A female Northern Cardinal near feeders in Dave Jasper's yard, Portal Road, Portal Arizona, August 29, 2022. Canon R6, RF 100-500 mm lens with RF 1.4 extender at 700 mm, 1/1000 sec., f/10, ISO 1250, +2/3 EV. Processing in Adobe LR Classic and Topaz DeNoise AI. If you are a birder, late summer and early fall are a bump in the road. Identifying species is tougher. Most birds replace their feathers after breeding, a process called molting, creating some strange looking creatures. Sorting this all out is complicated by the presence of fledglings who look different to begin with, and then in many cases, molt at the same time as their parents. Ugh! This post looks at the Northern Cardinals, male and female, in Portal, Arizona during their annual molt. Also, we will see adults feeding recent fledglings. We will then finish up with one of the cardinal's cousins, the Pyrrhuloxia, also (you guessed it) molting. So, to get you ready for Halloween, let's start with the Northern Cardinal looking very different! A Reminder: This is what the male Northern Cardinal looks like in the other 11 months of the year . . . ..Canon 7D Mk II, EF 100-400 mm with 1.4x III extender at 560 mm, 1/1000 sec., f/8.0 ISO 1000, +2/3 EV. The Northern Cardinal is one of the most reconizable birds in North America, and the mascot for many sports teams. Nevertheless, to refresh your memory, here are two images of adult male Northern Cardinals in full plumage. The image above was taken at Bob Rodrigues' feeders in Portal, AZ, May 2018, The image below was captured at Tony Battiste's Bed Breakfast and Birds in February of this year. Note that cardinals only molt once a year after breeding and the males keep their bright red plumage all year long, making them a favorite at winter feeders in the snowy northern climes. The male is red with black on the face surrounding an orange bill with fairly straight culmen (the inner part of the bill). Canon R6, RF 100-500 mm at 500 mm, 1/800 sec., f/7.1, ISO 200, -1 EV. But in August, after breeding, the molting begins . . . .Canon R6, RF 100-500 mm lens with RF 1.4 extender at 700 mm, 1/1000 sec., f/10, ISO 25,600, +2/3 EV. Editing in LR Classic with Topaz DeNoise AI. This male has probably already replaced feather for feather the contour feathers covering the body, as well as the flight feathers, but the crest has not come in to completion yet. The white specs are sheaths for the new feathers. All images captured at Dave Jasper's feeders. Cardinals like peanut butter! Canon R6, RF 100-500 mm lens with RF 1.4 extender at 420 mm, 1/400 sec., f/10, ISO 6400, +2/3 EV. Editing in LR Classic with Topaz DeNoise AI. Below we see the adult male with a juvenile (recent fledgling) behind him, both molting. Note that the fledglings have dark bills at birth that turn lighter sometime in the fall after their birth. For all birds the timing of the molt is very important. For cardinals it is reasonably simple: they molt once a year after breeding when a lot of flying is not necessary, and hopefully there is a lot of food to provide energy for the molt, as they also continue to feed the hungry offspring. Note that cardinals are year round residents and do not migrate.
