Birdnote tells us more about Bullock’s Orioles. While listening to the story, you can hear their call and imagine what the bird in the photo below sounds like.

Those of you who come from or still live in the eastern half of the United States may be familiar with the Baltimore Oriole (the bird, not the baseball team). The Bullock’s Oriole is the western North American counterpart to the Baltimore Oriole. The two were considered separate species, then were combined into the “Northern Oriole” between 1973 and 1995, but have since been separated back into distinct species.

There are actually two different males coming into the yard. I have seen both at the same time. Both of the adults seem to be shy. By that I mean that they often approach but remain hidden in trees close to the feeder. They hesitate before coming into the palo verde tree that the feeder is hanging in. Sometimes they will fly off without feeding if something spooks them.

Orioles are attracted to the color orange and associate that color with food so specialized Oriole feeders are colored orange. This nectar feeder is designed similarly to many hummingbird feeders, but it is colored orange rather than red. The feeder’s ports that the Orioles drink nectar from is larger than the ports in hummingbird feeders in order to accommodate the Orioles much larger beaks.

The Oriole seems to always be alert while it approaches the feeder. I can tell that it sees my movement through the windows of my house. It is also on the lookout for approaching Gila Woodpeckers. Those two birds will wait for the other to finish feeding. They may also chase the other away from the feeder.

The bright color of the male Bullock’s is an orange/yellow. The vibrance or brightness of that color depends on the bird’s diet during the fall molt when their new feathers grow in.

The Bullock’s Orioles regular presence makes me believe, or hope, that there is a nest somewhere nearby. I have yet to see a female so perhaps the male is just establishing his territory. Bullock’s Orioles build their nests in riparian areas but have adapted to urban areas as well. I’ll need to look for their hanging woven pouch nest in all of the large trees in my neighborhood. Birdnote explains their nest building process.

The range map from AllAboutBirds shows how the Lazuli Bunting migrates through our region. A few do winter in southern Arizona but only small numbers do.

The backs of these songbirds are also bright blue in breeding adults. That bright blue plumage in the back comes in by the male’s second year. The back of the male in the photo below is a mottled tan and blue. So this bird is likely a one-year old. It may still successfully attract a female and breed at that age despite the duller plumage. Lazuli Buntings also have forked tails, seen here.

I’ve mentioned this before but a reminder that the blue feathers in birds are not really blue!! The actual feather pigment is brown but the cell structure of those feathers scatters light in a way that only blue wavelengths are reflected back to our eyes. This is just another example of how impressive Nature can be. For those species, vibrant blue feathers reflect health and fitness and aid in attracting a mate.

You can hear the song of the Lazuli Bunting in this Birdnote piece.

While on our Birdathon morning last week, we came across some Ruddy Ducks in breeding plumage. Non-breeding males have dull, gray/brown plumage. Their feathers are nothing special. But during breeding season, they turn “ruddy” as their name implies. Their feathers become a deep reddish/brown, sometimes called a chestnut color. Much like the feathers of blue birds, the Ruddy’s bill is not actually blue. Rather, the cell structure of the outer layer of the bill changes causing it to reflect blue light.

One of the first courtship behaviors the male Ruddy Duck displays is interesting to see. The male puffs up his neck, raises his long tail stiffly, and shakes his head while tapping his bill against his neck, creating a ring of bubbles in the water. The male can strike his bill against his chest many times per second, and he’ll repeat this action sporadically but continuously while courting the female.

After a bit of courtship activity, this male stretched to relax again, and then swam off.

Across cultures the color blue is always considered one of the most popular colors. It is a calming and tranquil color. The writer John Ruskin said, “Blue color is everlastingly appointed by the deity to be a source of delight.” That color makes these two bird species even more special than usual.

Black Vultures are very social birds and tend to congregate in groups. A friend and I came across a group in farmland west of Eloy. Turkey Vultures have red heads, which led to their name “turkey”, but Black Vultures have dark gray or black heads. Both species of vultures have bare, featherless skin on their heads. Their bills are long, straight and dark. The Desert Museum compares Turkey Vultures to Black Vultures.

One of the Black Vultures entertained us with his morning stretching.

He continued his morning yoga while moving along the berm.

The range map of the Black Vulture shows them to be year-round residents of the southeastern US (Map courtesy of AllAboutBirds.org) . Their range has been expanding northward. They were first reported in Arizona about 100 years ago. Black Vultures are generally non-migratory.

Vultures are a misunderstood bird. They are critical to the ecosystem and are nature’s sanitation engineers. Without Vultures, the world would be much less sanitary and much more foul smelling. Is it possible for Black Vultures, like the one below, to even be considered somewhat handsome??

I mentioned that Black Vultures are very social birds. When they are resting, a group of Black Vultures are referred to as a ‘committee.” When in the air, a group of these birds is called a “kettle”. When they are feeding, a group of Black Vultures is referred to as a “wake.” For another look at these birds, check out my friend Steve’s blog, called Sonoran Images, on our time with this fine committee.

