More Colorful Birds from the Santa Ritas
The waterhole attracted many different birds
The Santa Rita Mountains, one of southern Arizona's Sky Islands, was sure a great place to visit recently. I have already sent you a number of photos including that very brilliantly colored Blue Grosbeak. As stunning as he was, he was not the only colorful bird we saw that afternoon. Two bright, male Hooded Orioles came in for a drink.
As did the other birds, this male Oriole used the overhanging branches and roots to cling to as it cautiously approached the water. Sometimes it was perched facing up (as in the photo above). Sometimes it was facing down:
Matt Griffiths, of Tucson Audubon, wrote a nice blog of this special summer visitor: https://tucsonaudubon.org/bird_profile/hooded-oriole/ Here, the Hooded Oriole was taking a drink, letting the water roll down its throat.
We heard two Hooded Orioles chattering around this time. During the breeding season, birds can be very territorial and we were hearing a territorial dispute. It wasn't until I processed the photo below that I realized I had taken a photo of a second male Hooded Oriole. In the field, the two males looked the same, but take a close look at this next bird! This Oriole arrived at the water hole a few minutes after the first bird left. As it perched on a branch, looking towards the water, a noticeable blemish is visible above its eye.
Who knows how that male Hooded Oriole lost those feathers, but it probably was not a pleasant experience. Shortly, the first Hooded Oriole returned for another drink. You can see that there is no gray blemish above this bird’s right eye.
And if the Blue Grosbeak and the Hooded Oriole were not colorful enough for us, a little while later a male Summer Tanager arrived. It was a hot afternoon and the summer rains had not yet hit the area so thirsty birds kept coming. Male Summer Tanagers are the only all red birds in the US. Cardinals come close, but they have a black face.
Summer Tanagers, yet another wonderful summer visitor to our area, have an unusual feeding habit. Listen to Birdnote to learn all about it: https://www.birdnote.org/listen/shows/summer-tanagers-wasp-hunters The photo below is similar to the one above but it shows how the birds were aware of our presence. By sitting still and at a distance, the birds deemed us safe. They still were wary, but felt OK coming in for the water.
Matt Griffiths continues his great reporting with a column on the Summer Tanager: https://tinyurl.com/3defxmpt As the bird began its step-by-step descent towards the water, its red color really stood out against the dirt wall behind it.
Some of the birds chose to get to the water near the concrete structure. Others, like this Tanager, chose to come down to the water's edge along the dirt embankment. The bird was constantly on the lookout for danger, competitors, or predators.
Finally the Summer Tanager reached the water's edge. Because we were seated and could not move without startling the birds, I had to watch the Tanager through the weeds. Still, a bit of the Summer Tanager's reflection in the water was visible.
The birds put on a stunning display for us that afternoon..