The Juveniles, not long out of the nest, also molt . .Canon R6, RF 100-500 mm at 500 mm, 1/1000 sec., f/7.1, ISO 102400, +1 EV. Editing in LR Classic with Topaz DeNoise AI. This was shot at 5:55 pm as the afternoon light was fading fast. Above is a juvenile with a dark bill. This is likely a male, with red coming in on the breast. I believe the image below is of the same bird. They were captured at Dave Jasper's feeders within 4 seconds of each other, close to 6 pm on August 25th. The fledglings grow one set of feathers in the nest, then molt at the end of the summer. The image below was captured a day later, in the same spot, shortly after 4 pm. This punky looking juvenile Northern Cardinal is in the middle of his first molt. For more about plumage and molting, see Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Birds of the World. Note, this is a subscription website. Another helpful reference for the biology of feathers and molting is the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Handbook of Bird Biology. Canon R6, RF 100-500 mm lens with RF 1.4 extender at 599 mm, 1/500 sec., f/10, ISO 1250, +2/3 EV. Editing in LR Classic with Topaz DeNoise AI. And, a Female Cardinal in normal plumage for reference . . .Canon 7D Mk II, Sigma 150-600mm C at 600 mm, 1/320 sec., f/6/3, ISO 400. Before we start looking at the females in molt, let's refresh our memories on what a mature female looks like ~11 month out of the year. They have orange bills, black on the face, a buffy breast with some red on the wings, tail and at the tips of the crest. The image above was captured in Portal at the end of April 2016. The image below, a close shot to show detail of the bill, face and crest, was taken at Patagonia State Park in February 2018. Canon 7D Mk II, EF 100-400mm at 400mm, 1/640 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600. And, then in August, "What happened to my crest!"'Canon R6, RF 100-500 mm at 428 mm, 1/1000 sec., f/6.3, ISO 102400, +1EV. Whoops! The crest is gone! The crest feathers are the most obvious, and the most noticeable when they are gone. We know this is a mature bird by the orange bill. The black feathers around the bill are duller, and we can see feather sheaths. There are some reports that cardinals try to hide when molting. I doubt that this is backed up by data! While molting they are busy looking for food to sustain their molt, as well as feeding and caring for recent fledglings. So not time to go out! Dave Jasper's feeders provided a safe refuge and unending food supply for these hungry birds. Below, this mature female appears to be hiding behind a rock! To the credit of the Cornell Lab, Merlin Bird ID identified this photo as belonging to the Northern Cardinal. Canon R6, RF 100-500 mm lens with RF 1.4 extender at 700 mm, 1/1000 sec., f/10, ISO 1250, +2/3 EV. Processing in Adobe LR Classic and Topaz DeNoise AI. Shot at 11 am. A Female Deals with Molting and a Hungry Kiddo . . .Canon R6, RF 100-500 mm lens with RF 1.4 extender at 700 mm, 1/1000 sec., f/10, ISO 12800, +2/3 EV. Processing in Adobe LR Classic and Topaz DeNoise AI. On the right we see an adult female, and on the left most likely a female fledgling, with a dark bill that is turning lighter at the edges. Below are images of a female cardinal bringing food to a begging juvenile. In the sequence below, mom seems to detect something is amiss on her daughter's head, and bends down to make it right. Mom's won't stop fussing over the young, be it with their bill or a wet Kleenex! And also in the Cardinal Family, a Pyrrhuloxia. Let's start with an Adult Male in Full Plumage in Hereford, February 15, 2022.Canon R6, RF 100-500 mm lens at 500 mm, 1/2000 sec., f/9, ISO 1000, +1/3 EV. Processing in Adobe LR Classic. Above is a photo of an adult male in Hereford in February, 2022, in his usual plumage. In contrast to cardinals, Pyrrhuloxia have yellow bills (not orange) and a curved culmen (the inner edge of the bill) that looks like a nut-cracker. The feathers around the bill are red and not black, the feathers on the back are gray, and the crest is tipped in red. If GQ had a edition for birds, Pyrrhuloxia would be named best dressed! For more on the differences between cardinals and pyrrhuloxia see Patagonia Arizona, February 2018. And, in August, in the middle of a molt . . . OMG!!!Canon R6, RF 100-500 mm lens with RF 1.4 extender at 700 mm, 1/1000 sec., f/10, ISO 3200. Processing in Adobe LR Classic and Topaz DeNoise AI. This looks like a mystery bird from a sci-fi movie until we spot the angled culmen characteristic of this species, as we can also see in the lead photo from February. We can also guess that as the feathers come in and the crest is restored, this will be a good looking male Pyrrhuloxia. And for completeness, an adult female in normal plumage.There may have been female Pyrrhuloxia at the feeders, but I did not identify any. Here is an adult female from Patagonia in March of 2019 for completeness. That's it for our Halloween warm up!
