It's been a few months since I posted here. I've been keeping very busy and there hasn't been a lot of time to go birding. But here are a few things I've seen over the last three months.
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| Harris's Sparrow |
This Harris's Sparrow has been hanging around a city park here in Tucson since December, a great bird for Pima County. It was my tenth lifer of 2013, a nice way to end a slow birding year. I need to go back and try for some updated photos.
In January I made a trip out to Redington Pass between the Catalina and Rincon Mountains in search of Sage Thrasher and Juniper Titmouse. I missed seeing the titmouse, but picked up a couple of rare county birds.
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| Sage Thrasher |
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| Townsend's Solitaire |
There were plenty of my favorite sparrows and lots of bluebirds too.
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| Black-throated Sparrow |
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| Western Bluebird |
By far the coolest sighting I've had this year was of a Spotted Owl in a mesquite tree! This is an amazing bird for Tucson. Unfortunately someone entered the sighting on eBird and pinpointed its exact location, a definite no-no. They who shall not be named will no doubt feel the wrath of the birding gods who will surely punish them with only bad looks at common birds this spring. I on the other hand was "invited" to see the owl with the usual disclaimer to act more responsibly than those other people. Hopefully others acted responsibly too.
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| Spotted Owl |
This weekend I was able to get out birding around town a couple times. First I looked for the "easy" Sage Thrasher that everyone else has been able to see at a local park. No luck. But there were lots of Lucy's Warblers singing away and a couple American Pipits, a first for me in town in spring.
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| Lucy's Warbler |
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| American Pipit |
Yesterday I dragged the wife and crawler to my patch at a nearby park. The conditions were bad for photos but I couldn't complain about it being 67 degrees. As I got out of the car I heard more Lucy's Warblers singing here too. A Red-tailed Hawk swooped down just above us with a twig in its bill. It seems to be setting up a couple of nests on the ball field lights.
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| Red-tailed Hawk |
A pair of banded Cooper's Hawks were busy trying to start a family in a eucalyptus tree. Notice the larger female.
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| Cooper's Hawks |
Next we found a female Vermilion Flycatcher that eventually flew to her nest. This was a first for me, pretty cool! The nest seemed tiny. Spring was definitely in the air.
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| Vermilion Flycatcher |
A squeaky male Ladder-backed Woodpecker was a nice addition to the patch list.
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| Ladder-backed Woodpecker |
Considering the lighting conditions, it's sad that these are my best Yellow-rumped Warbler shots to date.
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| Yellow-rumped Warbler |
Hopefully I'll have more to post about after our trip to San Carlos, Mexico in a few weeks. Happy spring birding!
