From a day in late July, it’s lots of Tucson-area suburban Sonoran Desert birds outside the BirdingPI.com Regional Desert Southwest (BIRDS) field station in Casas Adobes, AZ. Perhaps Tucson’s “best” & “most exclusive” location for quality birding within 10 meters (20-30 feet) of air conditioning & a cold beverage (e.g., ice water).
All hummingbird pictures Purple Shooting Star (a.k.a. Costa’s Hummingbird):
Here’s a medley of Lesser Goldfinch (female or juvenile) x Black-tailed Gnatcatcher (m):
Two of White-winged Dove w/ nice lighting:
Medley of Purple Shooting Star x Juvenile Verdin:
Very cool picture of the setting sun through evening monsoon rains:
Finally, lots more Purple Shooting Star from earlier in the afternoon:
Fun facts: Verdin (Auriparus flaviceps) is the only species in the genus Auriparus and the only representative of the old-world family Remizidae (penduline tits) found in North America. “Penduline tits:” all but the Verdin make elaborate bag nests hanging from trees (whence “penduline”, hanging), usually over water. (That being said, even Verdin make fairly elaborate spherical hanging nests out of sticks and twigs.)
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This Team Member, who hangs out at the BIRDS field station is impressed at how beautiful the Team Leader’s photos are. Perhaps it’s because he drinks ice water, while this Team Member drinks beer! Or because the TL is super good at taking bird photos!