More coming soon. Happy Trails!
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September: The Acorn Woodpecker and the Steller's Jay Getting Ready for Winter . . . . . .9/15/2022 Steller's Jay in Summerhaven with 2 peanuts, one shelled and held in his throat, the other ready for winter storage. Canon R6 RF 100-500 mm at 343 mm, f/5/6, 1/2000 second, +1 EV. Post production in Lightroom Classic. Those who follow my blog regularly (both of you) may have noticed that my last post was at the end of July, on spring migration! Now it is September! So sorry for the delay, but August was a busy month including the Tucson Audubon Society's Southeast Arizona Birding Festival, a day trip to Mt. Lemmon for the Camera Club Tucson Trek Special Interest Group, as well as a 4 day trip to Portal AZ the end of the month. Now I am back to blogging, beginning with this post on two of our resident species in SE Arizona, the Acorn Woodpecker and the Steller's Jay. Late summer is a time when fledglings join the ranks of adults, many birds are molting creating comic confusion, and nuts are stored for the winter (literally!). So let's start with the Acorn Woodpecker going after food. |
The bird release, and the images of the Barred Owl that follow, were captured at the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center, in Bay Village Ohio. The Center has wildlife on the grounds, a series of exhibits and programs, as well as facilities to provide care and rehabilitation for injured animals. To the right, members of our group check out emerging flora not far from where the Barred Owl, below, was nesting. |
Barred Owl
They like old forests and treed swamps, and can be heard at night to hoot, "who cooks for you? Who cooks for you-all?", not to be confused with the call of the White-winged Dove. The calls are different, as well as the time and place the birds live and call. Also, to my ear, recordings of the Barred Owl have more of a barking sound than the White-winged Dove. In fact, playing it at home got my dog barking and running for the door!
It appears that the underwing coverts, feathers that cover the base of the flight feathers, are not in yet, leaving the base of the primaries and secondaries exposed.
Below, back on the perch, bright-eyed and ready for the night.
Wood Duck: Oak Openings Preserve Metropark
Wood Ducks are cavity nesters, with the female inspecting cavities in trees 1 to 2 feet in diameter, 2 to 60 feet off the ground, while the male stands by and watches. They prefer large holes, usually where a branch has broken off. They have clutches of 6 to 16 eggs, and on occasion a female may will lay her eggs in the nest of another female Wood Duck (infraspecific brood parasitism) and leave that female to raise them. Large clutches become larger, and nests with up to 29 eggs have been reported.
Chicks hatch alert and with a full coat of down. A day after hatching they climb out of the nest and fall to the ground. They follow mom to the nearest body of water where they begin to feed on seeds, fruits, insects and other arthropods; they can eat nuts and grains from dry land.
Below at Oak Openings on May 19th we spotted a mom with about a dozen chicks following her downstream.
And, some images from Tucson, Arizona
Another cavity nesting duck, a Hooded Merganser in Tucson
The morning of Oak Openings . . .
Yes, they have lots of coffee. I especially like the sign on the left, "Drink Coffee, Do stupid things faster and with more energy!"
American Woodcock
The images above and below are the same, but with different crops, to show how well this bird blends in. Above it looks like a "Where's Waldo" book, and the shot below is not much better, in spite of cropping and some gentle image processing.
Common Nighthawk
Common Nighthawks sleep during the day, laying flat on branches or on the ground, well camouflaged. They take to the skies at night to catch insects on the fly, especially moths.
The image above was captured on the Bolivar Peninsula on the Texas coast in April of 2019, and the two images below at Maumee State Park near our hotel on May 19, 2022.
The sun was below the horizon for us terrestrials in the parking lot, but still shining on the tree tops. We can see that this bird was flying in and out of the sun. The white markings on the wings and neck are quite visible. A very different looking bird in flight than folded up on a branch!
