A good friend of mine is a licensed Master Falconer. She invited me to watch her and her daughter, also a licensed Master Falconer, in a training session with their Peruvian Aplomado. We went to open range in the foothills of the Tortolitas to let “Little Girl” fly.

As with all falconry birds as well as raptors in Free Flight Programs, the Aplomado was wearing some equipment as she flew. You can see the GPS transmitter on Little Girl’s back that allows the falconers to track the bird’s flight on their cell phones. Peruvian Aplomado Falcons are generally much darker than the American Aplomado. Both species have a barred black and white tail pattern.

It was fascinating to see how low Little Girl flew through the desert landscape. Her long tail aids in maneuverability as she chases prey using the high speed that Falcons are known for.

It was interesting to see that Little Girl chose to land on rocks or the ground rather than to perch in trees. Peruvian Aplomado Falcons are able to run fast to chase their prey on the ground. Using rocks or low mounds as perch spots puts the Aplomado directly in her hunting element. Those perches give her an unobstructed line of sight for finding prey but also for seeing any predator approaching from the air or on the ground. Generally, Aplomado Falcons are birds of the open country and not of the forests.

At one point the falconers worked with Little Girl by throwing “tidbits” of meat into the air. This helps to refine her hunting reflexes, build muscles, improve physical conditioning, and to strengthen trust with her trainers.

Little Girl chased the tidbit using the same skills she would to catch a bird in the air. You can see her focus and intent.

When the tidbit dropped on the ground the Falcon hovered in the air, practicing the hunting technique she would use to capture rodents, lizards, insects and any other ground dwelling prey. In the shot below, you can see some of the other equipment Little Girl was wearing. She was wearing soft leather anklets through which some leather jesses are dangling. Those are used for safety and control by the falconer during emergency situations in the field. If you look closely on her right ankle, you can see the metal band which is her government ID.

Peruvian Aplomado Falcons have a deep, rich color to their bellies compared to a more washed out, lighter color on the bellies of American Aplomados. You can see the long, pointed wings typical of Falcons. Those wings are built for speed and her wingspan is almost three feet. Aplomados also have the malar stripe- the dark mustache on their cheeks- that other falcons like Peregrines and Kestrels have.

Little Girl found perches near and far, but always on solid earth.

The photo above is a close-up of her on the perch. In the photo below, you can see her on the same perch with a greater view of the setting. You can find her on the right hand side of that large rock with the desert canyons of the Tortolita foothills behind her.

Little Girl always flew fast and mostly flew low, but she could also flew high when she wanted to.

At the end of our session, she flew around all of us as we waited for her to return to the falconer.

At that time, we were all given the chance to do ‘glove calls’ with the Aplomado. This training practice gives her more practice with orientation towards humans. What an incredible experience!

You can read about how the Peregrine Fund is working to restore American Aplomados to their historical range.

To learn about falconry through the ages, this site provides a virtual history tour of falconry with this “Timeline”.

If interested, you can read a detailed story of how Peruvian Aplomado Falcons came to the US for falconry.

Here is the rest of the story. The Heron had edged slightly forward on the dead tree branch. It spotted a nearby fish and attacked. The bird’s head was completely submerged.

As the Green Heron’s head emerged from the water, the bird was still standing on its tiptoes.

Now standing on just one foot, the Green Heron brought the fish completely out of the water.

Once a Heron catches its fish, no matter the size, it needs to be sure the fish won’t wiggle free and is positioned correctly to be swallowed. This action can happen in the blink of an eye.

The Green Heron gave a vigorous shake to flick away excess water and any debris that it might have picked up while catching the fish.

With the fish subdued and excess water gone, the Green Heron can toss the fish into the air, open its bill wide, and swallow its snack. This all happens so very quickly, and then the Green Heron will continue looking for more prey to eat. I wrote a post one year ago that showed a Green Heron at El Rio swallowing fish. You can revisit that post here.

While I never got a shot of Vermilion capturing a fish, there is no doubt in my mind that this Flycatcher was fishing.

As Vermilion Flycatchers are known to do, they return to a hunting perch over and over again. I watched as this bird would swoop down to the water, and then return to the dried reed with the burnt top. Shortly, it would spot something in the water and dive down for it.

Just as quickly it would return to its hunting perch. Although I never saw it with prey in its bill, the fact that it continued to hunt from this reed assured me that this was a successful hunting spot. The Vermilion showed no interest in moving on to another location.

And so it continued hunting.

