Five step closer, “Snap! Snap! Snap! The hawk stays! I did this several times and was amazed at how close the bird let me get before it took to the air one again. Once home I looked at my pictures and my bird guides and I think it is a juvenile Cooper’s, but I’ve sent off the pictures to some Audubon friends for confirmation. (If you think you know who this hawk is, please leave your suggestions in the comments section below)

Lakeside park in a manmade lake with lots of men sitting around fishing and chewing the fat. It seems there is always at least one guy who looks like Santa Claus in the off season. I walk the perimeter of the lake as the sun beats down on me. Most of the birds I am seeing are what I’ve already seen at other locations, but I did pick up a spotted sandpiper, a pied-billed grebe, and 3 northern rough-winged swallows diving over the water.

While I am standing on a steep bank looking out over the water a flash of red flies at me and lands on a nearby branch. I cannot believe my eyes, for there is a vermillion flycatcher posing for me. He is so close that I am able to snap off a good picture this time, but I am wishing Gus was here and he could capture this picture.

Just as I am ready to leave I hear a bunch of bird in an old Palo Verde tree near the parking lot. Looking with my binoculars I see a deep hole where a branch was obviously lost recently. Just poking out of the hole are some black and white tail feathers. It looks like the tail of a Gila woodpecker. I can see the ragged edges of the scar, but in the middle the hole is perfectly round. Soon the culprit backs out of the hole and stops to look at me. I now know where a Gila woodpecker nest will be this spring. What a great day!

Big January: 76. Pied-billed grebe, 77. Northern Rough-winged swallow, 78. Spotted sandpiper,

A Few New Birds and a Few New Photos

What’s Been Happening at the Feeders?


The Gilas must be hungry, for I’m watching five of them outside the den window right now. I’ve put up a new “woodpecker bar” last week and within 30 seconds a Gila woodpecker was pecking.




















Later on the Gambel’s Quail decided to check it out, sooooo…


























The Gilas decided to steal nectar instead!






But then the Cooper’s got hungry and buzzed the feeders!









He wasn’t successful, so he just perched on the fence looking disgusted with himself.















A roadrunner stopped by looking for dinner, but he only stayed long enough for a photo shoot.























I think all the Costa’s hummingbirds are finished molting. They used to have a ragged appearance…




But now they are elegant gentlemen!








































In pursuit of my “Big January” we visited Las Cienegas National Conservation Area Saturday night. We mostly saw raptors, including this Harland’s hawk which took hours of research to positively identify.

Sunday it rained all day. We tried to get a good photo of a vermillion flycatcher at Himmel Park in Tucson. We were a comedy team as I held the umbrella over Gus and the camera while he tried to get a shot. We got many but none were very good. We need a bigger lens or more patience and a sunny day!


From there we travelled over to Christopher Columbus Park where I saw 35 species on my last visit. It had stopped raining when we arrived, but soon started up again and we had to leave, but not before Gus got a really nice photo of an egret and I counted 12 Lark Sparrows feeding in the ball field!











Big January count: 70. Great Horned owl, 71.Western Meadowlark, 72. Harris hawk, 73. Vermillion flycatcher, 74. Eared Grebe, 75. Lark sparrow.

What Made Me Smile

Sometimes it only takes a little thing, a simple thing, to make me smile. I like the unexpected things the best, serendipitous things that happen in a day. This morning I got up and started my usual routine of opening shutters, feeding the animals, and fixing my tea. We had a stormy weekend with rain all day Sunday, so this morning the roads are damp and the sky is full of cloud ships. A virtual chorus of birds is singing outside the windows and while my idealistic mind likes to imagine they are saying “How great it is to be alive!”, in reality its probably more like, “Get away from that seed. It’s mine!”

It was while all these thing are happening that the unexpected happens. Now don’t get too excited because it really is a small thing, but it made me smile. As I said, I was making my morning cup of tea. Since the teapot is empty, I have to refill it with water. I grab my glass four-cup measure from the cupboard and put it under the refrigerator spigot to get filtered water. When I press against the bar to start the water’s flow, a light comes on. No big deal. But then I look down, and there dancing on the floor is a flickering star of light. It seems to be full of energy. It seems to be alive! Instantly I think of Tinkerbelle and the little sprite is calling me back to childhood. “Don’t go away! Stay here and play!” the light says to me while dancing on my tiled floor. A smile spreads across my face. I feel it as it creeps up to my ears. I know my eyes are twinkling, but only Tinkerbelle sees this.

Of course there is no fairy. Of course it’s just the light from the refrigerator refracting through the glass stirred up by the motion of the filling water, but I live in a world full of wonder where little things make me smile. Often it is the sight of the daily birds that visit my yard, but today it is the light of fairy dancing on tile while I fill my measuring cup with water for tea which I am now drinking as I sit here and write. Not a bad way to start the day, don’t you think?

