Globe

House Sparrow

This handsome sparrow posed so prettily for me that I had to take his photo.

Lesser Goldfinches

We went on a day trip to Globe last week. Once again, a trip with no lifers or even very unusual birds. I had a goal to get 60 lifers this year and I’m at 43, I think, but have not had good luck the last few trips.

Vermilion Flycatchers, male and female

Anna’s Hummingbird, male

Phainopepla, female

Besh Ba Gowah

Our main destination in Globe (other than trying, unsuccessfully, to find a good birding place) was Besh Ba Gowah, a partially restored ruin of the Salado people who occupied the site between AD 1225 and AD 1400.

First surveyed and mapped in 1883 by Adolph Bandolier, the ancient ruins occupied by both the Hohokams and the Rio Salado Indians beginning in AD 1600 came to be known as Besh Ba Gowah. It means “a place of metal” in Apache. Later in 1920, a local woman, Irene Vickery, supervised the excavation for the next 20 years and uncovered nearly 200 rooms and 350 burial sites. After her death in the 1940s, the site was left unattended.

But in the 1980s, a Globe councilman, Louie Aguirre, stepped in and rallied support from the city and local community to bring in the Department of Anthropology at Arizona State University to undertake a re-excavation and reconstruction of the site. Parts of it have been left in the excavated state and parts were reconstructed (which, apparently, is controversial in the archaeological world).

Anyway, it was interesting, inexpensive, the employees were very friendly, no one else was there but us for most of the time, and they had bird feeders. They also had a botanical garden and an ethno-botanical garden. They have some crops growing that are similar to crops grown when it was an active Salado community, including teosinte, an ancestor of corn and maize. It was also cooler than Phoenix with a nice breeze blowing…so, all in all, it was a good trip and a pretty drive.

Roasting pit

 

Advertisements

Melting/Molting

Curve-billed Thrashers

All the critters in our yard are either melting, molting or both right now. The thrashers dig holes and lay in them to keep cool. Notice the second one is drifting off to sleep, showing his nictitating membrane. We have a lot of shade and some water so they are able to keep relatively comfortable.

Abert’s Towhee, refreshing in bird bath

Anna’s Hummingbirds

House Finch, male youngster

Ash-throated Flycatcher (or Brown-crested Flycatcher)

I was surprised to see the above bird as I’ve never had one in the yard before. That is yard bird species #32. If it was a Brown-crested Flycatcher, it would be a lifer (bird never seen before) but when I asked the “experts, ” about half said it was Brown-crested and half said it was Ash-throated so I still don’t really know. It’s a juvenile, whichever it is.

Cicada Exoskeleton

Baby House Sparrows (possibly House Finches), I can’t really tell

The following 2 shots are in the “Things Only the Camera Sees” category. I didn’t notice until I looked at my photos that this Verdin was shedding a feather just as I was taking pics. It’s too bad it was behind branches and so dark.

Verdin

Stripey, preferring muddy rain water to fresh water.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Christmas 2016

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

And a few more from Christmases Past…

All Good in the ‘Hood

Amazingly, four Wood Ducks have been hanging out about half of a mile away from our house in an odd little office complex pond (see a photo of it here). There are 3 males and 1 female. This was another lifer for me! They are not really common here and I’ve been trying to see one for a long time. I never thought I would see 4 at once! And so close to home!

I’ve been there twice so far. The security guard said they fly in and out so they are spending their time somewhere else nearby, too. I’m hoping they plan to winter here. So beautiful!

House Sparrow, male

I’ve been trying to get the backyard birds to pose for holiday shots. Herding cats is easier than herding birds. I should have stuck with cat holiday shots.

House Sparrow, female

Not surprisingly, only the sparrows are participating so far.

Curve-billed Thrasher

Abert’s Towhee

Orange-crowned Warbler

Last year I only saw our wintering warbler eating oranges but this year it is digging the suet, too.

Verdin

Inca Dove

Anna’s Hummingbird, male

 

September in My Yard

My birding has been almost non-existent the last few days even though I keep meaning to go out. Mornings are now cooler although it still gets to around 100° in the afternoons so it’s best to be an early bird. I hope to step it up this week. This is FALL migration, after all!

Verdin

So many people in my Facebook birding group are getting exciting migrants in their yards but not us, yet…I keep looking, though.

All of the hummers in this post are Anna’s Hummingbirds. Other people in the area are getting Rufous and Black-chinned passing through so I hope to see something different soon. I am very glad that we have our Anna’s year-round, though. It would be lonely without them.

Abert’s Towhee (molting)

House Sparrow, male

House Finch, male (photobombed by House Sparrow)

Curve-billed Thrasher (showing his tongue and peanut)

Eurasian Collared-Dove

And completing the Quadfecta of Doves:

Inca Doves, White-winged Dove, Mourning Dove

So I did possibly (probably) get a new yard bird recently that is also a Life Bird. Many experienced birders agreed that this is a Clay-colored Sparrow (below), which would be somewhat out-of-range, but a couple identified it as a Brewer’s Sparrow which would make it not a Lifer and not a new yard bird.

I submitted it to eBird but never heard back and I’ve seen a few other people reporting Clay-coloreds in the area so I’m going with that for now. Yard Bird #30. Isn’t he cute and inquisitive looking? I’ve only seen him once; he must have moved on.

Be on the lookout for new and unusual birds in your areas during this migration period. You might see something awesome.