Black Vultures are very curious and intelligent birds. Due to their scavenging nature, they are often discounted and misunderstood. If you are curious about Black Vultures and would like to learn more, HawkWatch International provides more background information.

As beautiful as the Jimson Weed plant is, all parts of the plant are highly toxic. It shouldn’t be touched or handled in any way.

A Common Gallinule has been present in one long stretch of water on the south of the preserve. Common Gallinules are related to American Coots. They are both in the Rail family. These Gallinules are a lighter color than Coots and have a red bill with an orange tip.

Two ducks with pastel blue stood side-by-side. A female American Wigeon has a light blue bill. The male Blue-winged Teal is showing the blue on its wing. Both ducks should be leaving town any day now and heading back to their summer grounds.

The Eurasian Collared Dove is a large relative to our Mourning Doves. As the name implies, they have a black collar and they are not native to the Americas. A few doves were introduced to the Bahamas in the 1970’s. They made their way to Florida by the 1980’s and then spread rapidly throughout most of North America.

Abert’s Towhees are one of our native desert birds. Usually found in pairs, they can be seen under thick brush and can be found kicking up dirt to look for food. This Abert’s found a nice sized caterpillar.

Seems like that Abert’s is enjoying its treat.

I came across this Green Heron shortly after someone reported it. It had swallowed a bullfrog. It definitely was not hunting at the moment.

A few minutes later and the Green Heron was walking around. It did make a half-hearted attempt to grab something small in the water. Generally though, it was walking around looking at the world and not focused on finding food.

There are several large “settling ponds” at Sweetwater. They were originally designed and used as the place where clean water was pumped into and then allowed to settle down into the underground aquifer. Now, new processes and equipment are cleaning the water better and it is being released directly into the Santa Cruz River. The settling ponds offer a nice spot for this family of coyotes to hunt for rodents and other small prey.

A young Coyote paused before joining the family. It looks as if it is losing much of its thick winter coat. It is the right time of year for the Coyote to be molting and that straight line across the top of its leg hints at the molting process.

Sweetwater always has a variety of delights.

But first, an update on our Birdathon: Some friends and I have been raising money to support the many good things that Tucson Bird Alliance does in our Tucson community. You can learn more about Tucson Bird Alliance here. Last week we went on our Birdathon field trip. We went out early to beat the heat and saw 31 species that morning! I will post a full report on our team efforts at the end of the month. In the meantime, at the bottom of this post, I’ll share the names of our latest generous donors and provide a link to anyone interested in donating to our team. Thanks!!!

We are in the middle of nesting season for Great Horned Owls in southern Arizona. The families are in varying stages of the season and Great Horned Owls, which don’t make their own nests, are known to inhabit a variety of nesting locations. Great Horned Owls take well to man-made nests.

Often Great Horned Owls in our area use nests that had been built in a previous year by Cooper’s Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks or Ravens.

In some of the nests, either the eggs have not hatched or the young are not old enough to show themselves, so Mom is all you can see at this time. This Owl is sitting in a nice man-made nest.

In some nests the young are getting bigger and Mom will begin to spend time outside of the nest.

Some of the Owlets have already fledged. They have left the nest and are on nearby branches. They are not able to fly yet and are still covered with some youthful downy feathers.

Many of the Owlets are still in the nest and at their Mother’s side.

Besides using the nests that other birds built or using man-made nests, Great Horned Owls may also use just about any flat surface that is in a hospitable area. The Owl in the photo below is using an opening in the concrete under a bridge in Pima County. That whitewash on the cement tells us this isn’t the first time Owls have utilized this space for either a roost or a nest.

And, speaking of Owls, here is an update from my Western Screech Owl nest box: a week ago the HawkWatch International nest survey revealed that there were four eggs in the nest on my porch!

I’m looking forward to the next month or two to watch my back porch nest and to visit some of the Great Horned Owl families throughout the Tucson area.

Our Birdathon efforts continue in support of Tucson Bird Alliance. Thank you to Peggy S., Justine H., Anonymous#2, Mindy B., Linda P., Mort W., Marianne C., Susan W., Sharon J., Anonymous#3, and Ned H. for your kind donations to our Birdathon efforts. Our team “Birdies, Bogeys, and Eagles” is raising money throughout the month for the Tucson Bird Alliance. You can read more about it on our Birdathon Team page here. If you wish to donate, please remember to list our team name. Thank you!!

I’ve been waiting for this year’s migration to begin. The first week in April I took an early morning ride with a friend through farmland in Pinal County. We only saw two Swainson’s, but one bird gave us tremendous looks.

We had spent almost two hours cruising the farmland and were on our last road heading back towards Interstate 10 when we came across this handsome looking Swainson’s Hawk on an aged fencepost. Parking the car, we were able to watch it for quite a while. Finally, the bird began to stretch. It was getting ready for flight. Raptors stretch for similar reasons that athletes stretch before an event. They are relieving muscle tension, increasing blood flow, and warming up.

The term used when raptors stretch their wings over their back is called a “warble”. The bird’s wrists are bent and almost touch the bird’s head while the bird is simultaneously bending down. Raptors are very relaxed during this stretch.

