You can see that its feet are muddy from running around on the wet fields. Burrowing Owls will help to clear or dig and renovate their burrows. Mostly they prefer to use existing homes that were made by other animals, but they can use other empty underground spaces and scratch out or shape their own tunnels. Irrigation ditches provide a strong roof for those burrows. During our hot summers, the flooded irrigation ditches provide another layer of cooling for the burrows.

This looks like the same Owl, but on a different perch and with trees in the background rather than the farm fields.

The young Owl took flight and headed towards yet another nearby perch. Burrowing owls have an average wingspan of up to two feet.

A bird’s length is determined by the distance from the tip of its bill to the end of its tail when the bird is laid flat on its back. Burrowing Owls range from about 8-11 inches long. This Owl is getting ready to land.

A mile or so away I found another Burrowing Owl family. Part of what makes Burrowing Owls appealing besides their looks is their body movements and actions. Here, this adult female is crouched down and looking rather squat. It is standing on some dirt piled up outside the burrow’s opening. You can make out the edge of the irrigation ditch- that white line in the forefront of the photo. The greenery is Pima Cotton, a common crop in southern Arizona.

Suddenly, she reacted to something and stood as tall as she could! I don’t know what alerted her. She looked like a different bird from the one seen moments prior.

You may have noticed the bands that she was wearing on her ankles. I first saw this same bird several years ago in the farmland northwest of Tucson. At that time, I wrote to Wild at Heart giving them her ID information and asking about her history. They replied with, “That Burrowing Owl (GR 86/AS) was live trapped to be relocated on 12/16/23 from near the town of Maricopa. She is a female and was released on 1/20/24 near the Gila River, north of Gila Bend.” So she was rescued from Maricopa, a small farming community in the Gila River Valley about 35 miles south of Phoenix. She was released one month later at a location near Gila Bend, about 40 miles west of Maricopa. Shortly afterwards she made her way 87 miles south to Marana where she found a family and there she remains three years later!

Meanwhile one of her youngsters is in its own world, squinting, hunched over and with one fist balled up. I wonder what was going through its mind?

And just as suddenly it “woke up” and looked towards me. It was very relaxed and didn’t seem to know or mind that an ant was crawling up its leg.

I lead a field trip to this area every year for the annual Southeast Arizona Birding Festival. I will be visiting the site a few more times between now and the Festival in order to scout the area and be prepared.

The Martin Farm, situated along the lower Santa Cruz River, was purchased by the City of Tucson in 2009 as part of a Riparian Restoration initiative setting aside a number of plots of land along with several public and private entities. The goal for all of these acquisitions was both riparian restoration and groundwater replenishment. This particular property was then made available to Wild at Heart to establish a safe haven for displaced Burrowing Owls. Wild at Heart is an Arizona-based raptor rescue program and one of their initiatives is a Burrowing Owl Relocation Project. A major ongoing threat to Burrowing Owls is habitat destruction due to urbanization. To counter that, Wild at Heart rescues, relocates and releases endangered birds into locations such as the Martin Farm where artificial burrows have been created among farmland and other supportive natural environments. On a recent visit, I saw one of the Owls that had been brought to the Martin Farm complex. Later, I’ll share a bit more about that Burrowing Owl, pictured below on the handle of an irrigation gate in nearby farmland.

Another Burrowing Owl, a juvenile, was perched on a different nearby irrigation gate handle. This photo tells you all you need to know about why Burrowing Owls are so endearing. Besides being a species that is active during the day, they are eternally curious about their surroundings.

I observed this Owl from inside of my car while parked alongside the farm road. These owls, living in burrows adjacent to irrigation ditches, are used to plenty of farmland traffic along the road. After a while the Burrowing Owl flew over my car and landed in a nearby farm field that was wet from recent rains. I imagine it might have been looking for any unsuspecting insect.

I drove down the road to get to the Martin Farm. There is “no trespassing” posted at the location but you can view the property from outside the fence and along the road. Wild at Heart has built and continues to use dozens of artificial burrows there. You can read about the process here and here. Once Owls are placed in the burrows, the “address” is noted and a sign is placed there. That sign offers a nice perch, high enough for the Owls to monitor their entire landscape for both prey and for predators.

Here is another burrow with one Owl at the entrance to the burrow and another hanging out. That green plant behind the burrow is Russian Thistle, aka tumbleweed.

Many individuals and groups have volunteered to assist with Wild at Heart when there is a new group of Burrowing Owls being released. Pima Master Naturalists have helped for some years and report on their work here. Once the releases are complete of course, the Owls can choose to remain in those burrows or leave to inhabit other available spots along the extensive farmland in southern Arizona.

The morning I visited was on one of our area’s recent, heavily overcast mornings. Many of the Burrowing Owls were taking advantage of the relatively cool temperatures (meaning well below 100°) to be outside of their burrows. Here is yet another short report by the Pima Master Naturalists from another year of their service.