And, in closing, we saw more than birds . . .
Happy Trails!
Prothonotary Warbler
Prothonatory Warblers winter along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, breeding in the U.S. east of the Rockies up into Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. They live in swampy woodlands, and nest in cavities of dead trees. They nest in the holes created by woodpeckers and chickadees, in natural holes in dead trees, and in nest boxes. The nests are often near or over standing water. They are one of the two warbler species that are cavity nesters, sharing this trait with the Lucy's Warblers that are common in SE Arizona.
This "swamp warbler" is in decline due to loss of nesting habitat in the U.S., and mangroves in its wintering territory.
This bird seen here is likely a male in the mating/nesting cycle in the marsh, or might be on his way north to nest along the north shore of Lake Erie. Magee Marsh is toward the northern end of their range.
Canada Warbler
Canada Warblers winter in Central America and NW South America, migrating up through eastern coastal Mexico and into the U.S. east of the Rockies up into Canada to breed. This bird is in migration, and a visit to Magee Marsh in May provides a great chance for us to see him aside from trekking in Canada during the summer or Panama in the winter. The males have a long tail, a bold eyeing, and a black necklace on a bright yellow breast and throat. The females are described as gray above with a faint necklace.
For the photo geeks: This bird moved very quickly and kept behind the leaves. I captured upward of 37 images, most of them leaves with a blurry yellow blob somewhere in the frame. I ended up with these 3 that were usable.
Cape May Warbler
In the first three frames we see a female Cape May Warbler, similar in appearance to the Palm Warbler, but without the red cap, and with a yellow ear patch and white under-tail coverts. This female is likely foraging for insects in the understory. Note the narrow decurved bill used to glean bugs or nectar from flowers. Foraging is aided by a unique tongue for a warbler, curved and semi-tubular, good for gathering nectar.
A new venue: Pipe Creek Wildlife Area on Sandusky Bay
Blackpoll Warbler
Tenneessee Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Yellow Warblers winter in Central and South America, and breed throughout most of the U.S. and Canada. This is a warbler you can see nesting in Arizona or Ohio. The warblers we see here could be headed further north for breeding, or building their nests right on the marsh. The males and females look alike, except that the chest striping on the male is bolder.
The image below was caught at Wendy Point on May 14th.
For the photo geeks: The image below is a cropped version of the original, which I almost tossed out. As I cropped it down, I suddenly saw the frame of leaves around the bird, making this one of my favorite shots of the lot!
In future posts expect more on Winous Point and the role of hunting clubs in preserving the marshes of Lake Erie.
Here are two Yellow Warblers who seem to be staying put for the summer . . . . .
Every year the male Yellow Warbler comes into his breeding area at the beginning of the season, declares his territory and defends it from other males while also attracting females. Once a female joins the male, she builds a nest in a vertical branch of a bush or small tree, typically within 10 feet of the ground. The photograph to the right is an example shot at Pipe Creek. You can see the nest under construction with the tail of the female sticking straight up, at the top. Once the nest is complete, the couple will mate, with the female laying 1 to 7 eggs. Throughout a single season Yellow Warblers are monogamous and pairs may persist from season to season. |
For the photo geeks: This whole series of shots occurred over 14 seconds. The birds were moving very fast, with branches and leaves in the way of my line of sight. Fortunately the camera was able to keep focus on the birds, and I jockeyed around a bit to try to avoid obstructions. I was standing on the boardwalk at Magee Marsh. 10:44 am May 16, 2022.
Yellow-rumped Warbler, Myrtle's
In my experience looking through the camera lens, these birds are much duller in the fall. This bird is striking, with rich colors on the body and great detail. I could not resist closing with these shots.
Reviewing references in Birds of the World*, this bird has likely been through a molt of the body feathers to Definitive Alternate Plumage from February to April creating a great fresh look for the breeding season and for my camera.
*Requires a subscription
Happy Trails!
