Colorful Characters

Cedar Waxwing

My days are coming to an end in Guatemala.  But before I left on this trip, I tried to get in as much birding as I could around Southern Arizona.  Today I have a collection of special birds from around Pima County near the Proctor Road and higher elevations.

When it becomes too hot to bird in the desert, we rise to higher elevations.

Blue Grosbeak

The characters have all changed again.  The month of June is a slow one concerning birds.  But once the monsoon picks up, the rarities will begin to show up left and right.

Cordilleran Flycatcher

Up on Mt. Lemmon, the Cordilleran Flycatchers were everywhere with their green/yellow colors.

Pygmy Nuthatch

The lifebird, a Red-faced Warbler, made me think of the holiday season as he fed from the various trees up on Summerhaven on Mt. Lemmon. Talk about a gorgeous warbler!  Tricky bugger as well!!!

Red-faced Warbler

A lot of people always ask me why our North American birds are much more drab.   Well, birds have to blend in with their surroundings.  But I'd like to point out with this post that there are birds with color here. I couldn't stop taking pics of this tricky warbler!

Sorry....I went a little Red-faced Warbler nuts!  Lifebirds will do that:)

Cordilleran Flycatcher

The thing is....even colorful birds can blend in with their surroundings:)  My ears reveal their location and I am then able to locate the bird.  My partner in crime, Micheal, can locate the birds by eyesight alone.  That's how we found the Cedar Waxwing!  It was silent in the trees as I walked right by it.

Hooded Oriole

Even the browns of our many Northern American birds are attractive.  Take the Botteri's Sparrow below.  It has a rusty color.

Botteri's Sparrow

The Western Wood Pewee may be drab on the outside, but it's another beautiful bird as it flies from its' perch.

Western Wood Pewee

This little guy will normally have yellow on the underside of the breast covered by it's gray vest.  There is some slight yellow here, but the sun washed the color out.

I really enjoy watching the Pewees at work.  They have such a loud snap snap!  as they chase after the bugs.

Not enough color???  Okay let's get back to business.  I put two shots up of a Western Tanager using two different cameras.  We both trained our cameras on the bird.  I use a slightly different lens for my Canon than what Micheal uses for his Nikkon.  The Nikkon wins here.

Western Tanager(with Canon)

I like both shots, but the detail is better on his shot below.  Before going to Guatemala, I wanted to play around with the cameras to get a better idea on which one to bring.

Western Tanager(with Nikkon)

Once I have good ID shots, I'll start playing around with artsy photography part more.  I used to do that more but the having a solid bird ID photo is important.

As you can see in the pics above and below, the birds use the Saguaro Cactus for many different reasons. This cactus is very important to our habitat.

Northern Cardinal

In fact, with lifebird number 2 today(the Purple Martin), it is very important!  The bird nests in the cavity of this plant.

Purple Martin

The Purple Martin appears black here but I assure you, it's a shiny purple color.  The sun plays tricks on the eyes and camera. Plus the feathers are iridescent giving the bird the appearance of looking like a blackbird.

So why are there so many brown birds in North America?  Maybe I'm not understanding the question:)  We have lots of color out there, but the trick is to keep a look out for these characters.

On my next post, it's not about my photography at all.  It's a little about night birding and thanking the people responsible for my education in the birding world.  It's not an overnight thing and it does take time to learn this incredible hobby. All you need is a love for nature, some epic hiking, and a little patience.  I will be gone the first week of July to Mexico and I again apologize for my absence.  We are heading to Northern Mexico in the state of Sonora to study the birds at a large and private ranch.  This blog is an account of my adventures from around the world and at home.  Many times it's about birds but it's also about everything else. Life is an adventure.  All we have to do is step outside our doors to find it:) I'm out of town but will be back in July.