Although the burrows were perhaps 50 yards away, I had nice looks at the Owls. While watching the birds at the burrow in the photo above, the Burrowing Owl standing on the home’s entrance decided it wanted to find another spot to hang out at. It took off.......

...and landed behind a patch of grass a short flight from its burrow.

On my way out of the area, the family of three Burrowing Owls that I had first seen along the roadside were still in the same spots. You may have noticed that the Burrowing Owl in the first photo of this post was wearing some ‘jewelry’. This is a close-up of that same bird taken on my drive out of the area. These Burrowing Owls are banded when they are first rescued. This is done under the auspices of the USGS for all birds that are trapped for research in the United States. Audubon also provides us background to why and how birds are banded.

This particular Burrowing Owl is wearing a green band on its left foot with the numbers 87/AU and a silver band on its right foot. I sent the numbers in to Wild at Heart and learned that this Owl had been rescued from the Harquahala area northwest of Phoenix. It was released (”put in tent 2”) on 9/20/25. Apparently it has made a good life for itself, moving about a half mile or so east from its release spot at the Martin Farm and finding a partner at a nearby farm. The three Owls- 87/AU, the juvenile in today’s photos, and another adult- all have been seen a number of times in that exact same spot.

You can learn more about Burrowing Owls from this Tucson Bird Alliance piece.

Juvenile Hooded Orioles look very much like female Orioles. But this youngster is still growing in its yellow feathers. There is no way to be certain whether this is a male or female. All we can tell is that this is a juvenile Hooded Oriole.

Not only is it not fully yellow, but at times it looked very disheveled!

The beak of the male Hooded Oriole is black with a bluish tint to the lower part of the bill. This juvenile has a lightly colored bill and it is slightly curved. It will grow longer as it ages. The juvenile has two white wing bars that the females have. In the shot below, the bird is perched and looking towards the feeder.

The Oriole crouched down, ready to head towards the feeder.

And then it hopped forward. It landed on the feeder and began to drink.

Meanwhile Dad was hanging around. He moved through a neighboring mesquite tree. At the top, he paused and looked around.

I really enjoy these birds. I have more photos of the female Hooded Oriole and some early looks at a juvenile bird that I will be sharing soon. To learn more about Hooded Orioles, go to AllAboutBirds.

One estimate states that Costa’s Hummingbirds flap their wings at 50-80 times per second! Costa’s Hummingbirds are small hummingbirds, just over 3” long and weighing 2-3 grams, or about as much as a penny. Small hummingbirds weigh less so their tiny muscles need rapid strokes to give them the lift that they need.

The Costa’s left the large Tecoma flowers and moved over to the small pink flowers. I’m not sure what the plant is, but the flowers are very delicate.

The Costa’s spent a good amount of time with that plant.

He would search for just the right flower. I wonder what it was thinking and how it decided which of those countless flowers was the right one to feed from.

Next it flew to the lavender plant. The Costa’s fed from some flowers, but then also from what looked like other parts of the flower stalk. At this point the Hummingbird wasn’t hovering. It perched on a dry stalk to access the flowers.

Taking a break!

Between the Hummingbird feeders on my porch and the many flowering plants, Hummingbirds have plenty of choices there. Costa’s Hummingbirds are the most numerous species in my yard but I also have regular Broad-billed Hummingbirds. Pretty soon Rufous, Anna’s and some Black-chinned will make their way through the yard as they begin their migration south. You can learn more about Costa’s Hummingbirds at the AllAboutBirds site.

This vibrant blue male contrasts with the cinnamon colored female. The body shape of both is very stocky and both have a large beak. The female really is a pretty bird in her own right.

The male Blue Grosbeak was also hanging around a female Black-headed Grosbeak. Although both species share the same name (Grosbeak) thanks to their very large bills, they are not very closely related. Both are in the Cardinal family but are distant relatives.

What appeared to be another female Blue Grosbeak arrived. However, the bird turned out to display some very unusual plumage. It has a very distinct, blue cheek patch but there is no other blue feathering apparent on its body. So was this a 1st spring, male Blue Grosbeak just growing in its blue plumage, or could this be a female Blue Grosbeak which is known to sometimes have some blue patches mixed in with her brown feathers?

And then she turned the other cheek, literally! No blue cheek patch on that side but a light blue lore running from her bill to her eye! Again, no other blue feathering apparent on the rest of its body. Blue Grosbeak males that were born a year ago would be showing much more blue on their bodies at one year old. It would then take an additional year to develop their full adult plumage. The absence of blue on the rest of this bird’s body tells me that this is a female. She certainly shows some different blue highlights but her overall look is that of a female. Those blue highlights turn out to just be an anomaly and an interesting fashion statement. (Special thanks go to Jeff B. for helping me to sort out this interesting plumage variation.)

Here is the male Blue Grosbeak once more. For all I know, it too could have been a different Blue Grosbeak from the earlier one.

Blue Grosbeaks are one of those species that always brighten the afternoon. Seeing one that both surprised me and made me do a bit of research is always a treat.