All About Birds lists 23 species of woodpecker in the U.S., which includes woodpeckers, sapsuckers, and flickers. On these pages in the past I have shown 8 species of woodpecker (Lewis's, Gila, Hairy, Acorn, Arizona, Ladder-backed, Northern Flicker [Red-shafted and Yellow-shafted], and the Red-naped Sapsucker).
In this post I will revisit the Hairy Woodpecker and add 4 more species to my list (Piliated, Red-headed, Red-bellied, and Downy), all year round residents of NW Ohio, and therefore not really spring migrants, but neat birds!
Before we get to the woodpeckers, here is a map for orientation. Most of the woodpeckers we saw were at Pearson Park, a Toledo Metropark that boasts of being the "last of the great black swamp!" The park is maintained to show what this basin in NW Ohio looked like before it was drained for agriculture in the 19th century. Fortunately they left us walkways and drivable roads. No hip boots required! It is great park, with great facilities, stocked bird feeders, and walking trails. We will see more of the park later in the post.
On the map below Pearson Park is toward the lower left corner, with the orange square showing where photographs were shot. The Maumee Bay Lodge and Conference Center (where we stayed) is toward the right upper corner on Lake Erie. It is a great spot in its own right with its own marshes and boardwalks, comfortable accommodations and good food. Note that Magee Marsh is east of the conference center, just off of the map.
Pileated Woodpecker
We spotted these two Pileated Woodpeckers working their way up a dead tree, likely being led by a male, slightly larger than his mate and with a red stripe on the jaw line. Pileated Woodpeckers are monogamous and this pair has likely been together for a while.
In the image below we can see the lower red facial stripe indicative of the male.
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
SE Arizona where we see them. The Hairy Woodpeckers of the west are described as having darker wings and narrower facial stripes than the eastern varieties.
Downy Woodpecker
The Downy Woodpecker looks almost identical to the Hairy Woodpecker, except that the Downy is smaller, with a bill that is shorter then the length of its head. The shots above and below are of a male at Magee Marsh on May 16th. These birds do look like the Hairy, but with a definite "cute factor." In the second image below we see a female sitting in a nest hole just off of the boardwalk at Magee Marsh. Note that all woodpeckers are cavity nesters.
Red-headed Woodpecker
Below is a map showing the location of Cuyahoga National Park just south of Cleveland. More on this great park in future posts.
We spotted this Red-headed Woodpecker working his way up a dead tree, either looking for bugs, or perhaps tending to nuts stored in the cracks and crevices. I have seen similar behavior in Acorn Woodpeckers in the Catalina Mountains north of Tucson. They gather acorns during the summer and fall and store them in granary trees, dead trunks dedicated to storage of their harvest. The Acorn Woodpeckers will often tend to the acorns and reseat them in their holes to keep them secure and safe from theft by other birds or mammals.
Happy Trails!
Before we get to the birds, I want to thank our fantastic guides, Dan Donaldson and Andy Jones, who not only know all their birds, and more about them than anyone could hope for, but also know northern Ohio in breadth, depth, and detail, having lived and worked the region in the fields of ornithology and conservation for many years.
Below is a photo taken right after an early morning breakfast at one of our local culinary hotspots (open 24 hours a day), with Andy Jones on the left, and Dan Donaldson on the right. (And, no, I did not see anyone playing keno at breakfast!)
Kirtland's Warbler (pssst . . . this is one of the rare ones!)
Magnolia Warbler
I cannot say it better than the Cornell website, All About Birds, so here it is:
"Many male warblers are black and yellow, but Magnolia Warblers take it up a notch, sporting a bold black necklace complete with long tassels, a black mask, and a standout white wing patch. The female lacks the male's bold accoutrements, instead wearing an elegant white eyering on her gray head, 2 thin white wingbars, and yellow underparts with moderate streaking." I believe the bird above is a female.
