My wife and I went birding with our friends Jim and Marty on Sunday morning July 13th, walking down Sabino Canyon Parkway toward Marshall Gulch. Just south of the water department we spotted a raptor on one of the trees recently burned in the Bighorn Fire. The bird was really far away, uphill, and well,  since common birds are common, we suspected it was a Cooper's Hawk, and kept on walking! As always, I took photos . . . 

I downloaded the photographs to my computer on Monday.  To confirm the species,, I took a photo of the computer screen for Merlin Bird ID (Cornell). Merlin was very persistent, telling me more than once that this was not a Cooper's Hawk, but an American Goshawk, one of three related accipiter* species in the U.S.

*Don't click on your dictionary app, I will explain "accipiter" below.

The American Goshawk, formerly know as the Northern Goshawk, is an accipiter like the Cooper's and Sharp-shinned, but a bit larger. The American Goshawk lives and breeds away from human populations and is very protective of their nests and aggressive towards people or animals that get too close!  Therefore, spotting one it is a relatively rare occurrence. One of the distinguishing field marks is the bold white eye-line above the eye, seen in the photo above.

Below, the Goshawk crouches and takes off. 

The Goshawk is larger than either the Cooper's or Sharp-shinned, and and like all the accipiters the females are larger than the males. 

Below, a view of the extended right wing. The accipiter wing has a low aspect ratio, being short in relation to its width. More on this in a minute.

In flight accipters and buteos look different. As previously noted, Accipters have lower wing aspect ratios (length/width) compared to buteos. For illustration, below are two images, on the left the Goshawk we saw on Sunday July 13th, and on the right a Red-tailed Hawk captured on Mt Lemmon in October of 2023. 

Although we did not see other accipiters on Sunday, this is a great time to reach into the archive and catch up on the other two accipiters we do see in the U.S., Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks.

Note that the eye color of the Cooper's varies from blue to blue-gray as a nestling to yellow as juveniles, then to yellow/orange or red as adults. (Ref: Avian Recon.)  The bird above is likely a juvenile, the one below an adult. 

Below, a Cooper's in flight showing the typical short and wide wings with a long and slightly rounded tail. 

Below, from Summerhaven in August of 2019, a Cooper's Hawk enjoying an early dinner during the monsoon. 

In the spring of 2017 a pair of Cooper's Hawks nested in Agua Caliente Park, high in a tree directly over the Rose Cottage Education Center. The image below was captured on June 1, 2017, showing presumably the mother to the left, and her nestling peeking through the leaves to the right.

The image below was captured a week later, June 8, 2017. The nestling is now a fledgling, sitting on an adjacent branch, left leg down, right leg tucked up. Note that the eyes are grey/yellow. 

​Sharp-shinned's are similar in appearance to Cooper's, but in flight the Sharp-shinned has a short wide neck with the head in-line with the wrist joints on the wings, evident in the image above.The tail is long and squared off, whereas the Cooper's has a more curved tail. Sharp-shinned's are commonly spotted at hawk watches in the fall. 

The image above was captured at Agua Caliente in December of 2023.

Canon R5 Mk II, RF 100-500mm with 1.4x ext. at 700mm, 1/400 sec., f/10, ISO 8000, -0.33 EV.

In addition to the American Goshawk, we spotted some songbirds, including this Virginia's Warbler. ​

Virginia's Warblers are gray with yellow at the tail and on the breast, and a bold round eye-ring, which we can see in the images above and below.

Above and below we can see the white eye ring and the yellow feathers at the rump.

The Western Bluebird is a regular on the mountain in the summer where they nest in holes in trees or in nest boxes.  Above, likely a male Western Bluebird perched on a snag on July 13th.  For more on the Western Bluebird, summer and winter, see the links below to prior blog posts. Click on the title or the photograph.

Above and below, images of a Western Flycatcher near Sabino Canyon Parkway on July 13th. Note that this bird has a yellow band on the left leg, and a metal band with ID number of the right leg (metal band just barely visible, ID number is not).​

Western Flycatchers are small flycatchers in the genus Empidonax (Empids) that winter in Mexico and return to mountain riparian habitats to nest each year. They are greenish brown above, and pale below with a large head and a straight bill, wide at the base. They eat insects and nest on flat areas, including platform nests built especially for them. 

The bird shown above was likely banded by Charles or Harold in prior years. Charles' research has demonstrated that the birds he banded tended to return to Summerhaven to nest in subsequent years, sometimes in exactly the same spot. 

Below, a platform nest built especially for the Western Flycatcher with a female sitting on the nest on July 13th. It is not clear if she is incubating eggs or not. Mid-July is a bit late for breeding, and this could be a second try for this season. 

For more on Western Flycatchers, see this link: 

That is all for now! 
More coming soon. . . . .

Happy Trails!

I sit down to write this on Saturday, June 28, 2025, hopefully at the end of a very dry spell! Weather maps show a high pressure area moving toward four corners, with a prediction of monsoon rains beginning this Tuesday, July 1st. However, the hope of rain is not the same as water, and things are really dry up here today! 

Birds are here, but not in much evidence. This past week my wife and I walked Marshall Gulch and Bear Wallow*, with the greatest activity around a puddle (literally!) in a stream bed on the way from Bear Wallow to Mt. Bigelow. We then capped off June at the Meadow Trail on Sunday the 29th, a pause from writing this blog! 

One of our finds (thanks to a fellow birder!) was a somewhat scruffy looking Red-breasted Nuthatch in Bear Wallow. Makes me want to go nuts over hatches . . . (groan!).