The Swainson’s Hawk then drops its wings slowly.

Having stretched out, the Swainson’s Hawk turned to fly off. It crouched down and got ready for a fast and strong push down with its legs.

And it was off!!

We were hoping to find a flock of Swainson’s. During their northern migration they travel in large groups. Southern Arizona is one place where it is possible to find a group of Swainson’s as they rest overnight before beginning the next day’s journey. While we did not find a large group on this field trip, we know they are around. I’ll keep looking for them......

Birdnote has a nice story about the southward migration of Swainson’s Hawks that happens in the fall.

If you are interested in learning more about the birds that are migrating through your community right now, check out the BirdCast, by the Cornell Lab. Type in your county name to get detailed information about the birds migrating overhead tonight! It is a fascinating site!! All of the rest of the BirdCast bird migration tools are available here.

Coot chicks can swim well right after hatching, but they cannot feed themselves. They follow their parents around begging for food. Those teeny wings add one more comically cute element to their looks.

The bright head colors apparently attract and stimulate parent birds to feed the begging young. Mother Coots actually add more carotenoids to the later eggs, resulting in the youngest chicks having the brightest colors. That is thought to help the parent Coots to know who the weakest and youngest chicks are to enable them to attract the most feedings by the adults.

American Coots primarily feed on aquatic vegetation. Parents will directly feed their young bill-to-bill for the first two weeks. The young chicks also need to be fed insects and aquatic animals for the protein their growing bodies need.

That little chick sure seems satisfied as that last bit of green goes down its throat.

Three weeks later and the Coot chicks have grown rapidly. The chicks are already foraging on their own but still will remain near their parents and still beg for food. It’s much easier to have Mom or Dad bring you food than it is to go get it yourself! These two headed towards Mom, who emerged from a food search under the water.

Sometimes the loudest and largest young Coot may need reminders to be a bit less dependent. The adult Coot ended up grabbing the youngster by its neck and pushed it down, almost submerging the head in the water before letting go.

That Coot got the message and swam away. The youngest Coot received nicer treatment. “Mom always liked you best”, said Tom Smothers. The water on the adult Coot’s back was from the recent dive under the surface of the pond.

After the food exchange, the adult and younger swam off together.

Adult Coots are devoted parents. The chicks will be fully independent at about two months and will attain adult plumage at the age of four months. Until then, young coots are always aware of where Mom or Dad are.

The chick left Mom after a bit and then did some preening and self care.

Adult American Coots may not be the most attractive birds, but because they are always out in open waters, their behaviors are easy to observe. Watching little Coots growing up is so entertaining.

Our Birdathon efforts continue in support of Tucson Bird Alliance. Thank you to Laura D., Lisa U., Anonymous Friend, Jennifer O., Deb V., Michelle J., Elaine G. and Richard B., Emily M., Katrina S., Deanna M., Corinna P., Barbara L., Shelly A., Deanna R., Iris Y., Laura R., Joann V., Mai S., Candace A., and Mary K. for your kind donations to our Birdathon efforts. Our team “Birdies, Bogeys, and Eagles” is raising money throughout the month for the Tucson Bird Alliance. You can read more about it on our Birdathon Team page here. We will be in the field birding today, Monday April 13, and hope to report back to everyone later this week. Donations will be continue to be accepted throughout April. If you do wish to donate, please remember to list our team name. Thank you!!

Common Yellowthroat live in dense, low lying vegetation. They remain hidden from predators there and will forage for insects in that thick environment. They are elusive, notoriously so, and seem to skulk around that habitat, generally hidden from view.

However, the male Common Yellowthroat may sometimes appear in the open and on a high perch, to sing its tell-tale “wichity-witchity-witchity” song. You can listen to its distinctive song on Birdnote and learn a bit more about this warbler. When I heard this bird calling in Sweetwater, it took me a while to find it by scanning all of the reeds. I finally spotted it on a distant tobacco tree plant.

Later that morning I saw another yellow bird appear from within the reeds. It was a female bird formerly known as the Yellow Warbler. Last year a decision was made to split Yellow Warblers into two distinct species to reflect the differences between the Northern Yellow Warbler (the bird below) from the other very closely related bird. The Northern Yellow Warbler is migratory and has genetic differences, different plumages, and different vocalizations from what is now referred to as the Mangrove Yellow Warbler.

This Northern Common Yellowthroat traveled quite a distance to get to Tucson as this range map from AllAboutBirds shows.

Northern Yellow Warblers show up in Tucson during the spring and remain here through the summer. Much like the Common Yellowthroat, these Warblers have a distinctive song that you can hear in this Birdnote report. Some people say the Warbler is singing “sweet-sweet-sweet-I’m so sweet.”

Warblers primarily eat insects and this Northern Yellow Warbler was no exception. After giving me looks out in the open, the Warbler grabbed what looked like an Orb Weaver Spider. The long legs and long abdomen makes me think that is the spider, but I’m not certain.