What I Found While Searching for Birds

Thursday's Survey of Sycamore Canyon ( January 24)

I am determined to survey the birds in the canyon today. It has been a long time since I walked the 2 mile length of the road and counted birds. Trying to compete for the Big January total with Larry of the Brownstone Birding Blog has prompted me to go out even more than normal. Plus, since I have started eBirding I am having more fun than ever adding new totals to my life list. So, at 9:45 a.m. under mostly sunny skies I head out the door complete with binoculars, notebook and water. I leave the D80 home because I want to focus on identifying and counting species, instead of photographing them. However, I do have my Nikon Coolpix in my pocket for any impromptu photographs.

I don’t have to go far before spotting a Rock Wren bouncing on the block walls along Rustling Leaf Trail. In the brush nearby a small flock of sweet-faced Brewers’ sparrows flies up. I cut across the desert to the main road hoping I might see a cactus wren or some black-throated sparrow, but all I see is an abandoned cactus wren nest in a spiny cholla cactus.

Out on the road I scan the desert for birds. I spot a lump on a tree that looks like a bird of prey. Sure enough, a Cooper’s hawk is perched near a wash watching for something to fill its belly. Farther down the road I hear some twittering. I look up to the retention basin near the Meritage neighborhood and see many small birds hopping about and scratching in the grass. Slowly I creep up to the fence and watch. Scattered about the wash under various trees and shrubs the little sparrows are searching for breakfast. I find some black-throated sparrows here, along with white-crowned sparrows and Rufous-winged sparrows. I saw my first Rufous-winged yesterday on a road called Garigans Gulch. I had suspected I have seen this species here before, but it is a new species for me and required further study. Now I am confident as I spot the two dark whisker marks flanking the lighter throat. An eye-line bisects the face and the sparrows raise their striped Rufous crest. While the breast is unstreaked, the rufous wing patch on the bird’s shoulder isn’t always visible. Today I am at a good angle and the bird is quite close, so I am able to see it. How exciting! This is another new life bird for me. Now I am wishing I had brought the D80!

The canyon is alive with bird today. I spot my first yellow-rumped warbler in this location as well. Farther down the road at the juncture of Harrison and Sycamore Leaf the sidewalk is alive with small birds hopping about. I freeze at the corner and train my binoculars on the birds. So many sparrows! Black-throats and Brewer’s are easy to pick out. There are a few more Rufous-winged sparrows also, but here are more species that I am uncertain of. If I only had that camera I could photograph them and figure them out at home. I start to scribble notes, but switching back and forth from binoculars to writing is awkward. Then a huge construction truck drives by and the birds flee to the desert. Once they’ve taken wing I realize there are far more than I thought there were as a flock of fifty plus birds flies up and then down into the grasses and brush, too far away for me to see them anymore.

By now I’ve been at this for almost 2 hours. Once again I am tired, hungry and cold as the clouds have moved in once again along with the wind and the drop in temperature. I turn around at the last wash before Sahuarita road where I find two mockingbirds eating hackberries from the tree that hangs over the wash. This is one of my favorite places to come to. It reminds me of my grandfather’s pasture from when I was a child. Though he wouldn’t have cactus in Connecticut, there’s still something familiar about the feel of the land, the rustling of the leaves and of course, the cow pies, for this area is fenced off for cattle and sometimes I see them here, though I have no idea what they find to eat! I will come back one day and sit here to think and feel this desert feeling, this wooded spot alongside the road. It is a vignette of a time and place long gone for me, but this spot brings me back and reminds me that it once existed and I was once young. I set out to go birding but found a memory instead. Not a bad deal, don’t you think?

Big January Total: 67. Rufous- Winged Sparrow. 68. Canyon Towhee, 69. Cassin’s Sparrow

Finding Birds

In my quest to add to my Big January list I have gone out birding every day for the past three days. On Tuesday it was the Green Valley Waste Water Treatment Plant where I added the Ross’s Goose to my life list. Wednesday I tried Aqua Caliente Park again. I went there in pursuit of a Lewis’s Woodpecker which has been reportedly seen there on the Tucson Audubon’s Rare Bird list. I have never seen one, but what a treat that would be. An incongruous mix of colors, the Lewis’ has “oily green feathers” as Kaufman describes in his bird guide, with a red face, a pink belly and a gray collar! It was reported sighted in the palm trees but I searched everyone to no avail. No Lewis’ woodpecker today, which would be a life bird for me.