​So let's take a look at Nuthatches!

*My thanks, as always, to Jeff Babson, ace naturalist, who led one of his classic  birding expeditions to Bear Wallow on the 27th!  Thanks Jeff!

Granted, not all these nuthatches were in Bear Wallow on June 27th, but I could not resist the lure of "mixed-nut hatches . . "  Bear with me (in Bear Wallow . .  LOL!!). And only one cup of coffee so far this morning . . . 

This irruptive behavior tends to occur on a two year cycle. For the bird observer this means that there will be years with no Red-breasted Nuthatches in the local neighborhood, and others where they will suddenly be seen in large numbers, especially in regions of the southeast. A bird of the Northwoods may suddenly appear on the Gulf Coast.​

Above and below, a Red-breasted Nuthatch in Bear Wallow on June 27th looking for insects. In typical nuthatch fashion, they will hang upside down as they forage. Red-breasted Nuthatches have a sharp bill, a short tail, a black crown with a white eyebrow and a black eyeline. They are blue-gray above and rusty below. This bird may be a female or juvenile, with paler underparts. 

The two images below are a Red-breasted Nuthatch caught on the Meadow Trail, Mt. Lemmon, in August of 2021. I have included the images here to show what is likely a male with brighter rusty underparts. 

For the post on this sequence of events, with some great images of the male blowing wood chips to the wind, see Spring Nesting 2023, Part 2  . . ., or click on the image above. 

The bird above could be a female, caught in Madera Canyon in January of 2021. She appears to have a fuzzy caterpillar in her bill. 

Below, perhaps a male, caught in Hereford in January of 2017. Nuthatches will climb down trees head first foraging for insects. It is thought that climbing down a tree from top to bottom gives the bird a view of insects other birds may have missed when going from the base to the top (Ref: Woodland Woman).

The photograph below was captured toward the northern part of their range in Cape May, New Jersey, October 2021. 

The Pygmy Nuthatch has been the subject of extensive research. For more, see All About Birds, or Birds of the World.

The two photographs above and one below were captured on the Meadow Trail at ~9000 feet in July of 2021. Here an adult Pygmy Nuthatch, male or female, is lunching on a Lady Bug. 

Below a female is showing mating behavior next to a nest on the Meadow Trail in 2023. This is the same nest dug out by the Red-breasted Nuthatch shown earlier in this post (see, I told you to keep reading!). For more on the Pygmy's mating behavior see Spring Nesting 2023: Part 2: At 9000 feet dead trees make great homes!  or click on the image below.

Below, a male or female in flight at the same nest site, same day. Their large feet are specially adapted to allow them to forage down a tree head first.

Research on the Pygmy Nuthatch shows that they are very aggressive toward other birds encroaching on their nesting territory. The sequence here was shot adjacent to our cabin in Summerhaven on June 26, 2025, well within the date range for active broods in the communal nests of Pygmy Nuthatches. 

Above, a Black-headed Grosbeak sits on a seed block along with a Pygmy Nuthatch, both are likely in their breeding territory and looking for food. Below the grosbeak makes threatening moves toward the nuthatch. 

All birds are descendants of dinosaurs, and here the grosbeak is doing a very good Tyrannosaurus Rex impersonation! 

In the series that follows, the two birds face off, the Pygmy Nuthatch holds his ground, in spite of his much smaller size and smaller bill.

Above, if birds could snarl, the grosbeak is clearly snarling!  The nuthatch raises up his wings, and in the frame below, the feathers on his head are raised. 

Below the grosbeak takes a more aggressive stance, jaws open wide. The nuthatch pulls back, but does not flee. 

Above, the nuthatch, crown feathers up, hold his ground, and spreads his jaws slightly. Below, the nuthatch goes on the offensive, putting his bill entirely into the mouth of the grosbeak, with the tip of the grosbeaks bill indenting into the feathers on the head of the nuthatch. 

Below, detail of the image above. The nuthatch's bill is very sharp, and I suspect the grosbeak feels it! Note that the nuthatch has closed his eyes. 

Below, both birds pull back. 

The standoff continues. The frame below is the last frame I shot. I assume the ruckus subsided, since I did not find any stray bird parts on the feeder! 

During breeding there is intense competition for food (feed yourself and your young) as well as the risk of nest predation. Many smaller bird species will take on larger ones, as we see above, when the stakes are high! 

Let's finish up with a burst of color . . . .

​Western Tanagers are member of the Cardinal family. Males are bright yellow with an orange-red head and black wings, back and tail.  Females are a somewhat more muted yellow-green and black.  
​
Most red birds get their red color  from dietary plant pigments known as carotenoids. However, the Western Tanager gets its scarlet from a rare pigment called rhodoxanthin, also acquired in the diet probably from insects.  

Western Tanagers live in open woods and eat predominantly insects, especially during breeding season, but are able to shift to fruit in fall and winter. They are tree nesters with  the female building the nest.  The male is attentive throughout the breeding cycle sometimes feeding her and sharing the responsibility for chasing away intruders. 

Tanagers are limited to the Western Hemisphere. Most tanager species live in Central and South America, but five species live or wander into the U.S.  In addition to the Western Tanager, we might spot the following four species in the U.S.: ​​

Well, it is time to post, July 6, 2025.  Yes, the monsoon did come!  Wednesday saw almost 2 inches of rain in Summerhaven. We are all looking forward to more! 

Stay tuned! 
​Happy trails!