American Kestrel Dad serving lunch to his fledged kids, Chandler AZ, 5/29/12.
I've occasionally been watching a pair of American Kestrels that nested in a tall palm at a shopping center out in Chandler. But I hadn't visited for several weeks and was afraid by now I'd missed the baby kestrels, likely gone from their nest.
Luckily they were still hanging around their neighborhood this morning, sitting high up in the palms, crying for food as Mom & Dad demonstrated the basics of hunting.
Male Costa's Hummingbird in the backyard, 5/28/12.
This brilliant little guy has been ruling the backyard recently, though not without frequent challenges from several other hummingbirds. He kept us company today and was content to share the patio with us for awhile.
And my bonus sighting this afternoon was a 4-legged fellow often heard but rarely seen from our backyard...
A healthy-looking coyote, who wandered up out of the wash behind our property and out into the desert preserve. As soon as he noticed me watching him, he took off.
Female Hooded Oriole in the backyard bougainvillea, 5/27/12.
This may be a first -- I'm not sure we've ever seen a female Hooded Oriole in our yard. I happened to look out the kitchen window and there she was -- so I caught this photo through the window, before she flew up into our neighbor's palm tree.
Hooded orioles use the fibers from the edges of palm fronds to weave their hanging pouch nests. It would be great if orioles are nesting in the palm. Time will tell...
Male Costa's Hummingbird in the front entryway, 5/26/12.
This is the little guy that's been guarding the front nectar feeder for the past few weeks. He's been molting and still has new feathers coming in -- you can see their little pointy tips, around his eyes especially. I had to open the front door just a crack and ever so quietly to sneakily catch this shot before he flew away.
Red-tailed Hawk on a power pole along Bush Highway near the Salt River, 5/25/12.
I stopped along the roadside to photograph this hawk, hoping I might see if it was the same one that was wrangling the snake a few weeks back. But it doesn't look quite the same to me, or maybe it just hadn't had such a challenging workout this morning. But what a beautiful bird! And I love how its coloring blends with the wooden pole, even though it isn't exactly camouflaged.
And as a bonus for all you vulture converts out there, I met a new one this morning:
Black Vulture at Blue Point beach along the Salt River, 5/25/12.
Today there were two Black Vultures keeping company with the Turkey Vultures. Turkey Vultures supposedly have a superior sense of smell, so the Black Vultures like to tag along with them at mealtime.
Turkey Vulture circus, Goldfield Rec Site near the Salt River, 5/24/12.
My morning was full of Turkey Vultures -- they seemed to be everywhere out by the river today.
Some people find them unpleasant to look at, but I've grown to appreciate their strange, leathery red heads and inquisitive stares.
They're essentially Mother Nature's clean-up crew, consuming all the dead critters so the rest of us get to enjoy a prettier, healthier and less-stinky great outdoors.
Not a glamorous job, but they do it well, and it's much appreciated.
Male Gambel's Quail on the back fence, 5/23/12.
One of these days soon, I hope to be getting photos of Mr & Ms Quail with a line of tiny chicks in tow. But so far in our neck of the woods, we've had to settle for the quail adults. Hardly a sacrifice, especially in the morning sunlight with a beautiful Mexican Bird-of-Paradise shrub as a backdrop.
Juvenile Northern Rough-winged Swallow at Coon Bluff near the Salt River, 5/22/12.
I saw the parent bird come to feed this young one. It still had a hint of its baby gape beak, but it was able to fly well from tree to tree.
Okay, so I may have to revise my blog plan to be the Almost-daily Bird... once again, life (this time in the form of travel) did not provide daily opportunities. Ah, well -- I'll continue to try my best.
Today's best came as a huge surprise. After failing to get any clear images of a hummingbird perched in the shade just outside the dirty front window, I went to see what was out back. And to my delight, I spotted a bird I've never before seen in our neighborhood, much less overlooking my backyard...
Through the window, a beautiful male American Kestrel, perched high in our neighbor's palm. See how his wings are not tucked in tight -- this seems to be what raptors do to help cool themselves. Today we were supposed to reach 109 toasty Phoenix degrees! Which explains why there's less bird activity and more shady perching going on at the moment.
Later, the light improved and I was also able to get a moody shot of the little male Costa's Hummingbird who's been spending most of his day on perched on the aloe outside the front window by my desk.
He looks a bit raggedy, but who wouldn't, in this heat?
Sparrow parent feeding Cowbird fledgling, Woodland Park near Herndon VA, 5/19/12.
Oh, those tricky opportunist cowbirds -- they lay their eggs in other species' nests for the other birds to raise! This is the first time I've ever witnessed the result. You can see that this cowbird baby is already bigger than the adult sparrow feeding it.