It was afternoon when I arrived under stormy skies. As I got out of my car I saw a Great Egret lifting off on silent wings to fly gracefully away over a distant ridge. Seeing the egret gave me hope that this would be a good day for birding. This time there are few people in the park and I walk around peacefully. The gray light of overcast skies softens the appearance of everything. A light wind rustles the palm fronds with a stronger gust every now and then. Mallards are in abundance, but so are Ring-necked Ducks and American Widgeons. In my grandfather’s old birding book the widgeons are called Bald Pates. I like that name better for it more readily describes that broad white stripe that stretches from their forehead over the top to the back of their necks. It truly looks like the bald head of an old man. In my mind now I think of them as Bald Pates, but I record them by their new names.

The widgeons make this squeaking sound that carries over the water “Wheet whew! Wheet whew!” which is high pitched and pervasive. The sound follows you everywhere. Mixed with that is the quacking of the mallards and the squeaking laugh-like call of Gila woodpeckers. In short, the park can be a pretty noisy place! I spotted a couple of green-winged teals in the bunch and to my amazement, a Canvasback. Because of the palm trees, Gila woodpeckers are everywhere. I counted 19 before I left, though at times there are far more than that. Northern flickers were well represented with a total count of 6 of the red-shafted variety.

At the north end of the park the trail leads past the lake to the mesquite bosque. Here a more traditional woods like habitat takes over. Tall eucalyptus trees mix with mesquite and cottonwoods. A thick undergrowth of prevails before the mesquite bosque takes over. It’s like three habitats in one area. One only has to stand quietly at this juncture to see Bewick’s wrens, Verdin, curved-billed thrashers, Abert’s towhees, white-crowned sparrows, northern flickers, Gila woodpeckers, mocking birds, and warblers. On a previous visit I have spotted a hermit thrush in this area, along with Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Hutton’s Vireos. Today to my surprise I see a bird I never expected to see in Arizona.

I am watching a flock of white-crowned sparrows in a thick tangle of brush near a big dead tree trunk. The trunk has to be at least three feet around with deep shaggy gray bark. I notice a small bird the color of the bark with a curved bill creeping up the tree trunk. It flies to the bottom, and then starts up the trunk again probing in the crevices for insects. It is a Brown Creeper, of course, but I have only seen them in Maine. I had two there that visited my yard regularly in the winter, so I know what this is as soon as I see it, but I am taken aback. I never expected to see one here!

All the while I am standing here looking at birds the wind has picked up, the temperature has dropped and a brief shower passed by. I am cold and damp but the air smells so fresh and the world feels so alive. Is it possible to have a peaceful wildness? That’s how it feels to me. I could stay for hours if I had a warmer jacket, but the day is waning. Soon it will be dark. I have a 45 minute drive to get home, so I walk back to my car and drive away, but not before stopping at the gate for one last count of Brewer’s Blackbirds and Great–tailed Grackles lined up in hoards on the utility wires. I don’t know why they like to do that in the evening, but they do. I counted 64 Brewer’s Blackbirds and estimated around 75 grackles before I drive off to end my count for the day. I counted 30 species in all, with 6 new ones to add to my January total. I will sleep well tonight.

Big January: 61. Canvasback, 62. Bewick’s Wren, 63. Brown Creeper, 64. Great Egret, 65. Northern Flicker, 66. Starling,.

Ducks in the Desert

You wouldn’t think there would be ducks in the desert, but there are. Besides the few oases and year round rivers, one of the best places to find shore birds and waterfowl is at the Waste Water Treatment Plants. In my quest to compete for a Big January I decided to stop at the Green Valley Waste Water Treatment Facility today on my way to the store. It was well worth the effort, for, not only did I increase my month total by 14 birds; I also added a new species to my life list.

The GVWWTP is off Continental rd. To visit you must sign in at the office and sign out when you leave. I arrived at 11:55 a.m. and parked my vehicle near the evaporation ponds. I haven’t been here since my birding trip with Tucson Audubon. That time I was with a group of 12 or more. This time I was alone-just me and the birds, and there were a lot of them.

I walked quietly to the first pond which is full of Northern shovelers. I see a few Widgeons here also. Along the “shore,” if you can call it that, least sandpipers and killdeer are picking along with great-tailed grackles and rock pigeons. Across the pond Red-winged blackbirds and Brewer’s blackbirds flock in the brush and among the buildings and equipment. The stench is noticeable but not overwhelming. I’m soon lost in a world of birds and I no longer notice it. The mesquite trees offer me some shade and some camouflage. I stand quietly and the birds soon relax as if I’m not even there. In the middle of this pond the water rushes out of some giant spout. It causes a constant wave to lap the shore and all the ducks face into the current in a circle, so most of them have their tails facing outward. It’s almost as if they are taking part in some duck idol worship with the spout being the object of adoration. Sometimes one or another will swim towards the shore before joining the flock again.