Bird photography allows you to capture special things at times. When I began processing these photos, I noticed an unusual red dot on this bird’s breast. You can see a bit of red right where its white throat meets its black breast feathers. Despite my having seen hundreds if not thousands of Acorn Woodpeckers over the years in the nearby Sky Islands, I had never noticed much less heard of that feature.

With the BirdsoftheWorld.org webpages as a source, I learned that in “some female Acorn Woodpeckers, the center of this band at the border of the throat is marked by a small area of black feathers with red tips. This trait is especially noted in certain southern ranges (such as Costa Rica and Panama), where individuals can exhibit brighter yellow throats and occasional red feathers on the chest.” BirdsoftheWorld is another terrific resource operated by the Cornell Lab, as is the AllAboutBirds site from which the range map below comes.

So that Acorn Woodpecker with the red spot may have been unusual in southern Arizona but exists a bit more often in Central American birds. In the meantime, I became interested in the wing feathers of this Acorn Woodpecker. There is a white patch at the base of its primary flight feathers which contrasts sharply with the black feathers of the wing. (Primary feathers are the long outer feathers at the back of a bird’s wing that helps to generate thrust during flight.)

Compare the colors, or pigment, of the upper side of the Acorn Woodpecker’s feathers to the underside. The look is very different! The darker feathers on the upper side of the wing contain more melanin than the lower side of each flight feather. The feather surface on the outer/upper side that is more exposed to sunlight and the melanin helps to make both stronger and more resistant to UV degradation.

There may also be some camouflage benefit to the wing feathers colored so differently on each side. In any case, this female Acorn Woodpecker gave me much to think about. For a deeper look at this unique woodpecker species, AllAboutBirds goes a bit “nutty” about these birds here. Did you know that Acorn Woodpeckers were the likely inspiration for the first Woodpecker you probably ever learned about: Woody Woodpecker? Birdnote explains how that came about.

Quickly the dad appeared. Usually both parents stay near the group, shepherding them around and always on the lookout for danger. Those little quail are often snatched up by a variety of predators including other birds, snakes, and both domestic and wild cats and dogs. So it is important for the parents to watch out at every second.

Groups of young Gambel’s Quail travel in an interesting fashion. Many people in Tucson have witnessed these parades. They scurry with quick dashes and then freeze. They may be in formation or may scatter and then regroup. Gambel’s Quail chicks are precocial, meaning that they can walk, run and forage as soon as they hatch and they seem to always be on the move!

In the photo above, they ran ahead of the male Quail. I’m not sure whether or not he ‘said’ something, but the little ones all stopped suddenly so Dad could catch up and gather them together. You can see that he was aware of the four human beings sitting across the pond and was making sure we weren’t a threat. He kept his eyes on us the entire time the chicks were on that slope.

As they neared the water, the little Quail rushed ahead. The Desert Museum tells us more about this desert species of birds.

They stopped to forage and Dad arrived near the water’s edge. I always enjoy how Tucson Bird Alliance writes about our local birds. You can read TBA’s introduction to these Quail here. https://tucsonbirds.org/bird_profile/gambels-quail/

Once again, the family convened along the shoreline. Whether drinking or foraging for small plants and seeds, the Quail value the resources that the stock pond provides in the hot desert. There are a number of different Quail species in the Southwest. Birdnote shares information and compares many of them.

Perhaps because they were a distance from any protective vegetative growth, the family remained close together and the father Gambel’s Quail was very much on guard the entire time.

Whenever and wherever they appear, young Gambel’s Quail have that “Awww” factor! Anyone who spots them stops what they are doing to stare in delight. Watching a conga line of these little fuzzballs is always a highlight.

I’m not sure why this Brown-crested Flycatcher whipped his head around, but the water went flying.

The bird paused to stare at me through the kitchen door. Brown-crested Flycatchers have a large, peaked head and a heavy bill. They have a grayish face and breast and a yellow belly.

While ‘my’ neighborhood bird is around, it rarely sits out in the open for me to observe. On the rare occasion that I spot it, it would fly off before I could take any photos. I finally did get a chance to shoot it one day while it was on an unobstructed perch just after it drank its morning water.

The range map from AllAboutBirds shows the unusual range of this species. The only places you can find these birds in the United States are in Arizona and southern Texas!

One recent day, I was on a trail in the Tortolita Mountains and I came across a pair of Brown-crested Flycatchers with a nest in a nearby saguaro cavity. In our area, these birds nest predominantly in the cavities that Gila Woodpeckers have made in saguaro cacti. Because they arrive so late in the breeding season, these Flycatchers compete aggressively with other cavity nesting birds for ownership of choice nest cavities. They will evict other birds from desirable holes and vigorously attack any intruders.

I was pleased to be able to watch a number of food deliveries from a distance. Both the male and the female Brown-crested Flycatchers were delivering insects to the young inside the nest.

The flights into the nest cavity were quick, and moments later the bird would burst out of the hole and fly off to continue hunting. You can learn a bit more about Brown-crested Flycatchers in a Tucson Bird Alliance article here.