This shot was taken right when the Warbler swallowed the spider. You can see the lump in her throat as the spider made its way down

These yellow birds do stand out from others.

From the start of the year, I had heard the owls during the night and had seen what I was certain was the female in the nest box. For about a month, I would regularly see her stick her head out of the box in the late afternoon and around sunset time. Her behavior began to change a few weeks ago. The first change was not seeing her at the opening to the nest box before sunset. Then I began hearing one of the Owls calling softly during the night with a call that differed from the typical call in winter. On March 25, I went outside well after dark and located the male owl on a cholla snag. He was calling for some time while holding what once was a Kangaroo Rat (see its tail for reference). Then he flew off into the desert. His mate had not responded to him. Perhaps she wasn’t hungry yet.

A few days prior to that photo, on Saturday March 21st, Hawk Watch International began their monitoring of the nest box. This is part of ongoing research that Hawk Watch has been doing for years in Southern Arizona. Once weekly, they insert a small camera into the box opening and take a two second video. This quick and smooth process provides them a look into the nesting process. The information is placed into their database for the research. This first look in my nest box showed the female Western Screech Owl looking up at the camera as she tucks into the corner of her nest. Now watch how her behavior changed over the following two weeks.

One week later, on March 28, and now mama Owl is spread out and filling up the entire bottom of the nest box. She looks like she is hiding or protecting something! By the way, during this breeding season, the male Western Screech Owl does not stay in the nest box. He is in a nearby cavity where he can communicate with the female Owl and perhaps even have a direct line of sight on the nest box.

In the meantime, a few times per night I will hear one of the two owls calling to the other. It could be either one of the owls calling. The male is doing the hunting and provisioning for the female. The female may be in or out of the box but she will be calling to him, asking where her next meal is. The photo below was taken at 2:41 AM on April 1.

The following Saturday, on April 4th, the Hawk Watch volunteer saw three eggs!! Two can be seen in this screenshot from the video.

In the meantime, if I am up late, or up during the night, or if I get up early, I often hear one of the owls calling. A search outside may or may not find one of the Owls. On April 5, at 7:48 PM, I heard and saw what I believe was the female calling for the male, telling him to get to work.

This Owl was not hunting. She was definitely looking for her partner.

I am excited that my “Owl-TV” has returned for another season. Just listening to the birds is enjoyable but I’m hoping to witness more behavior over the next two months. Western Screech Owls incubate their eggs for approximately 30 days, so I expect the eggs to hatch around the end of April or beginning of May. The young Owlets then fledge, or leave the nest, about 4 or 5 weeks later.

I returned two weeks later at the end of March and was able to watch the male and female birds bringing food to the hatchlings in the nest. Here is the male Vermilion Flycatcher with a very small insect in his bill. When I first arrived at the nest site he was nowhere to be seen. After ten minutes, he showed up and slowly flew from perch to perch, approaching the nest.

As soon as he flew to the nest, he immediately fed the young. The nest was too high in the tree for me to see how many hatchlings were in the nest.

Once he flew away from the nest, he cleaned his bill. Birds will often care for their bills this way. The method is called “bill wiping” or “feaking” and serves to both clean the bill as well as to maintain the shape and edges of the bill.

When the young birds have grown some feathers and are able to regulate their own body temperature, the mother bird will then begin to forage for food. This female Vermilion was just as busy hunting for food as the male was. Vermilion Flycatchers feed their young a high protein diet comprised of insects.

She, too, delivered the food to the young birds and then flew off in search of more.

At one feeding time, I noticed an interesting behavior. The male flew to a nearby perch, and then flew directly to the nest with an insect in his beak.

This time, after feeding the young he lingered. I wondered what he was doing. You may notice that his beak is slightly open.

Young Vermilion Flycatchers are very helpless like many newly hatched birds. During those first few days, they will poop within seconds of being fed. The parent bird will wait, and then grab the fecal sac and fly off to deposit it elsewhere. This maintains the cleanliness of the nest but also removes the white fecal matter which might otherwise attract predators.

And off flew the parent. He’ll drop that fecal sac off somewhere and then resume hunting.

This cycle of feeding the young will repeat itself over and over again. The young birds will fledge (leaving the nest) in about two weeks. The parents continue feeding the fledglings for another few weeks. Often during that time, the male assumes full responsibility for feeding the young while the female may begin initiating a second brood of Vermilion Flycatchers.

Thank you to Anne L., Jim S., Mary C., Patricia D., Michele and Reuben W., Alexa V., Danny G., Karyn Z., Anna Marie and Joey D., Jeff A., and Ellen S. for your donations to our Birdathon efforts. Our Birdathon team “Birdies, Bogeys, and Eagles” is raising month for the Tucson Bird Alliance. You can read more about it on our Birdathon page here. Donations will be continue to be accepted throughout April. If you do wish to donate, please remember to list our team name. Thank you!!

A mile away, a Great Horned Owl was using a nest in a mesquite tree. She was sitting up higher than she was two weeks prior. Perhaps the eggs have already hatched and she has some owlets to share the space with by now.