Vermilion Flycatchers are about the size of a Sparrow, perhaps 5 inches long with a 10 inch wingspan. Their cousins, the Black Phoebes, are found in habitat near water and are known for catching aquatic prey. I think that people just assumed that the Vermilions near water were just hunting insects on the surface of the water because they were “fly” catchers.

After Jeffry’s great photos and discovery became known all of the birders in the Tucson area understood what Vermilion Flycatchers were doing when they were hunting near water. In this post’s sequence, taken shortly after Jeffry’s revelations became public, I knew what the Flycatcher was doing!

Vermilion Flycatchers have always had the reputation as handsome birds. They have always been interesting to watch as they flew from perches to capture insects on the wing or insects on the ground. I now know that Vermilion Flycatchers can adapt to their environment and develop new skills without we humans knowing anything about it.

This Great Blue Heron was at El Rio Preserve one morning. After standing still at the end of a dead tree branch for a while, it finally decided to move.

Stepping slowly, the Heron walked into the water and then stopped. I didn’t see any feeding behavior. It didn’t turn its head towards the water at this time. Looking at this bird, it is not a bright or royal blue. Perhaps it can be described as having a blue-gray plumage, but it was given its name to distinguish it from the Eurasian Grey Heron.

Eleven minutes passed between when it stepped off the branch and while it was standing still in the water. Suddenly it took off. Because the Heron’s takeoff angle was low and shallow, the tips of its long toes brushed across the surface of the water. Great Blue Herons are massive birds and it takes a bit to gain lift before it is flying smoothly with its legs stretched behind it.

Within 16 seconds the Heron had circled around and was heading in the opposite direction. Notice how the Great Blue Heron tucked its neck in during normal flight. The Heron has a long, muscular neck and a heavy bill. Folding its neck into this “S” shape helps both to balance its center of gravity and to stabilize its flight.

Almost an hour later the Great Blue Heron headed back across the Preserve. Note how its neck is stretched out this time? One reason these large Herons may fly that way is because they are chasing other Herons. With their necks extended, their wings will not limit their vision during a chase and they can maneuver more easily.

Great Blue Herons are so large they are easy to spot and easy to observe. We have many year-round residents in Tucson but northern migrants are moving through our area now, so our numbers are temporarily increased. If you want to find a Great Blue, visit Danny Lopez Park along Silverbell Road. There is a rookery tree on an island in the middle of that urban fishing lake. Several Great Blue Herons can be seen there pretty much year round.

A few weeks ago I saw a Red-tailed Hawk on a telephone pole, not the most photogenic perch. I was able to notice when it was ready to take off. These Hawks often have a “tell” when they are ready to fly. They will either rouse, shaking their feathers, or they will poop to lighten their load. I don’t remember how this bird signalled me but I was ready to catch the slow beginning of its flight. Its legs were still dangling as it gained speed and its tail was spread wide.

The strong downward stroke helped to build speed and momentum.

The Hawk began to tuck its legs in as it reached up for its next powerful stroke.

This bird was an adult Western Red-tailed Hawk. The red (actually rufous) colored tail lets us know this bird is at least into its second year. The dark, trailing edge of its wing feathers is another sign that this bird is an adult.

Red-tailed Hawks come in a variety of plumages, called morphs. Most can be identified as a Red-tail by their body size and shape plus two features that this bird had. Another great identifying mark for Red-tailed hawks can be seen in the photo above. The dark leading edge of its underwing in the shoulder area, from its body to its wrist, is called a patagial mark. Most Red-tailed Hawks have a patagial mark. This bird also had a ‘belly band’, those dark streaks across its belly. That is another distinctive sign of a Red-tailed hawk.

“I am the hawk... share in the freedom I feel when I fly.” — John Denver

This Broad-winged Hawk is a rarity in southern Arizona. The AllAboutBirds range map shows you how much of a rarity this bird is in our area. This species is clearly an eastern species. It migrates to Central and South America for the winter. Somehow this bird ended up in Southern Arizona. There have been several reports of these Broad-winged Hawks here in the previous two weeks. Whether this bird is just passing through or plans to stay awhile, it was still a real treat to get a glimpse of it. After circling El Rio a few times it soared towards the south and disappeared.

Several weeks ago I saw a Lesser Nighthawk over farmland in western Marana. It felt like it was late in the season, so this may have been my final view of a Lesser Nighthawk this year.

Early in the summer I visited Ash Canyon in the Huachucas. Arizona Gray squirrels are tree squirrels that live in mountain ranges, generally at low to middle elevations. Most of this species lives in Arizona, with some population in New Mexico and Sonora, Mexico. Its name reflects the fact that it is truly an “Arizona” Gray Squirrel.

I saw a young male Vermilion Flycatcher at El Rio. Every single Vermilion Flycatcher out there looks so nice.

Here is an adult male Vermilion for comparison. This one was seen in the far southwest side of Tucson.

Back at Ash Canyon, a male Ladder-backed Woodpecker was going about its day in search of food. It always amazes me to see how Woodpeckers can casually, without any apparent stress, hold onto a tree while completely upside down, and at the same time be able to eat food while upside down!

Because Cactus Wrens are the most common wrens in our southern Arizona deserts most people know about them. They are large, social and very unafraid of humans. The Bewick’s Wren is also a common Wren in the Southwest, but it is smaller than the Cactus Wren. Bewicks have a white eyebrow stripe and they hold their tails up while Cactus Wrens hold their tails flat. The habitat for Cactus Wrens is the desert while Bewick’s Wrens are found in more brushy areas. Ash Canyon, where we saw this bird, is at about 4,700 feet in elevation where the habitat is perfect for the Bewick’s Wren

One of the farms I frequent in Marana is well west of the Tucson Mountains. From there, looking further to the west are the Silverbell Mountains. Ragged Top is a well named mountain at the northern end of that range. I like the layered look of this shot with the contrast of the taller Ragged Top and the two shorter hills in front of it. In the foreground is a field of green alfalfa and then a field of Pima cotton plants.

This final photo was taken at one of the farms I visit often. It’s a nice place to spend some time.

The underside of the Western Giant Swallowtail below looks very different from the upperside seen in the photo above. The contrast is purposeful. The upperside, black with a yellow stripe, is thought to attract mates while flying or basking in the sun. The underside, seen below, is thought to help camouflage the butterfly when perched due to its mottled coloring and patterns. If you look closely you can see that the front of the underwings is dusted with golden pollen.

As large as its wings are, the butterfly practically disappears when seen from the front or the back.

Pipevine Swallowtails are one of the common butterflies we have in the Tucson area. They are also a large species with a wingspan of about four inches. This butterfly also has been dusted with a good amount of pollen. Pipevine Swallowtails have iridescent blue wings with seven orange spots on the underwing. Those bright colors warn predators that the Pipevine is very toxic, a defense it carries over from its diet of acidic pipevine plants during its caterpillar stage.

The upperwings of the Pipevine Swallowtail are also dusted in pollen. The forewing is dark while the hindwing is an iridescent blue. You can see the long tail extension that gave this butterfly its name.

You can imagine how the front of the butterfly’s wings pick up pollen. While the butterfly is taking in nectar from the heart of the flower, its wings may be flapping against the male part of the flower. (Here’s the High School Biology reminder: the tall red filament is the stamen, and on the top of the stamen is the golden anther where the yellow, powdery pollen grains are.)

The third butterfly from that morning is the Cloudless Sulphur. I love how, when caught in flight, you can see the shadows of its body and of the layered wings. Butterflies in flight carry their proboscis coiled while in flight. The proboscis is a tube-like mouthpart used to take in nectar.

Cloudless Sulphurs are another very common butterfly species in our area. They are smaller than the Swallowtails but a good sized butterfly. While the plain yellow wings appear to have little patterning, the male Cloudless Sulphur’s wings have hidden UV patterns that the females can see. Females can recognize those UV patterns to tell the males of their species apart from other local yellow butterflies.

Senna and Cassia are favored host plants for the Cloudless Sulphurs. They lay their eggs on these plants which are the food source for their caterpillars. Of course, many other flowering plants offer nectar for feeding the butterflies.

“The caterpillar does all the work, but the butterfly gets all the publicity.”
― George Carlin

Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable, butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life. And everyone deserves a little sunshine.” —Jeffrey Glassberg

Popular Science summarizes an interesting study that showed how the wing patterns of butterflies create optical illusions for their predators:

Northern Harriers, formerly called Marsh Hawks, have an interesting hunting style. They are one raptor that depends on sound as much as site to find their prey. They will course back-and-forth low over the land. The Harriers are looking for and listening for their prey.

The primary prey for these Raptors are small mammals particularly the wide variety of rodents in the Sonoran Desert. They may also prey on small songbirds or reptiles. Northern Harriers are opportunistic hunters.

If they don’t find anything after passing over a field or expanse of land, they may fly a little higher to get a broader look over a larger area of land. Those long wings allow for buoyant flight. The females are dark brown above and both male and female Northern Harriers have that white rump patch.

This farm was in the Avra Velley and you could see both the Tucson mountains and the Catalina mountains in the background

Each of these series of photos are meant to show how this raptor uses her wings to sustain flight when she is higher off the ground. Much of its air time then is spent seemingly coasting without rigorous wing flapping.

To capture prey though, the Northern Harrier must be low to the ground. In the picture below, you can see the outline of the bird’s facial disc. Much like the face of owls, the Northern Harrier’s face is meant to help them hear and capture sound. The feathers inside that facial disc all help move sound to the bird’s ears as it quietly moves across the landscape.

When it hears a sound it will turn quickly to angle towards the source.

The final photo below just might be my favorite. The bird looks like it is intent on hunting and is just a foot or two above the surface of the field where an unsuspecting field mouse might be found.

It was a real treat to watch this Harrier hunting back-and-forth over the farm field. I look forward to seeing more of this species throughout the winter season. In southern Arizona they may be found in wide open landscapes where little vegetation blocks their view and they can use their low-flying, sweeping search style. They may be seen in the agricultural areas northwest of Tucson, the grasslands southeast of Tucson and even in open desert scrub with sparse vegetation. In town they may be found over some local golf courses and Sweetwater Wetlands.

If you’d like to see more about Northern Harriers, you can view my previous post about a male “Gray Ghost” Northern Harrier here and another post about Northern Harriers here.

The Western Giant Swallowtail really is a giant sized butterfly. We see them in the warmer months and after the summer rains. Their wingspan ranges from almost six to over seven inches. Swallowtails were named for the long extension from their hindwings. Those were said to resemble the long tails of Swallows.

I am by no means an expert in butterfly ID but I believe this is a Western Pygmy Blue butterfly. It is one of the smallest butterflies in America. The multiple black dots and the coppery color of its wings help to distinguish it from any other of the “Blue” butterfly species. The wingspan of the Western Pygmy Blue is perhaps only a half-inch.

The number of American Snout butterflies explodes in the Tucson area every monsoon season. It seems like everybody has hundreds and hundreds of these butterflies on the plants in their yard or where they go on walks. American Snouts look like dead leaves on a plant and they have a very elongated “snout”.

A neighbor called me over to his house to show me the hundreds and hundreds of small green caterpillars in his yard. They were all American Snout caterpillars. When I went to his yard, I saw incredibly large numbers of these caterpillars suspended from silk threads hanging from a Mesquite tree adjacent to his porch.

American Snout butterflies lay their eggs on desert Hackberry trees. Hackberry trees are the exclusive host plants for their caterpillars. When a massive population explosion happens, the caterpillars will strip the Hackberry tree of all its leaves. Once that food supply runs out, they use these silk lines to repel down to the ground. Many of them landed on his back porch.

When those caterpillars land on a solid surface, they will pupate and transform into a chrysalis. I was shocked to see that neither birds nor lizards were eating the hundreds of caterpillars on my friend’s porch. Apparently, Hackberry leaves contain bitter compounds which become concentrated in the bodies of the caterpillars. Birds and lizards learned that eating American Snout caterpillars results in a terrible taste in their mouth so they leave those caterpillars alone.

The Bordered Patch is a regularly seen butterfly species in the Tucson area. Unlike many other butterfly species, there is some variability to their wing color.

A very common butterfly in the Tucson area is the Queen Butterfly. Because of the orange and black colors, it is often confused with Monarch Butterflies. Although they are closely related, Monarchs are larger and have solid orange sections in their wings. The Queen Butterflies have white spots on the inside of their wings as well as on the wing edges.

I will have more butterfly photos to share soon, including some very large Swallowtail Butterflies.

It was a good morning, and some of the special things we saw came in threes. There was a Say’s Phoebe hunting from a Fourwing Saltbush. Say’s Phoebes are in Tucson year-round but during the summer months there are fewer because many have gone north for breeding season. We see more here during the winter months and this was one of the arrivals.

Say’s Phoebes are medium-sized Flycatchers with gray-brown backs and a light orange wash to their bellies.

And then the bird did what Say’s Phoebes do. It caught a Damselfly for a quick snack.

A birdie on a golf course is a good result for a golfer and a birdie like the Say’s Phoebe is a good sight for us. Golf courses are also built with hazards to test a player’s skill and strategy. Hazards like sand bunkers and water are common features, but we came across a different hazard- a Diamondback Rattlesnake.

As we walked along a dirt path just off the course, I saw that my friend was standing two yards from the Rattlesnake, unaware of its presence. I called out to him and we all stopped to watch as the Diamondback moved slowly past us in search of breakfast. You can see the scales that form half of the diamond pattern on its back.

It is an urban myth that you can tell a rattlesnake’s age by counting its rattles. Rattles often break off and the snake adds a new rattle every time it sheds its skin which can happen multiple times in a good year. It was fascinating to watch the snake glide past us unbothered by our presence.

Turkey Vultures are a common sight in the Tucson skies these days as they migrate south from their breeding grounds. We came across one that was perched on a rock next to a small creek. It spread its wings in what is called the horaltic pose. Because of the time of day, it was likely warming up.

The bird was in our direct path and as we headed towards the Turkey Vulture it eventually felt uncomfortable with our presence.

Turkey Vultures are large birds with a six foot wingspan. Most of the time when we see Turkey Vultures in the air, they are soaring and are not flapping their wings. However, those huge wings can power the bird’s flight when necessary.

It cleared the ground, caught a thermal and began to soar on the warming air.

We began the morning under a sky full of puffy clouds. As we walked, the desert woke up. Besides the many birds, dragonflies, and beautiful greenery, we enjoyed the good looks at these three local residents. Three was definitely par for the course.

Suddenly, the Green Heron stood straight up, straightening its long neck to look off in the distance!

There were several Green Herons at El Rio that morning. Here, this Heron was again looking short and round. Its long neck was folded tight and its feathers concealed how much its long neck was coiled. It crept forward while still looking rather chunky. Audubon shares more about the necks of Herons.

Suddenly, the Green Heron snapped its head forward. Green Herons have roughly 20 vertebrae in their necks compared to we humans that have 7 in our necks. Those bones are uniquely shaped to allow the Heron to coil its neck at rest, but then to power it forward suddenly.

One Green Heron flew to a far edge of the Preserve. It perched and didn’t hunt but remained in a crouched position. It was looking across the water.......

....at another Green Heron perched atop a submerged tree snag. That Green Heron was doing its best to be tall and look off in a different direction from the other Green Heron.

As we walked around El Rio, the Green Herons would occasionally fly to different hunting spots. Some spots were used over and over again. This Green Heron was not crouched down but instead stood up in a relaxed position.

And, when finally deciding to hunt, it never moved its feet. Instead, it bent over and, with its neck coiled, was focused on the water intent on finding a small fish to grab.

That neck was spring-loaded, and when a fish came near, the Green Heron attacked at lightning speed.

You can read more about these shape-shifting birds at Tucson Bird Alliance. Birdnote also has a nice vignette about this unique Heron.

This Kingbird was not on the most photogenic perch, but when I see a bird holding onto a large green caterpillar my camera responds on its own and becomes activated! Not only was the Kingbird holding onto its meal, but it was killing and tenderizing its meal. I wasn’t sure what it was doing while I was watching, but the photograph shows the details of the action as it whipped the caterpillar into the thick wire.

After several minutes of hard work, dinner was served.

There was a very unusual shorebird in the field. It wasn’t feeding. It wasn’t walking around. It stayed in one spot for the longest time and just stared over its shoulder at us. With a little bit of research, I learned this was a Pectoral Sandpiper. This bird is considered very uncommon in our area during the fall migration period.

A look at the range map from AllAboutBirds hints at why it was hardly moving. This Sandpiper’s summer breeding spot is on the tundra at the top of North America and it winters in South America!!

No wonder it was standing still in this farm field. It probably was very exhausted from its previous night’s long flight. Pectoral Sandpipers fly throughout the long night, stopping each day to rest and feed. Their migration takes them almost 10,000 miles one way each season!!

Sharing the flooded alfalfa field with the White-faced Ibis, the Snowy Egrets, and the Pectoral Sandpiper was a small flock of Cinnamon Teal.

They, too, would feed for a while, then take off and circle the field a few times before landing in the shallow water and begin feeding again. The lower bird in the next photo is a male, with a hint of green on its flight feathers just below the blue wing patch.

Because we were at this farm field in the late afternoon, we were watching all of the birds from a spot to the west of the field and looking towards the east. As photographers, that gave us the best light with the light behind us. It also offered the Catalina Mountains and the Tucson Mountains as a wonderful backdrop to these ducks in flight.

Cinnamon Teal will be found at many ponds and lakes in the Tucson area throughout the winter. You can find the range map for Cinnamon Teal at AllAboutBirds and read more about them at other links on that site.

They are as unique looking in the air as they are on land. Their wingspan is about 3 feet wide. Their body length, measured from the tip of their bill to their tail, is about 20”. In flight, the squared off tail with large feet stretched behind contrasts with the outlandish bill.

We saw this pair in an agricultural field west of Tucson. There were only two birds but watching White-faced Ibis fly through the air is really mesmerizing.

This range map from AllAboutBirds shows the scattered summer breeding grounds of White-faced Ibis. It also shows how widespread their wintering grounds are. On the map below you can see that there is a population of this species in South America. That population does not mix with the North American population and the North American population does not migrate south to South America.

There are times during migration seasons where you can see a flock of White-faced Ibis in the air and, if you are lucky, also find a flock that is resting in mud flats somewhere. Last spring at this exact same location, my friend and I were fortunate to see a small flock that had settled in for the afternoon.

A close-up of one of the birds shows the little white face that they were named after. It really isn’t a white face, but perhaps better described as a white mask around their eyes at the front of their face. During breeding season this feature is present along with one other breeding feature- those red legs.

White-faced Ibis have red eyes year-round. In the summer, their feathers have more of a chestnut or ruddy look than the brown that it has during the winter. Their wings appear to be metallic-green or bronze year-round in the right light .

We watched as this pair of birds would feed in a flooded alfalfa field, probing the ground for food with those long bills. Every half hour or so they would take off and circle the fields for a few minutes before settling back down in the same exact field. Backlit, they are very dark looking birds. Still, the unusual silhouette is so different from most other large birds in flight.

Even as they come down to land, they look so unusual compared to other large waterbirds or raptors.

As they circled the farm field, the Tucson mountains and the Catalina mountains were far off to the east.

It is possible to find these birds in the right habitat during the winter but they are not very common in our area. That’s what makes any sighting so special.

What’s better than one snowy egret? Two snowy egrets!

Snowy Egrets in distant fields or in shallow water are beautiful. When they take to the air, the graceful slow flight accentuates their beauty.

Snowy Egrets fly with their long neck tucked in and their dark legs tipped in yellow feet straight behind them. These days, when not in breeding season, their feet are not as intensely yellow but are a bit duller or yellowish-green.

This was an interesting pair of Snowy Egrets. Snowy Egrets generally migrate alone or in small groups. This pair could have traveled together and now are likely resting, still searching for their winter home.

Both birds are adults. The apparent size difference may be a feature of their posture or what they are standing on. The gray on the neck of the Egret on the right may be due to the bird still being in mid-molt, missing some neck feathers which allows the gray skin underneath to show.

We drove around the farm fields but kept returning to this one flooded field that the Egret seemed to prefer. Every half hour they would take off and fly, circling the greater farm area before returning to the same watery field. As this bird takes off, you can see the spray of water that its legs throw behind.

As it began to tuck up its legs and power forward with a strong downward push of its wings, water continued to trail in the air behind it.

Finally reached cruising speed. Its legs stretched straight behind it as it flew forward just across the surface of the field.

The Egret began to climb into the sky

In the air, the Egret flew with steady and strong wing beats. Its wingspan is between three and four feet tip to tip. The bird itself is about two feet long, beak to tail, and the Snowy Egret’s legs are just under one foot long.

Snowy Egrets are smaller than both Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons. Snowys are medium sized wading birds. Cornell’s AllAboutBirds site begins its overview of Snowy Egrets with “Among the most elegant of the herons, the slender Snowy Egret sets off immaculate white plumage with black legs and brilliant yellow feet.” https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snowy_Egret/overview

The AllAboutBirds site has this to say about Snowy Egrets: Populations have rebounded from severe losses in the late nineteenth century when masses of Snowy Egrets were killed for their long breeding plumes which were used to decorate women’s hats. Concerned citizens curtailed the plume trade in 1910 within North America, although hunting continued longer in Central and South America because of demand in Europe. Once safe from plume hunters, Snowy Egrets rebounded in numbers and even extended their original range. They can be found throughout the U.S, with the exception of some of the more northern states, and Central, and South America. Their biggest continuing threat is habitat loss: more than 100 million acres of wetlands in the U.S. have been drained since colonial times. Since Snowy Egrets spend more time feeding than many other herons, they may be especially sensitive to environmental changes that reduce available prey. The future of this and many other wetland species depends on coastal wetland conservation across North and South America.

The number of American Snout butterflies has erupted after our rains. Two were hanging out together on the wolfberry plant. That “snout” on the front of the butterfly is a pair of elongated mouthparts.

It is still prime Dragonfly season. A pair of Variegated Meadowhawks was flying in tandem. During the mating process, most Dragonfly males grab the female by the head to initiate the mating process. After the mating has happened, some species remain tightly locked together in flight while the female lays her eggs. This prevents other males from crashing the party, swooping in and stealing his girl.

Here the pair is ready to drop down and the female begins positioning herself in order to drop eggs into the water. The male steers and controls the flight.

The Variegated Meadowhawks make their move. The female taps the water releasing a few eggs at a time. This rhythmic movement happens over and over again as she releases eggs in a variety of nearby spots.

