After days and days of driving around Arizona, finally found the beautiful Say’s Phoebe outside Scott Reservoir, Pinetop/Lakeside, AZ. Please enjoy:
And with that, there’s nothing more to say.
Say’s What?
Hawk/Tree (II)
It’s another hawk in a mesquite tree outside Tucson, AZ! Species TBD. BirdingPI.com’s crack team of ornithologists currently working on an ID. Perhaps Narrow-billed American Swamp Hawk.
Great Scott
Not Scott’s Orioles or Scott Park, rather Scott Reservoir outside Pinetop/Lakeside, AZ. Great, medium-elevation (2100 meters) spot with scrub oak, juniper, pines, open field, lake, etc.
Interesting article on the current state of Scrub Jay species delineation.
Beautiful Flame Skimmer (Libellula saturata) dragonfly:
ID note on Cassin’s Kingbird: very dark gray chest and head, yellow belly, and strongly-contrasting narrow white throat.
Weekend Preview
What better way to celebrate the forthcoming Erie weekend than with bad bird photos from last weekend? OTOH, it’s Ruddy Turnstone at Gull Point from Saturday! Not necessarily uncommon, but still a BirdingPI.com first at that location! Very nice.
ID tips: medium shorebird (smaller than Killdeer); orange legs (visible in 5th shot below); short but slightly upturned bill; wide black ‘bib;’ unique white top wing stripes/pattern visible on flying birds (e.g., see bottom shot below).
[Note: smaller BIF in shots above probably Least Sandpiper. “BIF” = birds in flight.]
Erie County weather forecast: Saturday and Sunday, moderate temps and partly sunny, should be nice.
Presque Isle State Park trail conditions: with recent rain, locally very muddy. Gull Point “inner old” trail potentially muddy/flooded. Long Pond Trail (west end) very muddy.
Bird migration forecast: radar activity and AI models suggest ‘medium’ Erie migration activity this weekend.
#More_Insect (PI)
BirdingPI.com’s entomological team is back from August holiday with this fine set of recent shots along the Gull Point Trail, Presque Isle State Park. #more_insect. Also seen: lots and lots of biting flies. Bleh.
First up, a great sighting of lovely Twelve-spotted Skimmer (Libellula pulchella), close to the Gull Point mud flats tree line:
Next up, Cabbage White (Pieris brassicae) on Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria):
Lovely Orange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme) butterfly on what’s probably Common Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum):
Still plenty of Common Eastern Bumblebee (Bombus impatiens) activity:
What better way to conclude a post than Monarch (Danaus plexippus) butterfly on Queen Anne’s Lace or Wild Carrot or whatever it is?
Hawk/Tree (I)
Despite challenging conditions (shrubbery + morning light), some rather excellent shots of Cooper’s Hawk outside Tucson, AZ.
Bonus hummingbird: Costa’s Hummingbird (m).
En La Escuela (II)
Back at La Cima Middle School outside Tucson, AZ, early Saturday, with birds x chain-link fence.
Lovely Cooper’s Hawk, in for a landing, then departure:
Following are all juvenile female Vermilion Flycatcher. Happy for the distinctive plumage to ID both sex and age.
And, lots more hummingbird, probably female Anna’s Hummingbird:
Yes, here it is. A hummingbird engaging in “excretory system behavior:“
Only BirdingPI.com brings you hummingbirds engaging in excretory system behavior! #nature #heavy_hitting_nature_journalism
El Rio (II)
More from El Rio Preserve, Marana, AZ!
Beautiful male Vermillion Flycatcher perched + flight:
Great exchange between an unexpected American Kestrel and a Cooper’s Hawk:
A bit later, another unexpected visitor – juvenile Peregrine Falcon:
Falcon vs. Cooper’s Hawk:
Thanks to Tucson Audubon for another great Birding Festival outing!
En La Escuela (I)
Great place for birds in the desert southwest: anywhere with watered/green grass + shade trees, e.g., city parks or schoolgrounds. These shots from an early Saturday morning @ La Cima Middle School, Casas Adobes, AZ. (Apropos: “Home of the Cardinals.”)
Hummingbird photos probably Anna’s Hummingbird (f).
HIF (hummingbird in flight) photography is tips: (i) ‘perch-and-flight’; or (ii) pre-focus for hover. Former involves focusing on a perched bird w/ continuous shooting as the bird takes flight; crop out the perch in post-production if needed/desired. Latter (inc. all the shots in this post) involves birds hovering at least occasionally, e.g., eating bugs; pre-focus @ expected shooting plane/distance (approximately), then fine/re-focus if the targe cooperates, + fast/continuous shooting.
Two of beautiful American Kestrel:
El Rio (I)
Great outing last week with the Tucson Audubon SE Arizona Birding Festival @ El Rio Preserve in Marana, AZ. Fascinating spot nestled between a residential neighborhood/desert and the Santa Cruz River.
Originally the result of river flooding into open space/parkland, the pond’s now maintained via a dike on one side + surplus agricultural water.
Excellent spot for birding/nature – raptors, flycatchers, Roadrunner, ducks, etc. Surprise of this outing: Ruddy Duck (m & f) in breeding plumage. (See below.)
Surprise pair of Ruddy Duck:
Unclear if it’s siblings engaging in play behavior or a territorial/other dispute, but here’s a lengthy/fun sequence of a Cooper’s Hawks chase:
Beautiful Greater Roadrunner on a wall @ adjacent subdivision:
Coming up soon: Part 2, with lots more Vermillion Flycatcher! Also more hawk and other/surprise raptors!