Monday, October 10, 2011

Shoot Me Monday

Got the Monday blues?  Hopefully this colorful Purple Gallinule can cure a little bit of that.  I "shot" this bird on July 10, 2011 at Rio Rico Pond in Santa Cruz County, AZ.  Despite only 13 previous accepted records of this species in Arizona, another one was found the same day at the Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant, some 200 miles away!  Note the extremely long toes that help them navigate on top of lily pads without sinking.



3 comments:

  1. Very cool! I don't have that bird on my life list yet, but when I was very new into birding I believe I saw one at Phon D Sutton recreational area, north east of Mesa, AZ. I remember seeing that color dart into the reeds and can't think of any other bird it could have been. I wish I could go back with my several years of birding experience now under my belt.

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  2. Man that is a cool-looking bird...

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  3. Oh My Goodness! I am soooo jealous! My husband and I actually own land down there! I use to bird Rio Rico all the time and, though it's probably too late now, I have seen the Swainson's Hawks gather in the ag. fields in early October by the hundreds! There are pictures of them on my other Sycamore Canyon blog. What a wonderful sighting! Great photo too! J E A L O U S !!!!!!!! :-) Happy for you though!

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