Magnolia Warblers can look like Kirtland's, except for the black necklace in the male, and bolder wing bars. In Magnolia's the tip of the tail is black with white undertail coverts and the back is greenish.
We can see some of these features in the female shown below.
My thanks to the Cornell Lab's Merlin Bird ID, which now includes excellent voice recognition in the field, as we'll as astounding image recognition. I was able to use my iPhone to photograph bird images from my monitor and have the Merlin app identify the bird consistently!
Chestnut-sided Warbler
The bird below is peering up looking for breakfast under a leaf.
Speaking of Magee Marsh . . . . .
The marsh represents a failed farming attempt that became a duck hunting sanctuary known for the wide range of birds present. The preserve became a favorite birding spot and in the 1980's a boardwalk was built, allowing easy walking close to the wood lots and understory with great views of the birds. For more on the history of the marsh see A Brief History of Magee Marsh by John Mollenkopf.
The following warblers were spotted and photographed at Magee Marsh either on Monday the 16th, or Friday the 20th of May.
American Redstart
The male pictured above was feeding not far from the boardwalk at Magee Marsh, doing a very clever "fan dance" in the understory making photography challenging. Hence the slightly blurry image.
The Boardwalk, Magee Marsh . . .
Blackburnian Warbler
Breeding males have intricate black and white plumage with a bright orange/yellow face and throat. This male was moving fast and staying hidden most of the time, but I did catch the 2 images shown here.
Bay-breasted Warbler
Happy Trails!
Below is a map of Historic Canoa Ranch. On this satellite photo from Lightroom Classic the pond appears to be empty. The photo was likely taken during the pond construction. The orange and yellow rectangles represent locations of photography during my last trip.
White-faced Ibis takes Petit Bites . . .
The White-faced Ibis is in the order Pelecaniformes, a group of wading birds that includes herons, egrets, ibises, spoonbills, and you guessed it, pelicans. Ibises and spoonbills are in the family Threskiornithidae. Both members of this family have specialized bills. The ibises have a long decurved (downward curved) bill for probing in the mud, and the spoonbills have flattened, spatulate-shaped bills to sweep prey from the water. For illustration, to the right is a photograph of Roseate Spoonbills at the Smith Oaks Rookery at High Island, Texas in May of 2019. | Roseate Spoonbills at High Island, Texas, 2019. NOT AT CANOA RANCH! These are in the same family as the White-faced Ibis. |
Male and female White-faced Ibis' look similar, with the male being larger. The bird here is coming into breeding plumage.
Great Egret Goes for Gold . . . .
Great Egrets eat mainly small fish, as well as amphibians, reptiles, birds, small mammals and invertebrates. They hunt where they can wade, belly-deep in fresh or salt water wetlands, alone or in groups.
Here we see a Great Egret who has caught what appears to be a goldfish, a small member of the carp family, native to East Asia, common as pets in North America, and when released into the wild, an invasive pest.
Black-necked Stilts Make Us Dizzy . . .
They have pink legs, and striking black and white plumage. The picture above was captured in May of 2019 In Galveston Texas, the one below the same week but up in the big thicket. I have included them here because they show the markings well in good light.
Above we can see them in close formation with the edge of the pond in the background. Black, white and pink make for a striking appearance.
Below, two birds out of the formation shows the black neck, but predominantly white back and short white tail. Long bill, white spot over the eye.
For the photo geeks: These birds fly fast, and catching them in flight was a challenge. In addition, the sky on the 19th was a milky overcast. All post production processing done in Lightroom Classic CC. The new subject recognition feature tended to identify the white feathers of the stilts as part of the sky (ugh!).
"Killdeer," yes, that is what he said, but he is really a plover . . .
Next stop, the Lark Bunting . . .
Lark Bunting in Breeding Plumage, Elegant in Black and White
Lark Buntings winter in SE Arizona, southern New Mexico, much of Texas and Mexico and breed in the plains states including Colorado, Montana, and the dakotas.