I sure wished that the Flycatcher would sit in the hole for a few moments so I could prepare for their flight but apparently their needs and mine differed.

This is the same photo that I already shared with you but it is cropped differently. In this version, you can get a sense of the hillside beyond the nest. It was close to sunset and that hillside was already bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun.

Six summers ago I was able to locate an active nest of a Brown-crested Flycatcher in my neighborhood. I spent several afternoons on the street observing the birds and, with my camera on a tripod, trying to get pictures of the birds delivering food to the young. You can look at that post here and learn a bit more about these interesting birds.

The bird perched on a mesquite tree, not unlike what I see from my backyard every winter. But Tucson’s official elevation is 2,643 feet above sea level. The elevation at the stock pond is 4751 feet above sea level. This bird is definitely summering at a higher elevation along the grassland and mesquite slopes of the Santa Rita Mountain foothills.

Even at this higher elevation, it is still very dry during the summer. Like other birds and animals who live in the desert, Phainopeplas get most of the moisture they need from their diet. These birds famously consume massive amounts of mistletoe berries during the winters, and during the summers they consume berries and any other fruits. Phainopepla are in a family of birds known as “Silky Flycatchers”. They also consume plenty of insects which provide them with moisture. But when water is available, they will not pass up the opportunity to drink.

The water level of the stock pond was a bit lower than when I visited it several weeks ago. A submerged post rose above the water providing a nice perch for the Phainopepla to drink from.

This might be my favorite shot of the series. Crouched down, the bird leans way over to get a tiny bit of water in its bill.

Because birds cannot swallow, rather they scoop water into their bills and then raise their heads up to allow the water to drip down their throat. Some water gets lost in the process.

Down it goes. The bird repeated the process several times.

I’ve heard people refer to these birds as “Black Cardinals” because they resemble the body shape of Cardinals, but they are not at all related. Cardinals are primarily seed eating birds with a thick bill suited for that purpose. Phainopeplas, with their thin bills, are flycatchers who also eat fruit.

For more on this unique bird, read this Tucson Bird Alliance article along with this nice article from Audubon on the unusual nesting habits of Phainopepla

One friend living just six streets down from me has had nesting Hooded Orioles for many years now but they had never visited my yard in the past. Then, last summer, another friend one block up from me had a pair of Hooded Orioles that nested in a fan palm in his yard. That pair began visiting my feeders regularly. This April, the same pair (I assume) appeared once more!

These birds are stealth feeders. They never linger in trees before hitting the feeder and they never stay around afterwards. The only time they will stop in the palo verde tree is if a Gila Woodpecker is at the feeder. Then, they will perch in the palo verde tree and wait for their turn.

As soon as the Gila leaves, the Orioles will go to the feeder. The male Hooded Orioles have an orange/yellow hood that contrasts with the black bib on their face and neck.

Female Hooded Orioles are a pale yellow. They are long and sleek like the males but this shot shows one in a more plump resting position.

Hooded Orioles are found in the Southwest during the summers as this AllAboutBirds range map shows. They build their nests by sewing a bowl to the underside of a fan palm leaf. Some people have called this species Fan-palm Orioles or Palm-leaf Orioles as a result of this behavior.

The Oriole came flying into the palo verde tree out of nowhere and immediately positioned himself ready to get to the feeder.

The moment the Gila Woodpecker left, the Oriole dropped down.

At times, the Oriole would move from hole to hole in the feeder, as if it were going from flower to flower. It was always wary. If it caught sight of me, even from a distance, it would fly off.

And the moment it finished feeding it would dart off, flying across the desert and over houses in the next street. I wish it would hang around a bit, but is a dine-and-dash bird. As bright as it appears, it seems to be a very inconspicuous bird often remaining hidden. I know it is coming in to feed when I hear its call and that’s how I know to look for its sudden and brief appearance at my feeder. You can hear some of the Hooded Oriole’s songs and calls at AllAboutBirds here.

Early one May morning I was on a birding trip at El Rio Preserve with Tucson Bird Alliance. Pointer Mountain, adjacent to the Preserve, provided a cliffside nesting area for a pair of Great Horned Owls. That morning two of the juvenile Owlets were outside of their nest, not yet flying.

A close-up gives a better look at the young birds. When Great Horned Owls nest in trees and the youngsters begin spending time outside of the nest, they are said to be “branching.” For little Owls in a cliffside nest, there are no branches and they can’t be branching so is the proper term “rocking”?

At an area golf course, an Ash-throated Flycatcher flew into a mesquite tree for a short rest. Ash-throated Flycatchers are summer visitors to much of the American West.

Duckweed can grow rapidly at Sweetwater Wetlands. This is a free-floating aquatic plant that is a food source for waterfowl. It provides an interesting surface for this American Coot to swim through.

This is not a rubber ducky. Ruddy Ducks are diving ducks. Built to be able to dive into water suddenly, they are also able to just submerge themselves slowly.

The Ruddy Duck finally popped up to the surface and kept on moving forward. It was now wearing a coat of duckweed.

