I Saw These…

Verdin

Cactus Wren

Costa’s Hummingbird, male (lifer!)

Costa’s Hummingbird, female (lifer!)

Costa’s Hummingbird, juvenile male (lifer!)

Gambel’s Quail, male

European Starling

…at Desert Botanical Garden, this past week.

I saw these…

American Coot

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, female

Yellow-rumped Warbler, Audubon’s, female

…at Granada Park, this past week.

I saw these…

Gila Woodpecker

Northern Mockingbird

Curve-Billed Thrasher

Ornate Tree Lizard

Giant Swallowtail

…in my yard, this past week. And now I’m out looking for more. 🙂

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Winter at Papago Ponds

Northern Shoveler, female

Northern Shoveler, male

This is what winter looks like in Phoenix, specifically the ponds at Papago Park, a Phoenix Point of Pride. (Click on photos for more detail.)

Ring-Necked Duck, male

American Wigeons, male and female

Do you wonder where your waterfowl went? They’re here with more arriving daily!!!

American Coot

Common Gallinule

Green Heron, the American Birding Association’s Bird of the Year 2015!

Canvasback, female

Neotropic Cormorants

Canada Goose, C77, with American Wigeon and Ring-Necked Duck

Gadwall, female

Gadwall, male

Pied-Billed Grebe

Lesser Scaups

And some girls out having a good time…

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My Home Park

The European Starlings were decorating their cactus the other day at Granada Park, which I am now considering my “home park.” It’s the closest city park with a lake (2 of them) to our house and it also has trails leading out into the desert foothills of Piestewa Peak, part of the Phoenix Mountain Preserve.

“I refuse to be outdone by those Starlings!”

So it has both desert and water habitats and the resulting wildlife. I go there at least once a week with my camera. A lot of my photos in the last few months were taken there.

There’s a little hidden area where someone keeps the bird feeders stocked. Unfortunately, the birds hear me coming and fly away before I can get any good shots of them.

Northern Mockingbird

Inca Dove

House Finch

Although there are currently migrating Mallards, American Wigeons, American Coots, and Ring-Necked Ducks there, these are some of the year-round regulars that are basically just hybirds and domestic ducks (“City Park Specials”) but I think they are handsome, nevertheless.

I love this guy, above, who looks like he is posing for me. He hangs out with a couple of the big white ducks and geese most of the time.

And a few fun-loving Mallards to finish it off:

*Certain Photoshopped elements courtesy of Obsidian Dawn.

Who’s Migrating?

Not these guys, they’re here in force year-round, the Rosy-Faced Lovebirds, feral descendants of tame birds that survive well in the Phoenix area. But this is the time for the migrating birds to start showing up for the winter, along with the other snowbirds we get.

So last weekend at Granada Park in central Phoenix, close to where I live, I checked out who was around:

White-Crowned Sparrows make their annual reappearance this time of year.

Flocks of American Wigeons descend on our fair city. They make the cutest sounds, not quacks at all.

More American Coots with their funny feet arrive.

The wild Mallards show up although I’m not sure if this is a pure one since we have Mallard hybrids around all year.

The small, elegant Ring-Necked Ducks (also known as Blackjacks) make their presence known as flocks fill up the local lakes.

The European Starlings were watching the arrivals with me.

I see a lot of doves but not usually Mourning Doves.

I guess this might be a hawk nest? It was almost 2 feet long but it was just slightly above eye level so I can’t imagine a hawk having a nest that low. I’ll be going back to this park this weekend to see who else might be in town and maybe I’ll find the resident.

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Return to Tres Ríos

I like to call these “Herodynamics.” We were back at Tres Rios a couple of weeks ago. This post will look a lot like my original post from there, 7 weeks earlier.