Most excellent to see Mountain Bluebird recently at Scott’s Reservoir outside Pinetop/Lakeside, AZ:
In contrast w/ various Western Bluebirds in the Pinetop/Lakeside area:
ID tip: Western Bluebird male has rufous on breast; Mountain Bluebird is blue all over except for some black in tail.
Any Tanager sighting is great, let alone this uncommon encounter of an adult male Western Tanager feeding a juvenile, in Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest outside Pinetop/Lakeside, AZ:
More feedin’:
The BirdingPI.com ‘summer desert hiatus’ continues apace, w/ beautiful hummingbirds “on and off the feeder” at Santa Rita Lodge in Madera Canyon:
Especially in light of the recent initiative to “de-honorificize” bird names, sticking with Magnificent Hummingbird for this magnificent & beautiful male:
As seen here, the apparent/visual colouration is very dependent on light angle; frequently, these birds can look mostly black:
Finally, a lovely female Broad-billed Hummingbird at a feeder:
Coming up soon, more hummingbirds! Also desert sandpipers (!?!), both amazing and non-amazing Summer and Western Tanager content, “wrens that aren’t Cactus or House,” exotic bluebirds, the elusive White-faced Ibis, warblers on Mt. Lemmon, yikes – the list just goes on and on! #more_bird
Not a photo editing mistake, just an agile Painted Redstart at Madera Canyon:
For the sake of variety, right side up:
Seems like world-famous Madera Canyon (outside Green Valley, AZ) is the most reliable place for seeing beautiful Arizona Woodpecker, which was certainly the case Friday morning. Not only a female at the ‘feeding station’ at Santa Rita Lodge, but a male at the upper end of the nature trail.
Very nice shot of the female in flight:
Fun fact: this is North America’s only brown/white woodpecker!
Coming up soon: upside down birds! And more hummers!
Warning: this post contains “mild (no blood) but graphic” content of prey behavior. Viewer discretion is advised.
With its brushy, open habitat, a great place to see Greater Roadrunner is El Rio Preserve in Marana, AZ. This was a rather amazing encounter of a Roadrunner exhibiting either prey or scavenger behavior, vis-a-vis an unfortunate juvenile rodent.
Sora, Common Gallinule, & American Coot, oh my! All seen recently the last few days in the Tucson, AZ area. These species also found in Erie County, PA, but Gallinule and Sora are very reclusive.
Lovely Broad-tailed Hummingbirds at the beautiful Tucson Botanical Gardens Wednesday morning:
Beautiful hawks yesterday morning at Catalina State Park, Oro Valley, AZ:
This Cooper’s Hawk flew into a tree and then seemed fairly unconcerned about relatively close human presence. Always nice to have a cooperative bird model subject!
Coming up soon, hummingbirds!
Dateline: 30 July 2024
ASIH Warning: The 2nd half of this post contains snake-related content. Viewer discretion is advised.
Just two days in the greater Tucson, AZ area and the ‘crazy animals’ are coming out of the woodwork. #nature. First up, right outside the BIRDS field station Monday afternoon, an absolutely gorgeous Coyote (Canis latrans):
Next up, an amazing Desert Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos):
Finally, nothing puts a spring in your step like a surprise rattlesnake! From this morning at Catalina State Park, a beautiful Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox):
This individual was crossing further up the trail, but close enough to rear up slightly (see above) + lots of rattling:
Heading off into the grass:
[Photo Editor’s Note: In the “funny/unfortunate photo background” category, here’s the uncropped version of the shot above, apparently of a Coyote eating a piece of carrot cake:
