The little Cooper’s Hawk turned its back to me, and then looked over its left shoulder. The bird’s face was still covered with white natal down feathers. At this age, the eyes of this young bird are blue/gray. As it matures the eyes will turn yellow.

And then the nictitating membrane happened! It is always startling to see this in photos because, in real time, that blink happens faster than our eyes can notice it. If you look closely, you can see some of the white downy feathers just barely hanging to the back of its head. Those have been pushed out by new feathers growing in.

In the pond below the Cooper’s Hawk nest, a male Mallard was busy preening. The bright bluish wing patch is bordered by white and black lines. Usually hidden, that wing patch was revealed during this preening session. The color of that patch is not a pigment, but structural features in each feather break up light to give the wing patch that nice color.

Coming around a corner near the end of my morning walk, I saw a large Kingsnake spread out across the middle of the path. There was a very big bulge in the middle of this snake. It had definitely captured something recently and was just laying there digesting its meal.

Meanwhile, a Rock Squirrel just off of the path was watching the snake very closely. Occasionally it would turn its back and wave its tail in the air, warning all nearby creatures about this deadly predator.

Although the creatures above were very nice to see, my “bird-of-the-day” was this male Rose-breasted Grosbeak. As its name implies, this bird has a very large beak and a rose-colored triangle across its breast.

One look at this range map and you might ask what the Grosbeak was doing in Tucson. On the map, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are not shown to be spending any time west of Texas. While they are rare here, some birds are found in southern Arizona during spring migration. I was fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time to briefly see the Grosbeak.

The Grosbeak turned around for a second allowing us to see the black and white feathers of its back.

The Rose-breasted Grosbeak turned around once more, then stayed for a bit before flying off to the east and beyond the boundaries of Sweetwater.

Sweetwater and southern Arizona have a wonderful selection of birds which summer here and an equally wonderful number of birds which winter here. They are dependable enough that you can count on seeing them annually. The surprises pass through during spring or fall migration. Some migrating birds are very regular. Some, like this Rose-breasted Grosbeak, are rare so a sighting like this was very special.

This bird was singing up a storm. We were in this area near the end of April, so birds of all sorts were claiming territories and singing often to court females. You can hear the Yellow-eyed Junco singing in this short Birdnote story.

We also saw the Junco that is more common throughout the United States, the Dark-eyed Junco. Its range map is certainly very different from that of the Yellow-eyed.

At the Southwestern Research Center, a number of birds besides the Juncos were feeding on the grassy lawn. A classic looking male House Finch was feeding nearby. This one was a brilliant red! Male House Finches get their red color from their diet by eating fruits and seeds that are rich in carotenoids, a natural pigment.

Outside of Portal in the community of Paradise, we spent a few hours on the porch of the George Walker House. Their yard is designed to attract the many species of birds common in that habitat. The Bridled Titmouse made a few appearances. This bird is another unique resident of southeastern Arizona. Its range map is almost an exact duplicate of that of the Yellow-eyed Junco.

The black and white patterning on its face and a Mohawk gives this little bird a unique look. The Bridled Titmouse are always on the move but they do come out in the open regularly.

Back at the Research Station, an American Robin was a frequent visitor to the grass outside of our cabin. Robins in our part of the country are not as vividly colored as their eastern cousins. Still, they are unmistakable to ID. Robins are perhaps the most familiar and easily recognizable birds in our country. The range map shows them to be as widespread as the Dark-eyed Junco is.

I had seen glimpses of a pair of House Wrens around our cabins but they never were still enough for me to photograph. On our last morning at the Research Center, I went to the side of the creek behind our cabin and just sat there listening to the water. Rather than chasing birds, I thought I’d see if the birds would come to me. After a half hour, a House Wren did appear. He spent time hopping among the creekside rocks looking for prey.

At one point, the House Wren did something that I could only see clearly when I processed my photos later. It looks like the Wren is ‘anting’, a behavior where the bird spreads its wings on the ground encouraging ants to crawl on its feathers to help with feather maintenance. But I didn’t see any ants there and the behavior lasted a fraction of a second. Whatever it was doing, it looked interesting.

Mexican Jays are ubiquitous in the Sky Islands. They let you know they are nearby and they are inquisitive. We saw this fellow on the trail at the end of South Fork. I’ll bet he’s learned to beg for food from many hikers and tourists over the years. He sure seemed to be looking for a handout.

Common Ravens are smart members of the Corvid family and are seen throughout the western part of our country. People from the eastern half of the US recognize American Crows, cousins to these Ravens. American Crows are about the size of pigeons while Common Ravens are nearly as large as Red-tailed Hawks. This Raven flew into a Cottonwood tree while I was sitting on the creekside and then called and called and called.

There were many nice things to see in the Chiricahuas.

Blue Grosbeaks are long distance migrants as their range map shows but they are very common throughout the summers in southern Arizona.

The males have a deep blue color and an enormous silvery bill for which it is named. They have two wingbars described as a chestnut color.

The male Blue Grosbeak also has a small black mask in front of its eyes.

Every time I see a Blue Grosbeak I am reminded of how amazing our natural world is. The blue is such a bold and striking color, and yet the bird’s feathers are not really colored blue! Blue feathers that we see on birds are not pigmented blue. They may actually be gray or brown in color but the appearance of vibrant blue is an optical illusion created by how microscopic structures in the feathers bend and scatter light!! The Smithsonian Institution explains how this happens.

If you would like to learn more about “What Makes Bird Feathers so Colorfully Fabulous”, Audubon covers the topic well here. So even though blue feathers are not really blue, a Blue Grosbeak is still a really stunning bird to see.

A pair of Great Horned Owls attempted to nest in an Aleppo Pine in my neighborhood. Nobody in the neighborhood ever saw young so we feel that the nest failed. For a while, the female Great Horned Owl would sit on a limb underneath the nest. This photo captured a great look at her brood patch on a breezy morning. The brood patch is where mother birds lose feathers on their breast due to the hormonal changes they go through. This feature allows for the mother to have direct skin-to-egg or skin-to-hatchling contact to provide warmth.

The Arizona Daily Star ran a story about a Great Horned Owl which had chosen to nest in a planter above the patio of Noble Hops, a restaurant in Oro Valley. Although the nest site appeared precarious, the little Owlets grew and survived this period in their lives, while being conversation starters for diners in the patio below them.

A friend told me about a Great Horned Owl nesting in a saguaro west of the Tucson Mountains. Great Horned Owls do not build nests but, as in this case, they use nests that large raptors had built in previous years.There were two nestlings there although I could barely see onlyone. I only visited the nest this once.

Arizona Raptor Center rescued a Western Screech Owl that had gotten caught in a snap trap. The Owl, brought in after a full day in the trap, was cared for and healed by the wonderful volunteer falconers who “are” the Arizona Raptor Center. Once this female healed, I was invited to the release where the Owl was returned to the yard it had been found in so it could rejoin its partner. After a few seconds looking around to reorient herself, the Western Screech Owl took off.

It flew directly to a safe space in the yard’s wood pile. It was apparent this Owl knew the yard well.

It looked around at the handful of observers and photographers.

Feeling in control and free again, the Screech Owl finally felt comfortable enough to close its eyes and rest. It was home again!

Elf Owls are the smallest species of Owls in the world. Less than 6 inches tall, they weigh under two ounces (not even as much as a new pencil). A friend told me about some Elf Owls she knew about outside of Tucson. One night three of us went to that desert area to listen and search for the Owls. It took a while but after dark we heard two Elf Owls calling back and forth and were able to see one of them fly into a nest cavity in a saguaro cactus.

I’ve returned two other times already to listen to and observe the Owls’ behaviors. We believe the female Elf Owl is on eggs as she no longer takes flights outside of the nest during our time with her after dark. Her vocalizations have also changed now that she is in the nest and not flying around as she was on the first night.

The male Elf Owl makes food deliveries after dark. Elf Owls come to southern Arizona every summer for breeding season. This range map tells you where Elf Owls can be found. At that web site, you can look up more information on Elf Owls.

You can learn more about Elf Owls from this Tucson Bird Alliance story. The National Audubon Society has some “fun facts” about Owls you can read here. We minimize our time with these Owls but we are very excited to be able to witness these special birds during such a special season.

We had seen a few juvenile Yellow-eyed Juncos there earlier, so it was nice to finally see the adults. The little ones don’t have the same plumage as the adult Juncos yet. Their eyes are dark compared to the adult’s. There are a few rusty feathers on this bird’s back but it will be another month or two before it will molt and gain a full back of the rusty feathers.

Meanwhile, an adult had found some food for the youngster. Both male and female Yellow-eyed Juncos look alike so I couldn’t tell which parent this was. And both parents feed the fledgling birds after they leave the nest.

The adult bird hadn’t left its perch, but the youngster approached begging for food. You can see the streaky breast that young Yellow-eyed Juncos have. As an adult it will have a smooth gray breast.

The adult gave the insect to its young which took its time to swallow the food.

The little one continued to struggle with the insect.

Finally, it swallowed the snack and the adult and the little one parted ways. They would remain near each other so the feeding would continue.

A correction to a recent post: In my photos of Panama birds along the Pacific Coast, I misidentified one bird. Matt G. recognized that the bird I called a Long-billed Curlew was actually a Hudsonian Whimbrel. Both coastal birds look similar but the Whimbrel can be identified by the dark striped crown, the dark eye line, and the pale eyebrow Curlews have a much larger bill. Thank you Matt!

I was driving through farmland Northwest of Tucson with a friend of mine earlier this year when we came across this Quail standing guard. We couldn’t see his family on the ground below him in the thick vegetation. However, he obviously knew where his family was.

He would look around. He would call or cluck. He was just an active lifeguard. Finally, he hopped down and joined his family.

Several weeks later in my backyard, I saw another male Gambel’s Quail. This one was busy feeding, but he also had his family on the ground around him. Besides feeding for himself, he would often bring his head up to look around for predators or intruders.

At one point, he noticed something significant and stopped for a better look. Whatever it was disappeared and he returned to feeding rather quickly. I like how the dried paloverde leaves create a carpet for this bird to feed on.

This bird was feeding early in the season before any of the quail eggs in the neighborhood hatched. His life got much busier once that happened.

It was just after sunrise and low tide- a prime feeding time. As they do, all of the birds were in constant motion during this feeding window. The White Ibis moved around constantly finding things to eat. In the US, this species is found on the Gulf Coast and the southern Atlantic coast. (See their range map here.)

Meanwhile, the Ruddy Turnstones continued to find food in shallow water among the rocks. During the breeding season which beginns in May, many of the feathers on the back of this bird will have turned that ruddy color that gives the bird its name. However, to see these birds in breeding plumage you have to travel to the Arctic tundra where their breeding range exists. These are long distance flyers! (Click here for their range map.)

Willets are large common shorebirds along the coasts of most of the Americas. With their shape and thick long bill, they are fairly easy to recognize. The ends of their bills are sensitive with specialized nerve endings. This helps them to locate hidden prey in the wet sand through touch and vibrations. (Range map here.)

The Tricolored Heron looks like many other Herons. It was named for the three colored plumage that it has. The colors become more vibrant during the breeding season, which happens once the rainy season begins. At that time the lavender/purple chest plumes are more visible against the gray/blue feathers of its neck, back and upper wings. The white belly, color number three, is not visible in this profile photo but it was there. (Range map)

Long-billed Curlews are always a delight. That long bill is so unusual. Their bill, like that of the Willet, has a very sensitive tip that helps them to find prey in the wet sand. The curved bill allows them to rotate their bills under the mud to probe a wider underground area than a straight bill could and the curve allows the Curlew to follow the contours of burrows in the mud. (See range map.)

Brown Pelicans are a bird of our coastal waters. They will fly low over the waves in single file, and then plunge headlong into the water in pursuit of fish. By the early’70’s, they were an endangered species. DDT and other pesticides decimated the population of Brown Pelicans. The federal banning of DDT allowed this species to survive and now they are found along both the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts of America and down the coastlines to the northern part of South America as their range map shows. Here, they were all gathered on one rock just beyond the mangroves.

Most of the Pelicans were perched on the rock during the morning when I observed them. I did not see any Pelicans actively hunting, but a few Pelicans would arrive at the rock every once in a while. In the background, you can see some of the large container ships waiting for their allotted time to enter the Panama Canal.

Magnificent Frigatebirds are unmistakable in the air. Their long pointed wings, with a wingspan of 7-8 feet, and their long forked tail give them a unique look. I saw a number of these birds at Playa Bonita, but the two in the photo below were seen during our visit to the Panama Canal locks. The bird on the right is a male as evidenced by the red throat. During breeding season, that red throat patch is inflated into a large balloon-like shape as a courtship display. The bird on the left is a female with her black head and white throat. (See their range map.)

At Playa Bonita, I never saw a male Magnificent Frigatebird. Most of the Frigatebirds soaring there were juveniles like the one below with an all white head. Magnificent Frigatebirds are called “seabirds”, i.e., bird species that are adapted to a marine environment and whose food is primarily from the ocean. Seabirds like Magnificent Frigatebirds are able to safely drink salt water. They have evolved to possess “salt glands“ that allow them to extract excess salt from the seawater that they drink.

None of these birds are regular visitors to the Tucson area so it was a treat to see them. Willets are uncommon here but may be present during migration season. Long-billed Curlews are also uncommon in our area.

The Kingsnake made its way into a corner of the porch where there are several large potted plants. It was hard to follow the snake through the maze of the pots and plants there but I could catch glimpses as it curled around, moving throughout the space.

After a minute or two of watching the snake, I noticed a second, larger Kingsnake moving along the same path as the first and heading right for the pots where the first snake was.

This snake also disappeared into the group of pots and plants. It was dark under the pots and I couldn’t really see any interaction between the two snakes. I know they were aware of each other. Every once in a while, one snake would appear more visible. Then it would quickly move back into the shadows and behind the pots.

After a breathtaking seven minutes, one snake slithered over the wall and disappeared.

I never saw the second snake again. Somehow it had vanished while I was moving back and forth around the plants in the corner, trying to get a glimpse of either snake in the openings between the potted plants. Kingsnakes are great snakes to have around. They are non-venomous and eat many things including rodents, small mammals, frogs, bird’s eggs and snakes. Kingsnakes got their name because they will hunt and eat other snakes, including rattlesnakes! You can read more about Kingsnakes in our region at the Desert Museum’s site.

As we quietly observed the nest, one of the parents came flying in from a very distant saguaro perch.

She landed on a saguaro about 40 yards away from the nest.

The angle of the sun from her perch left her head in shadow but she was alert. You can see her brood patch. That is the long part in her breast feathers. As mother birds go through hormonal changes approaching nesting season, they lose the feathers on their breast. This provides a brood patch that allows her to sit with her bare skin directly touching the eggs (and later the hatchlings) to aid in keeping them warm. She watched for a while and then flew off further to the east.

Back on the saguaro nest, one of the young birds was out of the nest on an adjacent saguaro arm. The fledgling Red-tailed Hawk had very pretty plumage.

Here is another shot, taken from a step to my left so that the Hawk’s image is now surrounded by blue sky rather than against the green cactus.

A second bird was standing on the nest. You can see that much of the surrounding saguaro is covered in what we politely call “whitewash”. The nest looked large and likely is several years old by now. In addition, there was a third young Redtail but it remained napping in the nest, laying down during our short visit.

Mom had flown off but about ten minutes later Dad came flying in from the west. As he braked in the air to land, you could see the rusty colored tail feathers that give this hawk its name.

Dad was not too happy that we were in the vicinity of the nest. He voiced his concerns non-stop. If you’ve ever heard the call of any raptor in any TV show or movie, you’ve heard the call of a Red-tailed Hawk. For whatever reason, Hollywood seems to feel that the Redtail’s call is what every raptor should sound like. Birdnote tells us more about Red-tailed Hawks while sharing the well known call they make.

At one point the Red-tailed Hawk closed its nictitating membrane momentarily. I think it gives this bird a ghostly look.

You can see a gallery of many other birds and read about their nictitating membranes at this Birdnote site.

A quick timeline: The Screech Owls began using the box very regularly by February. Changes in the Owl’s behavior shortly afterward made me think that nesting/egg laying behavior had begun and on March 14, Hawk Watch International began monitoring the nest box weekly. Using a handheld camera on a long stick, a HawkWatch volunteer would take a one-second video of the inside of the nest box. On April 4, 3 eggs could be seen. On April 25, one fuzzy Owlet was visible in the one-second video. Two weeks after the first owlet was seen, four baby Owlets were seen as they continued to grow rapidly. Between the tight space in the nest, babies begging for food, and the increased Tucson heat, it wasn’t long before the mother Owl began spending time outside of the nest box during the day. On May 9, I found her under the porch at midday.

There was barely room to stand, but it was cooler and breezier under the porch than in the now crowded quarters of the nest box. Mom still tried to get some sleep during the day. She saw me, but figured my presence was not a risk at this time. If she had been worried, she would have raised the feather tufts on her head. She is spreading her wings to help to cool her body.

She figured I wasn’t much of a threat and turned to rest again.

In that position, a close look at her wing feathers revealed the comb-like structures on the leading edge of each of her flight feathers. That feature breaks up the air turbulence as she flies, helping to lessen the sound of the wind enabling the silent flight that Owls are known for.

Two days later I walked out on the porch without looking for the birds. The Owl, which had been perched on the ledge outside of my kitchen window, was startled and flew into a nearby jojoba plant. Once she landed there, two Curve-billed Thrashers began screaming at her from outside of the jojoba bush. Her raised feather ear tufts let me know she was extremely alert and on edge. Those feather tufts can help to camouflage the owl by breaking up her silhouette and helping her blend into the surrounding tangle of branches.

It didn’t take long for her to calm down again and begin to continue her daytime nap. She was still alert, but half asleep as well.

Two days later when I arrived at home just before noon, I thought she might be on the patio again and snuck around the house to check . I saw the Western Screech Owl taking advantage of my open kitchen window and the cool air that was blowing out from inside the house.

She appeared a bit concerned, but quickly returned to her relaxed pose and I walked away and headed into the cool house myself.

An hour later I noticed her in the same place, taking advantage of the cool air. It was interesting because when I watched her while I was outside the house, she didn’t seem to mind. When she spotted me looking at her from inside the house, she was either more concerned or more cautious. She flew off quickly.

Four hours later and the Owl had found yet another way to stay cool in our increasingly hot days. I saw her resting in the bird bath, cooling off.

A few days later, the team from HawkWatch International came over to band the birds. I will follow up with more shots of the parent birds and some shots of the little ones.

The range map for Summer Tanagers shows how present this species is across the eastern and southern states. As always, I get these range maps from Cornell’s AllAboutBirds webpage.

I saw this Summer Tanager at a spot along the Santa Cruz River. The river once flowed year round with water from natural springs and mountain runoff. In the 1900’s, increased pumping of surface water and groundwater combined to dry up the river. Now, through increased conservation efforts, water is flowing regularly again in parts of the river. A friend of mine and I like to go to one part of the river between Nogales and Green Valley, pull up chairs, and then sit and wait for hours for birds to come to the river to drink or bathe.

The day I saw this bird, we sat for two hours. We did see this male fly in and out of the area. Most of the time we just saw a flash of red. Once or twice, it stopped in the open allowing us to get good looks. There was a yellowish female flitting around also, but the male was much more present.

At one point he landed on the ground and came close to the water. Although we were watching from a distance, he was very aware of our presence and decided not to risk coming to the water to drink in this spot.

Another spectacular summer visitor is the Yellow-breasted Chat. They, too, are found in riparian areas. Unlike Summer Tanagers, the Chat is much harder to see. They are very skulky birds. Most of the time you know Chats are around because the males sing their songs over and over again from somewhere inside the brush. We heard the Chats throughout our two hour stay, but only got one very clean look at one bird. This Chat came down to the river to drink and to bathe.

You can listen to the large repertoire of songs of the Yellow-breasted Chats at AllAboutBirds while you look at their range map.

The Chat might have been 10-15 yards away from us and it came to the river in a thickly vegetated area. AllAboutBirds describe the Yellow-breasted Chats as having “ a bright yellow breast and bold face markings. The face is gray, with a white eyering that connects to the bill, forming ‘spectacles.’ They also have a white malar or mustache stripe bordering the cheek. The lower belly is white.” Males and females look identical but the males have black between the eyes and its bill, where in females that spot is gray.

The Chat took some drinks but then began to clean itself. Nothing like a good bath to help maintain healthy plumage.

The Chat moved forward only a few feet during this time along the river bank. It seemed to be aware of our presence but we never flinched and the only sound we made were the clicks from our camera’s shutters. It continued its morning routine.

Yellow-breasted Chats are songbirds. You can hear them in this Birdnote piece on this warbler.

During the two hours we were there, when we weren’t seeing birds we could hear a variety of bird songs from the thick riparian area. Sitting by a slowly running creek in the afternoon is a nice way to spend a few hours on a hot afternoon in May. The surprise of getting nice looks of a Summer Tanager and a Yellow-breasted Chat made it an even better day!!

This male Scott’s Oriole perched in a juniper tree while waiting to get to the feeders at the George Walker House in Paradise. The male is a striking bird with a bright, lemon-yellow body contrasting with a jet black head, breast, and back. It has a prominent white wingbar and it has sharp bill has a blue base to it.

This range map from AllAboutBirds shows the areas that Scott’s Orioles can be found in during the warmer breeding season. They are found in appropriate habitats within those “orange” regions on the map.

We stayed at the Southwestern Research Station in the Chiricahuas. It is operated by the American Museum of Natural History to support research and education in the incredibly rich and biodiverse area. Scott’s Orioles seem to nest there annually. One morning, I was sitting on our apartment’s porch and I saw a bird make several flights across the parking lot into a tall yucca plant. I looked more closely and realized that the bird was a female Scott’s Oriole which was fixing up her nest.

Without getting near the nest, I stood across the parking lot, waiting and watching. With the telephoto lens on my camera, I was able to observe her bringing fibers to her nest which was located in the yucca. Female Scott’s Orioles are a dull yellow and lack the striking black of the males.

Scott’s Orioles have been called “Yucca Orioles” due to their preference for building nests in yuccas and using yucca fibers to build their nests with. You can see the cup-like nest to the right of this bird.

I never saw her fly directly into the nest. She would land on the yucca, hop around a bit, and then finally enter the nest. Once there, she would place the fiber where it needed to go, and then she would exit the nest a minute or two later.

I never saw a male Scott’s Oriole near that nest during my stay. They were on the grounds of the Southwestern Research, but never near the nest. I understand that while the female is weaving her nest together, the male’s role is to protect the territory from rivals and predators. The bird below was one of the males that I photographed at the George Walker house.

The Scott’s Oriole is a delightful summering bird to see and the Tucson Bird Alliance tells us more about this species.

I became aware of one Great Horned Owl family in a saguaro cactus early in April this year. Usually these Owls will claim the nest built by a large bird in a past year for their nesting site. By nesting earlier than most other local bird species, a Great Horned Owl can move onto a nest before last year’s bird realizes its loss. However, Great Horned Owls may also accept a wide variety of flat or bowl-shaped surfaces for a nest site. A saguaro cactus that has lost its central trunk offers a very nice bowl for a Great Horned Owl to nest in. I first visited this nest on April 11. Mom was there with three young Owlets.

Great Horned Owls are generalists and live in a wide variety of environments including urban and suburban areas. This nest was in a very busy retirement community north of Tucson and this is the fifth year in a row that the Owl has chosen to use this nest location. Needless to say, an Owl in a location like this gets an extraordinary amount of attention. The homeowner had posted this sign in the front yard of her home:

In this heavily populated community, onlookers and observers stopped by constantly to check out the nest. During each of my visits to the nest lasting perhaps an hour, there was a steady stream of cars and golf carts swinging by the street with people stopping to take cell phone photos and videos of the owls. These birds were celebrities! One day we saw a fellow from a neighboring community standing in the bed of his pickup truck, inspired to paint this special occurrence.

Two weeks later and the Owls had grown quite a bit. Mom was no longer in the nest. It was too crowded and I imagine the Owlets would be nagging her for food and attention if she were there. The young Great Horned Owls were growing in feathers, including the first hint of those tufts on their head that give the birds their name, Great “Horned” Owls. Sometimes those feathers are referred to as “ear tufts” because they remind us of the ears of some mammals, but those feathers have nothing to do with the Owl’s hearing. Those feather tufts primarily are there as camouflage to break up the bird’s silhouette during the daytime.

A few days later and there were only two Owls in the nest. The homeowner let us know that one of the young birds had fledged and made it into her backyard, perching nicely in a tree there. It was close enough for the Owl’s parents to watch over it and take care of it until it learned to fly.

At that point, the mother Great Horned Owl spent her days in the mesquite tree that served as an umbrella for the saguaro nest. Most of the time she was hidden from street view but on one occasion, she was perched out in the open facing the setting sun. The father Owl was nowhere to be seen. Typically, the father Great Horned Owl spends its days away from the nest tree, but within earshot and probably line of sight to the nest.

By April 27, a bit over two weeks from my first visit to the nest, the two Owlets remaining in the nest had developed more and more of their flight feathers. Their black facial disc was now very apparent.

I returned on May 3rd and all of the Owls were now out of the nest. The Owlet in the backyard had returned to the front yard! They had fledged but all three remained close to the nest under the canopy of the mesquite tree alongside their saguaro nest. It’s likely these birds were not yet able to fly.

Two of the Owlets were visible in the open. They were waiting for the sun to set so that Mom and Dad could begin the night’s routine of delivering food to these hungry young birds.

While the birds did not show concerns about my presence, I knew this would be my last visit. These birds were ready to head out in the world. The third Owl was tucked in behind a jumble of branches so I didn’t get any shareable photos of it. That third one did appear to be the youngest of the group.

Over the next few months, as the birds begin to fly, the parents will continue to provide food for them. They will begin to learn to hunt but are still dependent on the parents for several months. At the same time, new adult feathers will grow in over the first half year of their life, pushing out all of the juvenile feathers that allowed the birds to leave the nest and get around the neighborhood.

It is tough to survive in nature. Studies have shown that about 50% of young Great Horned Owls die before their first birthday. Starvation and injuries occur during that year and these inexperienced Owls can have a tough time making it in the world.

To observe Great Horned Owls during nesting season, you can follow two local nest cams. By now, perhaps only videos are available as the Owls may have left their nests. One Owl Cam is at Ventana Canyon and the other is in Saddlebrooke.

The dorsal (upper) side of this butterfly’s wings are a shiny metallic blue.The underside of the wings, visible when the butterfly is resting with its wings together, provide a better camouflage for the resting butterfly as the colors are much more muted.

The Northern Yellow Warbler male is a bright yellow bird with beady black eyes and rusty streaks on its breast. Warblers eat mostly insects, and this bird is looking very closely for even the tiniest prey it can find.

Warblers are constantly on the move while flitting through the trees, looking for insects. This Northern Yellow Warbler was no exception. I felt lucky to catch him out in the open for a fraction of a second.

Any time I am in the upper elevations of the Sky Islands, my attention is always captivated by the texture of the ponderosa pine trees. The richly colored bark is broken into what looks like large puzzle pieces, edged deeply in black.

Cave Creek Ranch is known for its cabins and for the many feeders available for the wildlife. This Gould’s Wild Turkey, a Tom or male, came in to scratch for bird seed that had fallen to the ground. Gould’s are the largest of the turkey subspecies in the United States. As part of their handsome looks, they sport a long beard of hair-like feathers. The short pointed flesh between its nostrils and eyes is called a snood. The snood may be short when the turkey is relaxed or anxious.

If the Tom Turkey gets more excited, the snood will elongate. Wild Turkeys have a very unusual looking face, to say the least. The red bumpy features are called caruncles, and the red fleshy flap of skin on its neck is called a wattle. Birdnote tells us what a wattle is good for!

The plants at mid-elevation of the Chiricahuas are very different from those in Tucson’s Sonoran Desert valley. One that I had never seen before was this yellow growth near the base of some trees. Called Mexican Cancer-root, it is a parasitic plant that grows on the roots of some oak trees.

We were staying at the Southwestern Research Station, at about 5,500 feet elevation. Javelinas came through the site. Those Javelinas seemed to have darker and longer hair than that of the javelinas I see in my neighborhood in Tucson. Perhaps the colder weather at the higher elevation had something to do with that. Two Javelinas ran through the yard before one stopped and raised its coarse, wiry hair. It might have been agitated that I was walking through “its” yard, even at a distance.

Although I came to the Chiricahuas for the birds, there was much more to see there!

Often, Egrets and Herons may take a while to subdue a Bullfrog and swallow it, but this Black-crowned Night Heron wasted no time. It somehow got the Bullfrog into the right position and then began swallowing. You can see quite a bulge in the throat of the Heron.

It tipped its head up to ease the process. You can see that the Heron has engaged its nictitating membrane over its eye. That hazy surface allows the Heron to see while offering the protection from any wild kick of the Bullfrog.

All that is left visible of the Bullfrog is its flippers- its hind feet!

One more gulp......

And dinner was served. I find it amazing that a Black-crowned Night Heron, weighing perhaps two pounds, can comfortably swallow a Bullfrog that may weigh up to one pound! There is a significant size difference, but the Bullfrog is built out of muscle and the Heron is built with feathers and hollowed bones filled with air sacs. I don’t know of many creatures that can quickly consume a meal that is half of its own body weight!!!

The Black-crowned Night Heron moved from the edge of the water to a slightly higher perch. It won’t need to hunt again for a while.

Great Horned Owlets begin to leave the nest around the age of 6 weeks, a process called “branching”. They begin taking short flights soon afterwards but it takes a few weeks to master flight.

When I visited the nest late in April, all three owlets were out of the nest. Most of the soft white downy feathers have been replaced by mottled brown and white juvenile plumage. The facial disc has developed and the owls were not quite adult size yet. You can see two of this owl’s four talons. One of three toes in the front has turned towards the back. This allows for a stronger grip for catching prey and also holding onto branches when they perch.

One of the young Owls had dropped out of the nest. It was not yet able to fly but, like many other owls in this situation, it found a safe place to spend the days. (This is a common occurrence and when it happens the parent Great Horned Owls are quite comfortable and capable of taking care of their young.) When that little Owl was discovered there, the humans on site roped off the stairwell to ensure that people wouldn’t disturb this bird.

You can see how well this bird’s wing feathers have grown. There is still some ‘baby’ down near the bottom of the Owlet’s front but it is also beginning to grow out the feather tufts on top of its head.

Back to the Owlet in the tree, at one point it took a hop along the branch to get closer to Mom.

Another Owlet was on the same branch. It, too, moved closer to Mom. This bird was the youngest of the three. You can see much more of its first, soft down on this bird’s belly. Under its wings you can see what are called pin feathers. Those stiff, white tubes under the wing are new feathers growing out from the Owl’s skin. The feather barbs are wrapped tightly at this point and the feather will unfurl as the keratin sheath of the feathers wears off.

Something has happened to the nest by this time. We couldn’t tell whether the wind brought it down or something else caused it to collapse, but the birds were fine without it. It did make it a bit more difficult for the young bird to lay down but it found the right set of branches to support it.

Having found the perfect resting spot, the young Owlet proceeded to take a cat nap!

Four days later, each of the young Great Horned Owls had grown and all of the Owls had left the nest tree. One was settled into a nearby palm tree for the afternoon. I couldn’t find the second Owlet, but I’m sure it was spending the afternoon in one of the many trees. Mom was nowhere to be seen either but the parents always perch closely to their young.

Meanwhile, the third and youngest bird, had found a mesquite tree in the parking lot to perch in during the day.

Great Horned Owl parents continue to feed their young even after they leave the nest and begin to fly. The parents may continue to feed their young for a few months while they are learning to hunt and developing flight strength. The adults are very protective of their young and will aggressively defend them from potential predators or intruders. It was nice to see this Great Horned Owl family develop so well.

The George Walker House is a historic house in Paradise, Arizona. About five miles outside of Portal, it was built in 1905 in the mining town of Paradise. Now, Paradise is a very small community and the George Walker house has become a mecca for ecotourists and bird enthusiasts. Winston and Jackie, the owners, are wonderful hosts to all visitors and their yard is a must-see location. We spent a morning there and saw three different species of Woodpeckers. Acorn Woodpeckers are very common and iconic woodpeckers of southeastern and eastern Arizona mountain ranges.

The Acorn Woodpecker above is a male. It has a red cap that touches a white forehead. The Acorn Woodpecker below is a female. The red on her head is further back and there is black between the red cap and the white forehead. Acorn Woodpeckers are commonly described as having a “clownish” face. They live in social groups and their calls are recognizable to anyone who spends time in the Sky Islands of Arizona.

A female Arizona Woodpecker showed up. Unlike the black and white color of most North American Woodpeckers, the Arizona Woodpecker is brown, the color of tree bark. It has a white cheek patch and a spotted breast. A male would have a red spot at the back of his head so this bird, lacking that red spot, is a female.

The Arizona Woodpecker was named for the area it is found in the United States as the range map (from AllAboutBirds) below indicates.

Arizona Woodpeckers are a small species and they forage by flying to the base of a tree and then they work their way up, probing for insects. I caught this one mid-hop! Birdnote has a really nice piece on these special woodpeckers.

A surprising woodpecker to see was this Red-naped Sapsucker. As its name implies, it has a patch of red at the back of its head. Generally this is a bird we see in the desert during winter. During summer, it breeds further north, so this bird may either have been on its way north, or perhaps it would be summering at a higher elevation in the mountains.

Sapsucker Woodpeckers are named for their habit of drilling rows of holes in trees and then eating the sap that runs out of them. They actually don’t “suck the sap”, they lick it. To learn how they manage this, here’s a Birdnote story to explain the science behind why their bills don’t stick together from that sticky sap.

These mountain woodpeckers are different from the common desert ones we find in the Tucson valley but they are all part of the higher elevations of the Sonoran Desert. It was nice to see all three species while sitting in one place, the porch of the George Walker House. For more about the George Walker House, you can visit their website.

Known as the Elegant Trogon since 1983, its name was changed last year to acknowledge the differences in plumage and range between the birds in Arizona and Mexico from those of the birds in Central America. Prior to 1982, all of these birds were known as the Coppery-tailed Trogons, so this name change reverts back to what the birds were once called. In Arizona, the upper side of the tails can have an iridescent and metallic, orange/yellow hue to them. It is variable due to lighting and other factors. On the first morning on our trip, we found two males.

These Trogons breed regularly in four Arizona mountain ranges: the Chiricahuas, Huachucas, Santa Ritas, and Atascosas. The range map from AllAboutBirds gives a good visual of where to find these birds.

April is when we spent a few days in the Chiricahuas. We were able to hear and see a few Trogons in the South Fork of Cave Creek. This is one of the accessible, well-known spots to see Coppery-tailed Trogons. They are found in sycamore and oak riparian areas within their Arizona range. Their brilliant colors combine rosy red underparts, a shiny green back and chest, a white breast band and a black head. The eye-ring and bill color contrasts with the dark head.

Usually, you find the male Trogons by first hearing their call. Then, the “where’s Waldo” hunt begins the search. For me, I usually spot them when they fly and that red color flashes through the leaves. I describe their call as a barking sound, a repetitive call that resonates through the canyon. You can watch a video at AllAboutBirds of this Trogon making its distinctive call and imagine standing in a mountain canyon listening to the Trogon’s sound.

In between the calls, the Trogon paused for a short time. The males arrive in these canyons early to establish their territories, the females arrive later. We had been told that there were three males in Cave Creek this year and we were fortunate to watch two males ‘discussing’ their territories. There is a one mile long dirt forest road in South Fork. One Trogon was calling from the lower portion of the road and one was calling from the upper. Both birds slowly approached each other, perching and calling over and over again. In the photo below, you can see the three white bands on the undertail and what has been described as “black freckling.”

At one point, the two male Coppery-tailed Trogons were perched in the same tree but on opposite sides of the tree. That spot, apparently, marked the ‘property line’ between their two territories. They eyed each other, but the calling subsided as they just guarded their spot. They watched and they waited.

After a while, both birds agreed to disagree and each flew in opposite directions back into the heart of their own territory. The calling continued as they began going about their day. If you look closely, you can see the serrated edge of the bill in this bird. That cutting edge is serrated to aid in the Trogon’s gripping fruit and holding onto prey. Clicking on the photo will enlarge it, giving you a slightly closer look.

Two days later, we stopped in the South Fork one last time before heading back to Tucson, hoping to see the Trogons again. We did hear and then found one! It spent time calling from up high. These males spend much time calling in the spring both to establish and defend territories and to attract females which will arrive any day soon.

The male Trogons will have scouted out possible nesting sights to show the females. Trogons are what is called secondary cavity nesters. They don’t create cavities in trees, but will use the cavities that woodpeckers have carved out. Sycamore trees also provide natural cavities. In older trees, branches break off leaving openings. Fungi enters and decays the trunk, creating nesting holes for Trogons and many other cavity nesting birds.

Tucson Bird Alliance provides a nice summary about this southern Arizona specialty. I was sure happy to get good looks at it.

In the book “A Most Remarkable Creature”, author Jonathan Meiburg introduces Caracaras with “...if you try to imagine ten separate attempts to build a Crow on a Falcon chassis, with results falling somewhere between elegant, menacing and whimsical, you wouldn’t be far off.” Then he adds: “All have broad wings, hooked beaks, and an alert, curious expression.” He finishes with, “Their most striking qualities, however, are their minds. Unlike most birds of prey, Caracaras are social and curious, and they feed with gusto on foods other predators disdain.”

Immature Crested Caracas take a few years to develop the white and black feathers seen on the adult above. The bird below shows brown feathers and a dusty neck. The bare facial skin is still pink but will become orange as it ages.

The Crested Caracaras wandered through the farm fields where the alfalfa is almost tall enough to be harvested. These birds stand about two feet tall. Crested Caracaras are scavengers and opportunists. They will eat whatever is easiest to find or catch and they were in search of food.

Although Crested Caracaras are in the Falcon family, they are not fast flyers like all the other Falcons are. They evolved to be a more specialized, ground-based bird. They have broader wings than Falcons and are strong but deliberate flyers. I like to describe these birds in flight as having white on their four corners, seen below.

If you want to see Crested Caracaras anywhere in the US, you need to come to southern Arizona or southern Texas. Those populations are continuous with breeding populations further south and they range all the way through South America. There is also an isolated group of Crested Caracaras in central Florida. (Map courtesy of AllAboutBirds)

Although they spend quite a bit of time on the ground, the Crested Caracaras will also perch high to survey the landscape. You can see their rather large head as it perches upright.

I’ve always liked this description of Crested Caracaras in the Tucson Bird Alliance article by Matt Griffiths: “The Crested Caracara looks like a hawk, often acts like a vulture, and is technically a large, tropical falcon.” As the author Meiburg says, they truly are a remarkable creature.

As soon as we left that nest we came across another. This time, it was a female Vermilion Flycatcher doing her maternal duties. She was sitting high up in her nest so perhaps she was keeping some hatchlings warm.

Birding is a hobby that takes you out in nature. Whether you see birds or not, it is special to be in a natural environment and taking in all of the sensory input. On this golf course, one of the spots we enjoy birding is where water comes down a small creek and into a large pond on the course. A rich riparian area was created there. You can see one team member Peggy looking across the creek for birds while standing under a flowering palo verde tree. Those flowers bloom a bright yellow but once they fall on the ground and begin to dry up, they turn into a wonderful golden carpet.

Just beyond that spot is a lone willow tree at the edge of the water. We saw a Lark Sparrow calling from the top of that tree. The faces of these sparrows have been described as “harlequin” for their bold pattern.

Deb, another member of our team, was looking at a small group of birds among the yellow palo verde flowers. Many of the birds were Yellow-rumped Warblers. Those birds were getting ready to migrate north but they blended in so much in those flowers. Their yellow flanks, sides, and throats made it interesting to try to pick out as they blended into the flowers.

There are always Cooper’s Hawks somewhere on this course just as they are ever present throughout the Tucson Valley. Because of the time of year, it was inevitable that we would run across their nest. The female Cooper’s hawk was sitting on the nest and you can see her tail just sticking out from the thick foliage. The nest was very well hidden from us and the male Cooper’s Hawk watched us from a nearby tree.

The breeding season for Pied-billed Grebes can last throughout the summers here in Tucson. This Grebe chick still has those zebra-stripes on its face. That tells us this bird is a few weeks old. Those stripes will begin to disappear around the 6 or 7 week mark as the Grebe’s juvenile plumage develops.

This male Ruddy Duck was not only in his breeding plumage, but we saw its breeding behavior. The bills of the male Ruddy Ducks turn a pastel blue during breeding season and they molt into their chestnut/red (ruddy) feathers at this time of year. In addition, this male was performing part of a courtship display. It moved its head up and down rapidly, striking its bill against its chest. This frantic head pumping is meant to attract the attention of a nearby female Ruddy Duck.

On another pond, we saw yet another juvenile Pied-billed Grebe. They look so special at this stage. The darkness of this photo was due to skies that were intermittently overcast.

In the beginning of our walk and again towards the end, we were treated to flights by two Belted Kingfishers. My photos showed that one was male and one was female. Belted Kingfishers are normally winter visitors in Tucson and they are rarely here during the summers. Perhaps this was a mated pair that was getting ready to migrate north or even to higher elevations in Arizona for the breeding season. Seeing these birds was a nice reminder of how the change of seasons impacts the birds that live in our area depending on the time of year.

One Belted Kingfisher flew by the iconic copper dome of the Casino del Sol

On our way back to our cars we passed two Desert Cottontail Rabbits. One ran off into the brush while another sat still as we walked up the path. Desert Cottontails weigh 1-2 pounds. They are pretty darn cute but they often serve as prey for any number of desert predators.

Birding gives us a nice opportunity to spend time in nature and to focus on many things other than what bombards us in the daily media. I always have a nice time when I’m out and about. This particular day was special as it was our Birdathon day. We saw a total of 31 species but more importantly, I got to spend a morning with friends.

Thanks again to our many donors. The latest group I want to recognize includes Marcia G., Terence DeC., Jill and Andy B., Shirley and Gideon W., another anonymous donor, Dena B., and Julie Reynolds.

To see the entire donor list, go to our Birdathon page here.