A nearby park was the home to several Desert Iguanas. I had never seen one in the desert so it was an exciting find for me. With Tucson’s warm winter, the lizards are all out early this year.

Desert Iguanas are medium sized lizards with a lighter skin tone than many other area reptiles. They can be found in sandy desert areas where there are creosote bushes. The Desert Museum has more on this interesting lizard.

On a walk near Tubac along the De Anza Trail, one small bush was covered with Texan Crescent butterflies. Their wingspan is about one and a half inches.

One of the nice birds that we saw was this Brown Creeper. Creepers fly down a tree’s trunk, and then work their way up the trunk in search of insects. Brown Creepers use their long curved beak to probe in crevices and to pick at loose bark in search of prey. You can see the Creeper’s white belly which contrasts with its streaky back.

Creepers use their stiff tails like woodpeckers to brace themselves as they work their way up the tree trunk. This Brown Creeper would fly from cottonwood tree to cottonwood tree, in a repeating circuit, in search of food.

A few days later at a farm west of the Tucson Mountains, I didn’t expect to see very much. It was just after noon on one of those 100° days we had two weeks ago. I wanted to see how this farm looked, anticipating some upcoming migration. The alfalfa fields were swarming with grasshoppers- a good sign. Grasshoppers can offer an easy and plentiful meal for hungry birds. At one point I saw a Crested Caracara fly into a field. It walked around a bit and then flew off with a grasshopper and some alfalfa in its bill. You can see the swarm of grasshoppers it had to fly through.

This Spring is turning into a very nice season.

A few weeks ago we “scouted” the location for our birdathon date later in April. The golf course sits adjacent to a large expanse of desert. The mixture of desert habitat with creeks and ponds, lush grasses and thick vegetation provides for a variety of birds and wildlife. You might remember the breeding pair of Roadrunners that I posted about recently. Those were at this site.

We saw some coots eating grass on one of the first fairways. A coyote emerged from the desert and began to chase them, hoping for breakfast. Needless to say the birds had other ideas and they winged it into the nearby water. All the coyote could do was look forlornly at any number of choice meals that were just beyond reach.

That pond held the last pair of wintering Canvasback ducks. This spot usually hosts a number of Canvasback pairs but the others seem to have already taken off for the breeding season homeland. Canvasbacks are large ducks and, with that sloping forehead, some people think they look aristocratic. It is a distinguished look. The males have that rusty head and the whitish, “canvas” back. Breeding males have red eyes.

Female Canvasbacks have the same sloping forehead and black bill as the males, but they have a lighter facial plumage. This Canvasback also has more intricate patterning on her back than most females have. She also has dark eyes, typical of female Canvasbacks.

Song Sparrows are winter visitors to Tucson and can be found in areas close to water. This Song Sparrow popped up out of the thick vegetation. Our Song Sparrows are much lighter than the Song Sparrows in northern areas. The streaks on its belly merge into a noticeable spot. You can learn more about Song Sparrows from a short video at AllAboutBirds.

This golf course has Spotted Sandpipers through much of the year. They are not spotted when they are here in the winter. During their breeding season the spots emerge. People rightly think of Sandpipers as shorebirds, and the Spotted Sandpiper is indeed a shorebird. However, it doesn’t need an ocean shore to survive. This species is the most widespread Sandpiper in the United States and can be found near most kinds of freshwater.

The range map from AllAboutBirds shows you how wide-ranging Spotted Sandpipers are in our hemisphere.

Pied-billed Grebes bred early this year. Perhaps the warmer winter had an impact on their timing. We saw this family with four chicks at a distance and mom was keeping a close watch over them. They remained hidden in the reeds as we got closer. These chicks have been referred to as Grebettes, but I like the term Grebeling. I hope to get closer looks at them the next time I see them.

There was an adult Pied-billed Grebe on another pond. This bird was preening when I saw it. Pied-billed Grebes are diving birds but do so in an unusual way. They can just sink slowly into the water by trapping air or water in their wings. They can dive, but they also can act just like a submarine and lower themselves into the water.

We enjoy birding at this location because of the varied types of habitat which offer us a wide variety of birds. We are going to head back there again in the middle of April. If you would like to support our Birdathon Team, you can do so at any time during the month of April at this site. Don’t feel obligated to help but any support will make a difference for birds and the environment in the Tucson area. Thanks for your kind support.

Sometimes the donation page can be confusing. Always be sure to note the name of our team (Birdies, Bogeys and Eagles) when making a donation. Thanks!!

Sloths are arboreal mammals, spending their lives in the canopies of trees in rainforests. They move slowly and they sleep alot. The Sloths in the Sanctuary are rescues who cannot be released back to the rainforest. They have a pretty easy life. For more on Sloths, visit a resource page at the World Wildlife Fund.

Sloths spend most of their lives hanging upside down. We watched the keepers feed a few of them a flower. Not only do Sloths move slowly, they have the slowest metabolism of any mammal. They have a four-chambered stomach that can take up to a month breaking down and digesting tough, fibrous leaves. BBC Earth has more on these fascinating animals.

On one of the last days of our trip, we visited the Metropolitan Natural Park in Panama City. This park is over 550 acres of tropical jungle within the city. Along the trail to the highest point in the park, we saw a Three-toed Sloth. This mother Sloth had a youngster holding on to her belly.

This species of Sloth is called the Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth. It is smaller than the Two-Toed and has a dark eye mask. The Three-toed Sloths are active during the day, while the Two-toed are more active at night.

We actually saw this Sloth moving from one branch to another. One source says that they can move in the trees at a rate of about one foot per ten seconds. Sloths move slowly but they aren’t lazy. For some nice information on why these animals move so slowly, the Sloth Conservation Organization tells us why.

Most of the time the Three-Toed Sloth was hanging upside down with her baby holding on. She did switch up and hang ‘normally’ for a short while.

She quickly resorted to her typical upside down position.

Back at our beach hotel after the walk in the park, I found another Three-toed Sloth resting in a nearby tree.

This sure was a very interesting animal to see in the wild.

This isn’t something that is easily observed but I did catch a Western Screech Owl casting a pellet in my backyard two years later in 2019. Look closely in its mouth.

A few months after capturing that photo, I watched a female Vermilion Flycatcher in a park behaving strangely. My instinct was to quickly take photos, which I did. Later at home while processing the photos I saw the image below. A bit of research revealed that I had witnessed the female Vermilion expelling a pellet. While I didn’t see the actual pellet, the bird’s behavior clearly showed her working to expel the pellet.

What I learned was that other species of birds besides owls and raptors also expel pellets. Crows, Herons, Gulls and Kingfishers cough up pellets. Many songbirds, including ‘my’ Vermilion Flycatcher, also cough up pellets. Those pellets contain indigestible material such as insect exoskeletons, berry husks, etc., depending on the birds’ diets. Pellet casting is an essential digestive part of those birds’ healthy lives.

Although all raptors cast pellets, Owl pellets are often more intact because Owls have weaker stomach acid and generally swallow prey whole. In many schools, students have dissected Owl pellets as part of their Science curriculum. To get a sense of what treasures you can discover in an Owl pellet, watch this short video from the National Audubon Society on “The Amazing Owls”. AYou can purchase Owl pellets on Amazon if you so desire!

Here is a photo I took in 2023 in a friend’s backyard. Again, I was very lucky to capture this shot. I saw the Western Screech Owl leaning forward and I thought it might be trying to cast a pellet. I was right!

Why am I telling you about pellets? Recently I was out with some friends on our monthly bird outing and we saw a number of Vermilion Flycatchers. The males are outstanding sights. They can be found readily throughout Tucson on any open field including golf courses, city parks, school yards, ball fields, etc. They are always pleasing to see.

In addition, there were a number of female Vermilions around. While not as brilliantly colored as the males, the females do have a special beauty about them. This one had caught an insect for a snack.

I’m not sure whether or not she ate the insect, but as I watched this bird for a while I got an inkling that something special was going on. I held down my shutter release button to get a series of photos. What I captured was the bird casting a pellet. Again, I didn’t know what was happening until I got home to process my photos. The action happens so quickly.

Here, the pellet is finally emerging.

When the gizzard is full, it blocks the digestive tract. That’s a signal to the bird that it’s time to cough up the pellet. With her throat ‘cleared’, the Vermilion can now relax. More importantly, she can now continue eating!!

And so she flew off and went about her day.

With all of the hours I’ve spent birding and all of the photos I’ve taken over the years, witnessing a bird casting a pellet is a matter of luck. The process is fast and hard to see even if you are fortunate enough to be watching a bird. I felt lucky to have again witnessed another very normal part of these birds’ daily lives.

When the first Roadrunner reached a willow tree, it flew into the tree and moved to the end of a branch, hidden by leaves. The second Roadrunner paused at the base of the tree and we noticed that it had picked up a skinny twig. As soon as the second Roadrunner hopped up into the tree and worked its way towards the first one, we realized what was happening. When building nests, the male Roadrunner will gather twigs and branches. He then delivers them to the female who constructs the nest. That’s what we were witnessing!

The two Roadrunners moved around, mostly hidden by branches. Then the birds dropped back onto the ground, one at a time, and began foraging in a nearby grassy field.

At that point, we couldn’t tell which Roadrunner was which as male and female Roadrunners look alike. Suddenly, behavior again revealed which was which. One Roadrunner caught an insect and made a beeline to the other- the male Roadrunner was delivering food to the female. She had been hunting on her own but he needed to demonstrate that he was a good provider.

My friend Peggy Steffens took the following photo. She captured the food delivery between the pair. The male on the left offered his treat to the female on the right!! Thanks Peggy!

Once the food transfer was made, the pair lingered. Notice how her head is lowered compared to his. This is a sign of submission and acceptance of the courtship bond.

Her posture changed even more as she lowered herself further.

And then, time to eat!!! She flipped the grasshopper into the air and then easily caught it in her wide open throat.