One day in May a small flock of Snowy Egrets flew over Sweetwater Wetlands. Inflight, the Snowy Egrets had tucked their necks into a tight S-shape and their legs trailed straight behind them.

Snowy Egrets are beautiful to see in the water, but seeing a small flock of them in this desert environment was startling. This was probably a group of Snowy Egrets flying together at the end of their migration season.

When I pull up older images like these, it is nice to be able to remember everything about the moments when I captured the photo.

Like many animals that live in the desert, Cottontail Rabbits have adapted to our dry climate. They get most of the moisture they need from the plants and succulent vegetation that they eat. However, if water is available, they will readily drink it. I love seeing this rabbit on its toes drinking and causing ripples in the water.

It would pause every once in a while. In the shot below you can see its white, “cotton” tail.

Sometimes the rabbit would continue drinking but from another side of the water dish. I’m pretty certain it knew there was no difference in the taste of the water. Perhaps it changed positions just to be able to watch for predators from another perspective.

Rabbits don’t sip water. They slurp or lap up the water using their tongue.

Normally the Cottontail would run back into the desert when it finished, but occasionally it would find a cool spot to rest in the yard. Below, it lay down in the shadow of a birdbath stand. This pose is called “heat dumping” or “splooting” and other desert animals also do this. This posture allows body heat to transfer directly to the cooler surface the Rabbit is resting on.

Then, just as quickly, the Cottontail was up and about once more. Those large ears serve two purposes for Cottontail Rabbits. Cottontails are prey animals, so those ears serve as highly sensitive radar dishes to help them pinpoint sounds of danger from far away. Rabbits do not sweat, so when it gets hot, blood flow to the ears increases and the air passing over those large ears cools the blood. That cooled blood then circulates back into the body cooling the Rabbit’s overall temperature.

Those big eyes are another survival necessity because Cottontail Rabbits are prey animals. Their oversized eyes give them incredible vision in 360° and allow the Rabbit to see movement well in dim lighting during dawn and dusk when Cottontails are most active. So those huge eyes that help to make these bunnies cute also help to keep them alive.

As a prey species, Cottontail Rabbits have evolved to be able to sleep even with their eyes open. You never know when something is sneaking in and wanting to have you for lunch.

For more on Desert Cottontails and a comparison to other Sonoran Desert Rabbits, see the Desert Museum’s fact sheet.

The bird in these photos was seen at Agua Nueva Park, just across the street from Sweetwater Wetlands. In the photo above, it has its back to us. In the photo below, it walked a very short distance along the branch and then turned to face me. Both male and female Black-crowned Night Herons grow long, white, head plumes during the breeding season. Those feather plumes make quite the fashion statement against the Heron’s black back.

Seconds later, I took a few steps to my left to shift the background behind the bird. The Heron hadn’t changed positions, I had! Check out the Heron’s long toes. Those long toes help to keep this bird stable while wading through wet, muddy ponds in search of food. They also help the birds grip and maneuver on the tree branches that Black-crowned Night Herons like to roost on.

A close-up of the photo above gives a nice portrait of this bird. With its neck tucked into its stocky body, the Heron has a hunched look to it. The red eyes reflect the evolutionary changes to their eyes which aid in hunting at dusk, dawn and at night (they are called “Night” Herons). Good low-light vision helps the Heron to better hunt prey in the dark.

Green Herons are much smaller and more slender than their Black-crowned cousins. This Green Heron, seen on another day at Agua Nueva, seemed to be trying to hide from me but I found him anyway!! Besides the obvious color differences, Green Herons only reach up to 18 inches in length. Bird length is measured from head to tail. Black-crowned Night Herons can reach up to 28 inches in length.

Once this Green Heron turned around and stepped over a few inches, I had a better view of him. Green Herons hunt during the day. They too have long toes and feet, serving the same purpose as those of the Black-crowned Night Herons.

Later, the Green Heron perched further out on the branch. There was only blue sky behind it now compared to the background of eucalyptus leaves in earlier views. Green Herons have yellow eyes compared to their ‘cousins’ red eyes and their bill is much longer and more dagger-like.

A close-up of this photo offers a more personal look at this bird. This summer, Green Herons are being found commonly at Sweetwater Wetlands, Danny Lopez Park, and El Rio Preserve. They sometimes are seen at other water spots in the Tucson valley.

For more on local Green Herons, see this nice article at Tucson Bird Alliance.

For more on local Black-crowned Night Herons, see this article at Tucson Bird Alliance.

I’m not sure whether she was finding insects on the water or just above the water.

She must have been seeing good things to eat and I am sure she was successful.

Vermilion Flycatchers are ‘sit and wait’ hunters. They will sit on a perch while scanning for prey. In this case, she would sit on a rock at the water’s edge and then make a swift flight to catch the prey in the air. Unlike Hummingbirds, Vermilion Flycatchers can only hover briefly. They use fast wingbeats, maneuver their wings through the air, and use their tail as a rudder while keeping a steady eye on their prey.

It was interesting to watch her flutter over and over again in the same area of the pond.