At one point a Red-tailed Hawk soared slowly back and forth across the front of Pointer Mountain using the ridge lift from a slight breeze that was hitting the mountain. The Hawk settled onto a perch on a large mesquite tree.

As I’ve mentioned in prior posts, the Blue Dasher is a very common dragonfly at El Rio. It is easy to identify with its powdery blue thorax and abdomen and its large green eyes.

A female Roseate Skimmer was perched parallel to a twig.

To learn about any upcoming walks in El Rio, go to Marana’s Active Community page and type “El Rio” into the search block.

Our Turkey Vultures are one of the subspecies of Vultures in the Americas. They are distantly related to the Vultures in the Old World. They were given their common name in America in the 1700s because of their physical resemblance to Turkeys, another very large bird which also has dark feathers and a bald, red head.

Immature or sub-adult Turkey Vultures have a dark gray head and a dark gray beak. It takes one or two years until these Turkey Vultures achieve their adult look so the odds are that the bird below hatched this spring or early summer. Perhaps next year when it returns it will have the familiar red head of an adult Turkey Vulture.

Although Turkey Vultures don’t have the biggest fan club, they actually have a number of distinctive traits that should bring them more attention. These traits help them to stand out even more from a typical bird. This short video helps to present some of their traits in an interesting manner.

Because it was early morning and there weren’t any heat thermals rising from the fields, the Turkey Vultures tended to stay put on their perches. At most, they would fly from one perch to another.

One Turkey Vulture finally had enough of us. As all the other Turkey Vultures had done, it flew away from us and didn’t give us any opportunity to get any nice soaring shots. We did, however, see its big two-toned wings. Turkey Vultures’ wings are recognizable when they soar far above us. The leading half of their underwing is dark brown or black, while all of the long, trailing flight feathers are white or silvery. The Turkey Vulture’s wingspan is up to six feet, measured from wingtip to wingtip!

For a little more on these interesting birds, also in a humorous fashion, listen to the “Bird Noir” report from Birdnote.

I misidentified two dragonflies in my recent post titled “More Dragonflies from El Rio Preserve.” What I stated was ‘another male Western Pondhawk’ was really a Blue Dasher. Both have blue abdomen’s but the Blue Dasher has green eyes and a white face as pictured. I also mislabeled the rare visitor to Arizona. It was a Pin-tailed Pondhawk, not a Pennant. Thank you to Barb L. and Dennis Paulson for correcting me. You can see the corrections in the original post here.

Male Costa’s Hummingbirds are known for their bright violet/purple gorget, or throat feathers. In an adult male, those feathers flare out wildly to the side of their neck like an overgrown mustache. The birds I was watching were all juveniles with their purple gorget feathers just beginning to grow in. The bird below is barely growing in his new head feathers and his new throat feathers but he does already have that long mustache on his right side.

When the bird turned to the left, you could see that the feathers did not grow symmetrically. His left side doesn’t have those long feathers yet. You can begin to see some of the purple on his head though now that the light is hitting those feathers just right.

The next picture is a different Costa’s Hummingbird. This young male is starting to grow in his gorget feathers.

Here is the third of the three juvenile Costa’s that I watched for an hour. Each one of them had slightly different facial colors. All three engaged in continuous chases in battles for territory. Despite the fact that there were many more feeders in my front and backyard than there were hummingbirds and plenty to go around, none of these birds considered sharing the feeders.

Costa’s Hummingbirds live in the Sonora and Mojave deserts as well as coastal areas along the Gulf of California. They are the most common Hummingbird in my yard. I do have Broad-bills that are regular residents. Anna’s, Rufous, and Black-chinned Hummingbirds migrate through at this time of year.

You can learn more about Costa’s Hummingbirds at this Tucson Bird Alliance page or at the AllAboutBirds site.

The Raven on the left flew off leaving just one Common Raven on the tree snag. I learned that at this time of year, Common Ravens may gather in large flocks. Most of those birds are either young adults or juvenile birds. Breeding pairs of adult Common Ravens do not join those flocks but stick together in order to protect their territories. The bird below is a very young bird. As it looks back at the other birds, it doesn’t show the thick, stiff nasal bristles on its bill like an adult bird would. A young, juvenile Common Raven has very thin, sparse nasal bristles that are less obvious.

The Common Raven turned and rubbed its beak against the hard surface of the tree snag. The beaks of birds are made out of keratin, a protein substance that our human fingernails are made from. All birds will rub their bills or beaks on the side of hard surfaces as this bird is doing in order to clean, sharpen and maintain them. You can learn about this behavior here and here.

