Dateline: August 2022
If it’s August, must be time for an update (or several) from the BIRDS (BirdingPI.com Regional Desert Southwest) Field Station in Tucson, AZ. (Recent weather in Tucson: ranging from sunny with highs of 105 deg F to rainy/monsoon with temps in the 70s deg F; humid.) Lots of great birds in Arizona!
Recent shots from around the field station. First up, the state bird of Arizona, the beautiful Cactus Wren, on or in a cactus:
Wow, Haris’s Hawk! In a neighborhood eucalyptus tree. Note the dark brown coloration, chestnut shoulder patches, white coverts, and white tail tip.
Plenty of hummingbird activity. One of the more common in Tucson, Costa’s Hummingbird. These are all males, or perhaps the same male:
Looks similar to the also-fairly-common Anna’s Hummingbird, but the males have a purple-colored head/throat/gorget (see following shot); Anna’s males – red-colored. (“Gorget:” flaps of elongate feathers that extend off either side of the throat.)
Dove action! Omitting the very common Mourning Dove in favor of two of the local ‘exotics:’
Another ubiquitous desert denizen, the Curved-billed Thrasher:
Yet another desert/southwest ‘likely to see,’ the Lesser Goldfinch (male):
Ducks in Tucson? Yup – plenty of artificial lakes in Tucson, and thereby plenty of birds to take advantage. Here’s a lovely female Mexican Duck (Mexican/Mallard hybrid?) at Sweetwater Wetlands:
Very interesting discussion of Mexican vs. Mallard Ducks by Sibley. Although, recent word is that Mexican Duck is currently considered a separate species from Mallard, interbreeding notwithstanding.