Back on her favorite rock, she readied for another hunting flight.

She crouched down in order to propel her body and she raised her wings high for a strong downbeat......

...and then she launched into the air, her eyes focused as she rocketed towards her prey.

This hunt was successful and she headed towards a spot on the ground to enjoy and swallow her prey.

Once there, she immediately turned back to the water for the next hunt. Only weighing a half of an ounce, this little bird has a very high metabolism so needs to hunt constantly during the day.

The female Summer Tanager came to the water’s edge to drink. These birds have a yellow-ish overall color to their plumage. They do have the same body shape and thick bill that the male Summer Tanager has.

The male Summer Tanager did not hang around very long. Later on I took a walk over to a nearby small grove of sycamore trees. I quickly spotted a summer Tanager whose red plumage stood out among the broad green leaves of the sycamore trees.

As the Tanager flew around, I tried to follow it to get an open look at it. I realized it had captured a very large insect. Summer Tanagers are said to be specialists in eating bees and wasps. They can catch airborne insects and they also glean insects on the trees. These Tanagers also eat a wide variety of other invertebrates, as well as fruits.

I am not certain what insect this Summer Tanager caught. It looked like a cicada to me. Whatever it was, it seemed like a substantial snack.

During their breeding season, Summer Tanagers are common in much of the United States, but they are long distance migrants. Check out the AllAboutBirds range map to see where they winter (in blue) and where they summer (in orange).

For more on Summer Tanagers in the Southwest, read Matt Griffiths’ article at the Tucson Bird Alliance website.

After keeping the Summer Tanager company in the sycamore grove for a while, I would have been happy for more time but the Tanager decided to head out to some nearby mesquite trees. It gave me one final parting glance before flying off.

Summer Tanagers are yet another bird that makes birdwatching in southern Arizona a wonderful hobby. Learn more about these birds from Birdnote.

One of my friends often goes there each summer to observe and photograph the birds. I joined him recently. In a little over two hours, we saw 30 species of birds. Below is an assortment of birds at the water to quench their thirst. The male Northern Yellow Warbler is a very bright yellow. A male Yellow Warblers has those chestnut streaks on its breast.

A Chihuahuan Meadowlark came down the slope to drink some water. For years Meadowlarks had been separated into two different species: the Eastern Meadowlark and the Western Meadowlark. Recently, a species named the Chihuahuan Meadowlark was described, separating this bird from what people thought was just a subspecies of the Eastern. Descriptions and rationale for the change can be found here and here.

A summer visitor to our region is this Brown-crested Flycatcher. Tucson Bird Alliance tells us more about this late arriving bird.

At the stock pond, a Blue Grosbeak appeared and came to the water’s edge for a drink. You might remember this bird from a recent post of mine. While he was there, a second male Blue Grosbeak showed up and patiently waited for his turn to drink. There were plenty of other spots to drink from, but it seemed as if the second Grosbeak was standing guard while the first one drank. In fact, in many of my photos the birds seemed very conscious of our presence. We were perhaps twenty yards away, on the other side of the pond and sitting still. It seemed like quite a distance from the birds, but our presence was unusual and most of the birds appeared wary of us. Indeed, most of the birds drank from the furthest bank of the pond directly across from us.

An Acorn Woodpecker came down from the oak trees on the slopes to drink some water. This pond was not in her typical habitat.

A Western Kingbird showed up. You can see the white, outer tailfeather that is an ID marker for this species. Birds cannot sip water, so they dip their bills in the water and then tip their heads back to let the water run down their throat as this Kingbird demonstrates.

A pair of Bullocks Orioles came in to drink. My shots of the male at the water didn’t come out well, so you are only seeing him in the mesquite trees above the water.

About half of the time we were at the pond, cattle would appear at the top of the embankment. They watched us, not sure what we were doing there and what they should do.

Finally a few of the cattle got up the courage to come down to the water for a very long drink. What bird should appear while the cattle were there? A Cowbird of course, just a few feet to the right of the cow! Brown-headed Cowbirds are a Blackbird species. Historically, Brown-headed Cowbirds followed massive bison herds because the grazing bison would flush insects out of the grass. They adapted to modern cows whose grazing behavior remains a good provider of food for the Cowbirds. Brown-headed Cowbirds have an interesting way of nesting, as described in this humorous Birdnote piece titled Cowbird Mafia.

Several Summer Tanagers spent much time at this spot. The female Summer Tanagers are a modest yellow color, much less subdued than the male Summer Tanager’s flaming red color.

Here is the male Summer Tanager. The Tanagers mostly spent time in the mesquite trees. Tucson Bird Alliance tells us more about these special birds.

There is a small grove of Sycamore trees near the stock pond. I found a Summer Tanager there and will share photos of him in another post. A Vermillion Flycatcher was hunting over and over again from the edge of the pond. She has earned her own post as well. A family of Gambel’s Quail and a Black Phoebe also had their starring moments at the water’s edge. To be continued.....

