No one brings you compelling birding/nature journalism like BirdingPI.com! Case in point, today’s post – Quail on a Fence!
All lovely Gambel’s Quail in Tucson, all on a fence! Good opportunity here to see both adult and juvenile – usually ensconced in shrubbery/vegetation.
Per our friends at All About Birds, “The male’s prominent black belly patch distinguishes it from the similar California Quail.” (See shots above and immediately below.)
[Disclaimer: BirdingPI.com is a supporter of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, but no affiliation otherwise. Please consider supporting.]
The lovely Lucy’s Warbler! Not a common sighting in the Tucson metro area; very surprised with this ‘backyard’ visit. Perhaps due to recent rainfall. Male: blue/gray, white-ish underside, rufous stripe on head and rufous rump. Definitely a “wow!”
Warm and dry Saturday in Erie, moderate thunderstorms overnight. Partially clear but unsettled Sunday morning, thunderstorms moving in with fairly heavy rain over Presque Isle State Park just before 2:30pm (see below). Pre-rain, all Presque Isle State Park trails dry except where previously reported. Partial clearing by early Sunday evening, followed by severe t-storms overnight.
Presque Isle public service announcement: be on the lookout for crazy/summer/out-of-town drivers, e.g., folks with NYS plates driving the wrong way on 1-way road (true story).
Bird-wise, lots of great activity as usual. Canada Geese and Double-breasted Cormorant migration off to a strong/busy start.
Gull Point Saturday AM: geese, cormorant, gulls, plover (probably Semipalmated Plover), yellowlegs (probably Lesser Yellowlegs), dowitcher (probably Short-billed Dowitcher), Killdeer, Caspian Tern, Bald Eagle, Starling, etc. No shorebird activity along the beach; a sandpiper or two on the back bay.
Canada Goose/landingDouble-breasted Cormorant on the lowdownCormorant detailDowitcher @ heavily croppedYellowlegs and dowitcher (heavy crop)Plover & dowitcher (extreme crop)
Following are juvenile (left) and adult (right) flycatcher. Perhaps Least Flycatcher, but coloration not an exact match.
Hmmm…. Flycatcher of some sortReverse angleGray Catbird!OspreyLeast Flycatcher (note the strong white eyering)Bald Eagle @ edge of Thompson Bay
Green Heron summer continues along the Sidewalk Trail. Spotted a Red-tailed Hawk in the distance, otherwise very quiet.
Dry-ish swamp
Sunday PM, better conditions for dramatic landscape shots than birds. At Thompson Bay:
Incoming rain
Woodpecker, Gray Catbird, flycatcher, sparrow, Yellow Warbler, etc. activity along the Pine Tree Trail, as the rain started:
Eastern Wood-pewee
Sparrow of some sort:
Song SparrowThompson Bay, view north towards Lake Erie
Later this week, back to Arizona with hummingbird and more warbler!
Lots of complaints over the ‘bait and switch’ from the last squirrel/nut post. Making it up here with squirrel + green pine cone (Abert’s squirrel aka Tassel-eared squirrel) @ White Mtns. Following two shots also Abert’s squirrel:
Tassel-earedFull steam ahead
Bonus Abert’s squirrel @ Mt. Lemmon:
On the run
More bonus squirrel – Round-tailed ground squirrel (Xerospermophilus tereticaudus) in Tucson:
Summer mid-day, everyone in Tucson appreciates a bit of green vegetation and shade. Making the ‘shaded playground’ at Arthur Pack Regional Park (north side of town), with its scant lawn and grove of mature mesquite trees, not a bad place for birding.
Brown-crested Flycatcher
Couple shots immature Verdin:
Paul Newman… in The Verdin
And mature Verdin for comparison:
UnoDosTres
Next up, number one on the Arizona “uncommon birds you might actually see list,” the always popular and beautiful Vermillion Flycatcher. First up, female.
Not too vermillionBut still beautiful
And the more aptly named male:
Fairly vermillionMore vermillion
Adjacent Maeveen Behan Desert Sanctuary also highly recommended, just not for birding during the heat of the day. #heat_exhaustion
Hedgehog cactus @ Maeveen Behan
Another great greater Tucson location, Catalina State Park in Oro Valley. With bonus Vermillion Flycatcher!
At a distanceAnd closerMore flycatcher!
Immature male Great-tailed Grackle at Christopher Columbus Park:
Grackle me
Finally, a few from perhaps the premier “in town” Tucson birding spot, Sweetwater Wetlands.
Abert’s Towhee
Following is a tough one. Perhaps female Hooded Oriole (!)
In the hood (?)
With its black cap, a little easier to ID the lovely male Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, another classic denizen of the desert SW:
What’s the saying in bird photography? “Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while?” Maybe that’s a saying in squirrel photography. Anyway, no squirrels here (stayed tuned for later posts), instead some recent, rather amazing shots of male Costa’s Hummingbird under a mesquite tree, Tucson, Arizona.
Possibly a candidate here for next year’s “BirdingPI.com Audubon bird photography contest summary rejection” submission.
[Editor’s Note: if lacking in amazement, please substitute “nice” for “amazing” in the lead paragraph above.]
Hummingbirds on Mt. Lemmon, too. Probably female Broad-Tailed Hummingbird:
Mt. Lemmon/hummingbird
Yellow-eyed Junco‘s found a cracker crumb:
Bird/tidbitMore bird/tidbit
After dropping from 2500+ meters (8200 ft.) to 1400+ meters (4600 ft.) in elevation at Molino Basin, great sighting of a Canyon Towhee. Note reddish/rusty under-tail and overall brown appearance.
Grand Canyon TowheeMore towhee!
Here’s a rather flamboyant juvenile Northern Cardinal. (Black/gray bill indicates juvenile, vs. red/pink bill on female.)
Crested
Beautiful male with an acorn:
Cardinal/snack
Next time, a rather special hummingbird post. More hummingbird!
More warbler on Mt. Lemmon! First up, obligatory Yellow Warbler content:
Next up, thought at first this was Black-and-white Warbler = nonsensical considering the location. Turns out to be the lovely Black-throated Gray Warbler. See distinctive yellow spot between eye and beak:
Finally, the mystery bird of this post. Lots of mediocre shots to show whatever information’s available.
The habitat (Arizona pines) + dark wings with white wing bars + yellow face and throat suggest either Hermit Warbler or Townsend’s Warbler.
Dark/smudgy face suggests Townsend’s.
However, throat and breast seem fairly white, vs. yellow breast on Townsend’s. Also a slight eye ring.
Overall, calling this as a female or immature Hermit Warbler.