The grasshopper went down easily and the male turned to resume hunting.

It was special to observe these springtime behaviors. You can be sure that we will return to this area in the future hoping to witness the chicks being raised.

PS In my previous post, I showed two photos of a Javelina that I mentioned was part of a small “troop”. A knowledgeable reader who noticed my error helped to alert me. A group of Javelinas is correctly referred to as a “squadron”, and not a “troop.” Thank you Douglas!

I went on an early morning walk at Sweetwater recently, arriving right at sunrise. As I mentioned in a previous post about Sweetwater, I was once again met with steam fog along much of the water. This really adds to the experience when walking alongside this phenomenon.

There were a number of water birds of course. The first non-water bird that I saw was a Song Sparrow that hopped into the brush right next to me. As close as I was, this bird was very focused on foraging for food in the leaves and branches on the ground. This particular bird was silent but the Song Sparrow gets its name from the large repertoire of songs that it sings. Birdnote tells us more.

That morning I was hoping to see bobcats or coyotes, but the largest mammals I saw was a small troop of Javelinas. This was the last one in the group. It paused as it began to cross the trail. Javelinas are called “Collared Peccaries” and you can see the white “collar” on this one. The Desert Museum tells us more about these interesting desert creatures.

Javelinas do not have good sight. They rely on their sense of smell and their hearing to assess the world around them. This Javelina paid attention to me for a few seconds before it felt safe enough to cross the path and join the rest of the herd,

Red-winged Blackbirds were all around the wetlands. The males were perching high and announcing their presence to the world. Their singing is done to defend their territory and to attract mates. Tucson Bird Alliance provides a nice summary about this species.

This male continued to creep towards the end of this branch. He would stop every few inches to sing and flash his red shoulder patches. Those red shoulder patches, called epaulets, serve as a visual symbol of strength, status and age.

Sometimes this Red-winged Blackbird almost seemed to physically explode due to the intense energy he was putting into his calls. Birdnote has a wonderful video showing male Red-winged Blackbirds’ behavior.

Another nice bird was this Common Gallinule. Common Gallinules are marsh birds whose bright red facial shield is notable. With the orange tip, that beak reminds me of candy corn. Matt Griffiths, with Tucson Bird Alliance, has some good information about Common Gallinules.

I saw many examples of an interesting plant while I walked around Sweetwater. The plants either had bright yellow flowers or snowy white seed puff balls. I had to research the plant and found that it is called Prickly Sowthistle. Its name comes from the spiny, thistle-like leaf edges. It also has a thick milky sap that oozes from the leaves and stems when they are cut. Historically it was used as feed for lactating pigs (sows) when people thought that the milky sap would aid in milk production. That’s how “sow” came to be part of its name.

Here is the puffy seed head of the Prickly Sow-thistle.

When I first arrived at Sweetwater, a pair of Snowy Egrets were flying around in a courting display. Every few minutes they would appear in the sky flying together. They would then disappear and land somewhere in the wetlands. Towards the end of my walk, I saw one of the Snowy Egrets in the water to the side of the trail. Hidden by foliage, it was standing around and not feeding and showing the long breeding feather plumes draped off of its head and back.

Sweetwater continues to provide a nice refuge for birds and for people who visit.

We traveled to Panama during the “dry season”, but apparently dry season doesn’t mean there is no rain, it just means there is little rain. As soon as we got on the boat at 7:00 AM, it began pouring rain. It rained for perhaps a half hour. My camera had already fogged up due to the high humidity and temperature. That plus the movement of the boat combined with the rain did not help me get any decent photos early on. As the rain was letting up I was able to get a shot of this Little Blue Heron. You can see the rain falling in this photo.

Seconds later the rain stopped and the Little Blue Heron and two juvenile Little Blue Herons brightened my morning. The juveniles are the white birds in this shot. There are Little Blue Herons in the US, but they are not typically seen in Arizona as this range map indicates. The juvenile Little Blue Herons look very similar to Snowy Egrets. If you look closely at these white birds, you will see that they have a gray bill with a black tip. Snowy Egrets have all black beaks. Snowy Egrets have black legs and these two juvie Little Blues have rather pale legs.

Just to the right of those birds sat a Green Iguana. Juvenile Green Iguanas are green, helping them to blend into the forest. As they mature, their color changes. They are large reptiles. Locally known as “la gallina de palo” (chicken from the tree), they face hunting pressure as a source of food. Green Iguanas can grow up to six feet long and weigh between 10 and 20 pounds.

While it was still cloudy and gray, we passed an Osprey that was overlooking the river. Osprey almost exclusively hunt fish. We may see a few Osprey in Tucson during migration season or during winter when they discover some of Tucson’s well stocked urban fishing lakes. The mascot of the Seattle Seahawks Football team was inspired by these birds.

We saw a group of Smooth-billed Ani on one floating island of vegetation. These large birds are part of the cuckoo family, the same family as our Roadrunners. The large beak on these birds is so unusual looking.