The female Broad-billed Hummingbird behaves similarly. Female Broad-bills do not have the bright blue plumage of the males. They do have a white stripe behind the eye.

The female Broad-billed Hummingbird hovered to feed. Tubular flowers offer the perfect fit for a hummingbird’s long bill and specialized tongue. Flowers with this shape do not offer petals for bees and butterflies to land on but make their nectar available to hovering hummingbirds. These flowers also have evolved to have a higher volume of nectar than other flowers.

Hummingbirds are the only birds capable of long, sustained hovering as well as the ability to fly in any direction. This allows them to be able to drink from flower after flower in any grouping of flower clusters. Birdnote tells us more about the incredible flight skills of Hummingbirds.

Hummingbirds are known for drinking nectar from flowers and that is what most people observe Hummingbirds doing. Besides feeding at flowers and feeders, Hummingbirds also eat insects! At this time of year if you observe closely you might see Hummingbirds flying around randomly in the air. Upon closer inspection, you learn they are hunting insects in the air. That food source provides protein and minerals to help build muscle, develop beaks, bones and feathers.

Most birds fly by flapping their wings up and down. Hummingbirds have evolved with a more complex system of flying as explained in this article. They rotate their shoulders in a figure eight pattern and they can ‘bend’ their wings at the wrist. These flight shots show the unique capabilities of their wings.

The Hummingbird’s head is still looking ‘straight’ forward even while its body is twisted and its wings are moving in separate directions. Hummingbirds have been measured to flap their wings up to 80 times per second while hovering and more than twice that frequency during courtship displays. My camera’s shutter speed was set at 1/3200 of a second. Even at that speed, it could not ‘stop’ the fast speed of the Hummingbird’s wings which remain a blur.

Those flight capabilities allow Hummingbirds to capture the tiniest insect that also may be flying erratically in the air. Studies suggest that insects may actually make up most of a Hummingbird’s diet with estimates of a Hummingbird consuming 1000 or more insects per day. Nectar provides the sugar and carbohydrates for their energy needs and insects provide the protein to build strong bodies.

While watching the Hummingbirds feeding in my backyard, one of the regulars finally perched in the open where I could get a good shot of him. This is a young male Broad-billed Hummingbird, just beginning to grow out his blue feathers. While it was in the air and feeding, I hadn’t noticed the blue feathers. Once it perched facing the morning sun, the color of the feathers became apparent. At this angle, you can see how it got its name thanks to the bill which is very broad at its base!

After posing nicely for me, he was off again, busy flying as Hummingbirds do.

Lesser Nighthawks have a buoyant, erratic flight. They maneuver rapidly, alternating short glides with quick, snappy wingbeats. All of this is done in order to find and snatch flying insects mid-air. It is mesmerizing to watch them in the air. (Also, fyi, these birds are not hawks, despite their name. They catch flying insects at a high speed, a behavior that is called ‘hawking’.)

Monday morning after last week’s rain (the first good rain of the summer), I left my house at 10:30 to run errands when suddenly I saw many Lesser Nighthawks hunting in the sky. I stopped the car and jumped out with my camera to watch the show overhead. Why were all of those birds hunting that late in the morning?

The Sunday night rains happened at sunset and lasted until dark. The Lesser Nighthawks had not been able to hunt then. The following morning, it also sprinkled at sunrise, limiting the hunting window. The strong summer rains led to swarms of insects in the air. Subterranean termites and harvester ants are known to swarm after our summer monsoons. I believe that the timing of the rains prevented the Nighthawks from hunting at their usual time, and then the swarms of flying insects led to a bounty of food for the hungry birds. The bulkiness of the insect in the photo below seems to indicate it is an ant and the Nighthawk is flying low, just over a palo verde tree, to capture this insect.

It was partly cloudy, with some blue sky along with thick clouds. The variable sky provided a variable background to my photos. The birds’ erratic and fast flight made it a challenge to track them across the sky.

I spent quite a while shooting, walking along neighborhood streets to ‘follow’ the Nighthawks’ unpredictable and wide-ranging hunting area. Although I never saw a single insect with my eyes, the camera captured what I couldn’t see in real time. Look at the swarm of insects these two Nighthawks were feasting on!

Again, in real time I could not tell when a bird was grabbing a bug out of the air. A Nighthawk does not fly with its mouth open at all times. It keeps its mouth and bill shut until it spots an insect, and then opens it to scoop up the bug on the move.

With their variable flight, sometimes the wings are held out straight, sometimes they are pointed, sometimes they curl down to change speeds or turn in the air. The flying appears effortless but it is non-stop as the Lesser Nighthawks hunt while they can before it gets too hot to fly.

Here you can see the continual adjustments made in the air in order for the bird to successfully grab a flying insect. Despite having a tiny bill, the Lesser Nighthawk opens its mouth incredibly wide to create a large “net” to capture its prey. The inside of the bird’s mouth is lined with tiny hairs to help trap the bugs.

This Nighthawk is also molting its feathers. You can see the symmetrical gaps in its flight feathers where the feathers have fallen out. You can also sense the aerobatic twisting of the bird with each of its wings held out differently.