I walk quietly north towards other ponds scanning the horizon for birds. It is now that I see a patch of white on the far bank. I look through my binoculars but can’t believe my eyes. I think I see a snow goose, but it slips down below the bank. I walk farther north and finally see the goose again, but wait! There are two of them. Since this is a new sighting for me, it requires a consultation with my bird guides. I slip my bag of notebooks and bird guides to the ground, pull out my glasses and start researching. I can’t believe what I am reading, for the information before me says I am seeing Ross’s geese, not snow geese. I continue to watch the geese for 30 minutes or more. I snap off 10 to 20 photos in hopes that I will be able to get a better look once I am home. I notice that both geese have small pink bills and rounded heads, though one seems more rounded than the other. Still, I am not seeing the characteristic “Grin patch” of the Snow Goose or the longer, flatter bill shape.

In the pond where the geese are I find more ring-necked ducks and ruddy ducks, along with green-winged teal. I spot a few gadwalls in the bunch, as well as some coots. Sandpipers and killdeer are everywhere along the shores. I catch a movement from the corner of my eyes and look off to the east where there is yet another pond. Here I watch as a prairie falcon swoops down towards the ducks, lands on the shores, then takes to the air again. With strong beats of its pointed wings it swoops and dives, then flies off over the eastern bank. At the same time the falcon is swooping and diving, a Northern Harrier makes its lazy flight over the grassy banks and the desert beyond.

As I’ve been standing and watching the sun has steadily risen in the sky. I’m starting to feel warm in my fleece vest. My stomach is starting to growl and I really have to pee. All the ducks are tucking their beaks into their wings for an afternoon nap. It feels warm and lazy and peaceful with the dull hum of the treatment plant motors in the background. My eyes are getting bleary form bird watching and my brain has turned to mush. Still, it is with reluctance that I decide to leave. I just KNOW there are more birds to be counted beyond the next bank.

I get in my car and drive back to the office to sign out. Then, on my way out I scan the trees and fences again. I stop by the mesquite tree near the pond when I hear a sound. I see movement and pull out my binos once again. A yellow-rumped warbler is my reward. On the utility wires I spot a kestrel, then on the fence I see the shape of a flycatcher. I have to get at a better angle for the sun, and once I do I can verify a Say’s Phoebe. Enough already! I roll up the windows and drive to the store where I walk around aimlessly thinking of birds.

Once at home I check the Tucson Audubon Rare bird alert. It is here that I read about the Ross’s geese seen at the Green Valley Waste Water Treatment Plant. One is a purebred Ross’s goose, and the other is a hybrid that hangs out there. Reading this verifies what I suspected. I am learning to trust my observations even more.

BIG JANUARY

New today: 46. Ross's Goose, 47: Gadwall, 48. Ruddy Duck, 49. Bufflehead, 50. Green-winged teal, 51. Lesser Scaup, 52. American pipit, 53. Red-winged blackbird, 54. Least sandpiper, 55. Prairie falcon, 56. Red-winged blackbird, 57. Brewer's blackbird, 58. Great-tailed grackle, 59. American Kestrel, 60. Rock pigeon.

January Bird list: the game is on!

Larry of the Brownstone Birding Blog has challenged us to a Big January. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept,that means listing all the bird species you can see in one January within your own state. I've never done this before but since I started eBirding it makes it much easier to keep track: they do all the counting for me! So, here is my list for this month so far:

1. Burrowing owl, 2. American Widgeon, 3. Mallard, 4. Northern Shoveler, 5. Northern Pintail, 6. Northern harrier, 7. Great Blue heron, 8. Mourning dove, 9. Greater Roadrunner, 10. Abert's towhee, 11. Yellow-rumped warbler, 12. Phainopepla, 13. Curved-billed thrasher, 14. Northern Mockingbird, 16. Cactus wren, 17. Verdin, 18. Gila woodpecker, 19. House finch, 20. White-crowned sparrow, 21. American coot, 22. Ring-necked duck, 23. Ladder-backed woodpecker, 24. Hutton's verio, 25. Northern Cardinal, 26. Black-throated sparrow, 27. Black-tailed gnatcatcher, 28. Costa's hummingbird, 29. Lesser goldfinch, 30. House sparrow, 31. Say's phoebe, 32. Brewer's sparrow, 33. Cooper's hawk, 34. Red-tailed hawk, 35. Acorn woodpecker, 36. Common Raven, 37. Mexican Jay, 38. Bridled titmouse, 39. white-breasted nuthatch, 40. Dark-eyed junco, 41. Townsend's warbler, 42. Rock wren, 43. Gilded flicker, 44. White-throated swift, 45. Gambel's quail.

45 species so far. And where does one find herons and ducks in the desert? At an Oasis of course! But, you can also find them at the wastewater treatment plants, which are excellent places to bird I have found out! We have some very nice habits made from the treated water, one of which is called Sweetwater Wetlands. Perhaps I should go visit...