This Smooth-billed Ani may have had a smooth bill, but its tail feathers were pretty tattered. I’m sure this bird will drop those feathers at some point and grow new ones. You can learn more about these Ani from the Audubon bird guide here. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/smooth-billed-ani

The Wattled Jacana is a marsh bird, all black with a red forehead and a red “wattle” hanging down from its face. The adult is seen here with a juvenile Wattled Jacana which has a white stripe over its eyes and white underparts. This species is present throughout the tropics and subtropics of South America and is found in just about all freshwater wetlands there. While these Jacanas look like our American Coots, they are not related at all. Convergent evolution has resulted in their similar appearance but they belong to very different families of birds.

One of the nice ‘finds’ of that boat ride was a very distant juvenile Rufescent Tiger-Heron. These birds are residents from southern Mexico down through northern Argentina. They look similar to other birds in the Egret and Heron family. The Rufescent Tiger-Heron is smaller than our Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets but larger than Little Green Herons or Snowy Egrets.

This Great Blue Heron was on an opposite bank to the Tiger Heron. Its colors looked very rich in that dark and wet environment compared to what I usually see in the Tucson area.

Heading back to the dock we had a nice look at the Rainforest hotel we were staying at.

As the boat docked, there were a number of juvenile Yellow-headed Caracara on the ground and on the rails. I thought it was so unusual to see raptors so “tame” around humans. They may have been looking for scraps of fish from other fishing boats. Who knows, but it was fun to see them.

Traveling through this rich riverside rainforest was very special.

I had long looks at a few of these monkeys during our stay in the Gamboa Rainforest. The coat on its back is variegated with black, brown, reddish and yellow fur. It has an almost bare face with a white triangular patch on its forehead. Their ears are black and curved.

Although the monkey looks large in these photos thanks to the close cropping of the picture, its body is about nine inches long with a tail that stretches to perhaps 15 inches. These monkeys weigh about one pound although they may get a bit larger. They have claw-like nails to help them navigate their forest world. They mostly remain in the trees, rarely coming to the ground.

You can imagine that I was star-struck looking at these animals. I took countless images of them and it is too tough for me to pick just a few favorites for you to enjoy. I hope this selection gives you a sense of the monkey’s curiosity and ease of movement.

I was able to watch a pair of these Geoffroy’s Monkeys for about a half hour. I have photos of the male that I’ll share in another post. He was moving around with a youngster clinging to him.

This one is ready to run!

This shot shows us its long fingers. Most Monkeys in Africa and Asia have opposable thumbs, but many species in the New World do not have opposable thumbs. It is thought that Tamarin monkeys lack these thumbs because they evolved to rely on their claw-like nails for clinging to tree trunks. They didn’t need to grasp objects with high precision. Rather, they needed those claws to navigate their arboreal habitat by climbing, running and jumping along tree branches.

This monkey is alert and ready to move.

Besides the mono titis we saw in Gamboa, we also saw them on what was called the Monkey Islands in the Panama Canal. We took a boat cruise towards those islands in search of monkeys.

More to follow....

The saguaro that it landed in was also a long distance away, but we could see a large nest in it and a second Harris’s Hawk. It seems like one Harris’s Hawk, likely the female, was already in the nest and the newly arrived Harris’s Hawk was likely her consort, which had been watching from across the desert.

Soon after the second hawk arrived, the larger Harris’s Hawk, the female, flew from the nest and landed atop a nearby saguaro. Her partner followed her and caught up with her on the saguaro. Harris’s hawks mate frequently during breeding season. Mating continues throughout this courtship and even after incubation of eggs.

Both hawks then flew off. We drove away but returned to the nest area a half hour later. One of the Harris’s Hawks was perched on a different nearby saguaro.

Soon. this hawk became airborne. It was a windy afternoon and the bird whipped through the air to the south where it began circling. Another hawk rose in the air to meet it and they both flew into the distance.

I hope I will be able to follow this and other raptor families during this breeding season. If you know of any good sites for me to check out, please send me a private message. Thanks.

To reach the village, we traveled by motorized dugout canoes, a trip that lasted about a half hour.

Along the river we passed a few other canoes.

The river travels through the lush rainforest of the Panama Canal watershed and into the Gatun Lake.

Around one curve in the river, the village appeared.

The photo of the village (above) shows a very large, open air structure. That is the gathering space for the community. It has a thatched roof and natural floor. We listened to and watched a number of presentations on the history, culture, and traditions of the Embera way of life. During the presentations the children played. This young man was fascinated by the many ways he could fold and manipulate this cardboard.

A few boats were in a small inlet.

Other children busied themselves playing throughout the village including on the boats.

A few of the women worked hard to prepare a very nice meal for us.

We ate tilapia and plantain, presented nicely in a sleeve of leaves from the banana plants.

Heading back afterwards, our group was in one of two long canoes.

Local traffic uses the river to commute

Panama is home to seven distinct indigenous peoples, representing up to 17% of the population of the country. Many of those people live in semi-autonomous regions and many have dispersed to other areas within the country. It was interesting to get a glimpse of one of those indigenous groups while seeing how they live within this ecosystem.