The male above is in his black and white breeding plumage and is likely headed north for breeding. He was one of three males we saw along with three females in the same bush. In the image below we see him with two of the females. It is mostly likely they are traveling together, and may have stopped at Canoa Ranch for a bite to eat on their journey.
More soon.
Happy Trails!
On Thursday April 20, 2022, I joined Jeff Babson and a dozen fellow birders for a morning walk on the Juan Baustista de Anza Bridge Trail which extends along the Santa Cruz River as it flows north from Tubac. This is a birding hot spot in the spring, with lots of activity in the understory near the river bed, and nesting in the magnificent Cottonwood trees adjacent to the river. |
So, any birder in the U.S. who is doing a "Big Year" or adding to their life list flocks (!) to the Anza Trail in the spring and summer looking for this rare flycatcher.
Note that his may be my first post in 6 years on a single species. I did capture images of other birds on our walk, but almost everything else seems like a let down! So here we go . . . .
Rose-throated Becard
I was able to get a series of photographs of three separate trips to the nest by the female carrying twigs.
For the photo-geeks: This nest was high in the trees, with very marginal light. I wanted to catch the bird in flight, since it was quickly apparent that she did not sit still for long, and once she took off for the nest, she made it to the side entrance pronto! I switched early on from mechanical shutter to electronic (Canon R6) shooting at 20 frames/second, generally at 1/2500 to 1/4000 second, with high ISO's that required some noise suppression post production. All shots were hand-held, although a tripod would have been nice. I have added camera data for each series, below.
Trip #1
Trip #2
Trip #3
Above, she is perched to the right of the nest. Below, she takes off, and it appears that the twig is hung up on the branch, pulling her head back. Ouch!
Speaking of the Tucson Audubon festival, the annual Southeast Arizona Birding Festival will be August 10-14, 2022, at the DoubleTree by Hilton at Reid Park. Registration opens April 26th at 10 am MST (Arizona). I will be leading a photography workshop on Mt Lemmon on Friday the 12th of August. Check out the registration website.
From the 2017 Archives: A Male Rose-throated Becard
Happy Trails!
"making more birds" becomes the prime activity of most of the avian population. So, let's see how this plays out at one of my favorite county parks, Agua Caliente, on Roger Road, waaaaay out on the east side, east of Soldier Trail.
Stake out your spot and find a mate! A Pyrrhuloxia male defends his territory.
Wednesday April 13th I drove into the Agua Caliente parking lot, parking on the east side, right next to the eastern stretch of Sonoran desert. To my right two spaces down was a small station wagon parked right next to the northern curb, and up against the low understory. A male Pyrrhuloxia was sitting on the car's outside right mirror, doing battle with his own image.
This car, and a nearby school bus, had parked close to the bushes where this male likely has a nest with his mate, and from his perspective, in his territory. As I watched, this male went back to his bushes, where I shot the images above and below. He is clearly looking around for any other males that might intrude into his territory.
For the photo geeks: Canon R6, RF 100-500 mm lens with 1.4 extender at 420 mm, f/10 at 1/4000 sec, ISO 5000. This shot provides a good view of his tail and wing feathers. The convex mirror allows us to see the whole bird from a frontal perspective. The background was trees of the park, off in the distance creating a nice bokeh. I shot this series at about 12 frames/second.
Our combatant eventually retired to his bush, in time both vehicles left, and peace was restored.
Vermilion Flycatcher nest low in a Mesquite: Progress . . . .
Below, mom sits down to protect her chicks and keep them warm. On this day I spotted two heads in the nest, but there could be more.
When a Mom needs to get all her ducks in a row . . . literally!
These fledglings need to be out and about to eat, but mom needs to keep them moving to avoid predators that would like nothing better than duck for dinner. She kept them moving, and also moved aggressively against other ducks.
Below, paddling on, almost in a row . . . . .
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Henry Johnson, photographer and author of this site. For more detail, see About
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