One other cause for Lesser Nighthawks to hunt during the day may be hungry young. Both male and female provide food for the young who are dependent on the parents to feed them for the first weeks after they hatch. The parents may need more time than usual to find food resulting in their continuing to hunt for food during the morning daylight hours.

For more on Lesser Nighthawks, you can revisit my post from last July at Tohono Chul Park after sunset.

During Covid in 2020, I had a very good Lesser Nighthawk summer. Early on I had good fortune to see a number of different Lesser Nighthawks. Their photos were shared in this post at the beginning of June.

Just a few weeks after that 2020 post, a friend told me about her neighbor who had a nesting Lesser Nighthawk just beyond her backyard wall. Here is the post with some very special looks at a Lesser Nighthawk chick!! One week after that post I returned to the Nighthawk’s “nest”. The chick was noticeably more active. The experience of observing those birds that summer remains one of my favorite personal photography experiences.

About a month after I took that male Cardinal photo, youngsters started showing up in my yard. Below is one of the juvenile birds. Young Cardinals begin their lives with a black bill that takes about a half a year until it turns bright orange. This young bird below is a male and he is beginning to develop the red feathers on its breast. The following photos were taken around the middle of May.

Because I believe I have two sets of cardinal families, I really couldn’t tell which bird belonged to which family. Here we had one female Cardinal on the right with the juvenile Cardinal on the left. They were looking over to a sunflower seed feeder where a male Cardinal was either feeding or getting some seeds to bring to the youngster. At this stage, both the adult male and female Cardinals were feeding the juvenile birds.

Here is the adult male next to the female

The scene below repeated itself over and over again. The juvenile male Cardinal, on the left, was begging his father for a seed. The father, holding a seed in his bill, was waiting for the right moment to feed his youngster. Look closely at the adult Cardinal’s forehead. The black spot there shows where this bird has lost some feathers and is in the process of molting or growing in new feathers. The adult Cardinals spent so much energy raising a family. After the young are off of the nest, the adults finally can begin molting, losing their old feathers and getting a new set of feathers for the next year.

Two juvenile Cardinals were waiting for service by their parents. The lower bird is a young male and he is busy preening while he waits for food. You can see all the red coming in on its head, breast, and wings. The Cardinal perched above it is a female. There is much less red on that bird and just a hint of red on the wings and tail.

Below is a close-up of the adult male. That bald spot on the Cardinal’s head is very apparent. You can read more about the process of molting feathers in an Audubon Society piece here.

One week later and the male juvenile Cardinal was now feeding himself without his parents around.

A recent photo, taken June 7, shows the young male with many more of his red feathers having emerged. He no longer is dependent on his parents to feed him.

At some point, the young Cardinals will disperse and try to find their own territories. The adults will remain in what they have found to be a good place to live and raise a family. I feel fortunate to have them as part of my regular ‘yardbirds.

Vermilion Flycatchers are residents of this course. You can find them on pretty much any field or grassy area throughout the Tucson Valley. The male Vermilion, perching in the open with its bright, red color, always attracts attention.

One Turkey Vulture was perched on a tree all by itself. Usually this is a species that you notice soaring lazily overhead so it is always a treat to come across one that is perched. The morning hadn’t heated up yet and this bird was waiting for the thermals to develop to help take him up into the sky.

Bell’s Vireos are always a sign of summer in Tucson. You can hear them singing in any desert thicket around town, but it is hard to get a glimpse of them. Listen to the very first song at this AllAboutBirds site to hear the common Bell’s Vireo call. Some people describe it as the bird asking a question, and then answering the question. The Desert Museum shares a bit more about these birds.

This golf course has quite a bit of water throughout. There are small creeks and ponds. The ponds are thickly lined with reeds, and wherever you have thick reeds along water, you will likely have Red-winged Blackbirds and Great-tailed Grackles nesting. This female Grackle obviously had some babies in the nest to feed. She had hunted successfully and, with a mouthful of groceries, was ready to head back to the nest.

Alongside the course are extensive tracts of desert. Where you have cholla cactus, you will have Cactus Wrens and Curve-billed Thrashers. It is always fascinating to see these birds calmly walking across Cholla Cactus that I wouldn’t dare to get close to! The Curve-billed Thrasher moved smoothly and without hesitation across the sharp spines.

We had yet another surprise that is typical during springtime in the desert. At this time of year, we expect to see Lesser Nighthawks in the evening skies. These birds come to Tucson from Mexico during breeding season. They generally never fly during the daytime, hence their name “Nighthawks”. But when they have young on the nest or the night is short, Lesser Nighthawks may be seen during summer mornings continuing to find food for hungry babies back on the nest.

The springtime breeding season sights continued. We saw two juvenile Verdins in the trees alongside a small creek. They spent their time flapping their wings and begging for food. The adults kept busy finding little tiny insects and feeding their young.

This particular morning, the heat of summer had yet to arrive so we spent several nice hours on our adventure.