Saturday, September 10, 2011

Neighborhood Birds #1

After getting a much needed 0.77 inches of rain last night, I decided to see what was around the neighborhood this morning.  It was a beautiful 70 degrees at 8 a.m.  Yesterday evening three unidentified, fluffy young birds made an appearance in my backyard.  I was hoping to find them and get some photos.  As I entered the desert area, about twenty Lark Sparrows flushed.
Lark Sparrow











Then I heard a few Rufous-winged Sparrows singing and spotted one low on a branch.

Rufous-winged Sparrow

 I later spotted one at the nest.
Rufous-winged Sparrow

Then I spotted what I was looking for, a fledgling!

Rufous-winged Sparrow fledgling

A distant buff-tinged bird caught my eye as it flew up from the grass.  As I approached I noticed it was a Lazuli Bunting and managed this photo.
Lazuli Bunting

The squeak of a Ladder-backed Woodpecker got my attention.  I followed it for a while.  It obviously did not want a photograph.  While chasing it, I was excited to get this photo of a Curve-billed Thrasher.  The brown block wall made a good background.
Curve-billed Thrasher

I finally caught up with the woodpecker and got this shot.
Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Although I would have liked to have gone searching for migrating shorebirds and warblers this morning, it was nice to enjoy the desert birds in the neighborhood.


4 comments:

  1. It is always wonderful to find birds nearby to photograph. I especially enjoyed seeing your Rufous-winged Sparrow fledgling images.

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  2. Super shots! Great Birds in the Desert! I look forward to heading that direction for the winter and seeing some of my favorite birds.

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  3. You know, living in AZ it's almost impossible NOT to have great backyard birds! Wonderful sightings and of birds I am well familiar with from my 3 1/2 years in Tucson!

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