Then the bird began to call out to its friends again. Who knows why it chose to not fly off? Instead, it was calling out to the dozens and dozens of ravens that were scattered all around. In the picture below, you can see another indication that this is a young bird. Notice the red on the inside of its mouth? I learned that young Common Ravens have pink or red on the insides of their mouths. That color helps the adults to spot the open mouth in order to feed their young. Similarly, all young birds have a lighter color to the inside of their mouths or to the gape, the fleshy part at the corner of their mouths.

The Common Raven turned and continued to call out to the rest of the flock. Again, you get a very good look at the inside of its mouth. As this Raven ages, the inside of its mouth will turn dark gray or black, just like that of all adult Common Ravens.

Common Ravens remain in these large flocks between the ages of one to three. They become mature and begin courting behaviors and form breeding pairs generally some time between the ages of two and four. Once they form a pair bond, they leave the flock and then will live the rest of their lives as a pair.

A few of the birds had been resting around the fields. One of the Swainson’s Hawks took off.

We followed this bird as it slowly climbed into the sky.

Swainson’s Hawks are birds that summer in the Great Plains and Western United States and up through Canada. During winter, almost all of them fly to South America and winter in Argentina as the range map below shows. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Swainsons_Hawk/maps-range

While Swainson’s Hawks come in a wide variety of looks, nearly all have dark flight feathers set behind lighter feathers at the front of their wings. You can see that in the bird below.

The Swainson’s Hawk powered past all of the farm buildings and lifted into the sky.

I mentioned that most Swainson’s Hawks have light flight feathers and darker feathers towards the front of their underwing. I also mentioned that Swainson’s Hawks come in a variety of looks. A small percentage are what is called a dark morph. Their underwings look a bit different as you can see in the Swainson’s Hawk below.

Here is another look of this Swainson’s Hawk as it was gliding through the air.

In a typical year, the great volume of Swainson’s Hawks may begin passing through Southern Arizona near the end of September. I’ll be looking for them.

Here’s a look at that same Red Saddlebags from a distance. Those eyes are one of a number of things that make Dragonflies formidable hunters. You can read more about these fascinating insects at the Natural History Museum of the UK.

From this perspective, you can see how the “saddlebags” fit on the hind wings of the Dragonfly.

A female Roseate Skimmer perched parallel to the twig she was on. Male Roseate Skimmers are rose-colored but the females are an orange hue. You can see that her hind wings are broader and have more surface area than her forewings. Dragonflies’ hind wings work independently from their forewings helping to give Dragonflies incredible agility and the ability to fly backwards.

Unlike many female Dragonflies with more muted colors, the female Western Pondhawks have a bright green color. As we slowly wandered around at El Rio, we affirmed that we were more likely to find the female Dragonflies away from the water. Male Dragonflies tend to aggressively patrol the water while the females, outside of breeding, spend most of their time in brush away from the water.

The male Western Pondhawk below shares the green face of the female, and the blue eyes, but its body is powder blue with that pruinose, waxy coating.

This is a similar looking dragonfly with a blue abdomen, but with the green eyes and white face this is a Blue Dasher.

You may remember my photo from the August 20 post on dragonflies that showed a Red Saddlebags caught in a spider’s web. Today’s photos were taken at the end of August, and we saw another dragonfly in the same spider’s web. This time, it was a Western Pondhawk and the spider was enjoying its meal!! Dragonflies, the ultimate predators, can also become prey. Erasmus Darwin, the grandfather of Charles Darwin, wrote, “Such is the condition of organic nature! whose first law might be expressed in the words ‘Eat or be eaten!’ and which would seem to be one great slaughter-house, one universal scene of rapacity and injustice!”

A day prior to our visit to El Rio, a birder had reported seeing a rare-to-Arizona Dragonfly. Pin-tailed Pondhawks have only been found in Arizona a few times in the past, so this sighting was special. While my friend and I were looking at Dragonflies, a Dragonfly enthusiast happened to be looking up at a tree next to us. I asked if he had seen the Pin-tailed Pondhawk and he said that it had been seen in two of the tamarisk trees we were next to. With some of his coaching, I was able to find the Pondhawk. The photo may not be the greatest but it documents this special insect!!

Part of what makes Dragonflies so intriguing is their prehistoric origins. Fossils of Dragonflies show that these insects were flying more than 300 million years ago. That means they predate dinosaurs by over 100 million years and birds by over 150 million years. A close cousin to today’s Dragonflies were the now extinct Griffinflies, the largest insect ever. I can’t imagine what it would be like running across something with the skills of a dragonfly and a wingspan of two and a half feet!