The Dark Side

Yellow Headed Blackbirds

Just how many black birds are out there??!!!!  Well on this day with Kathie, we'd discover every type of black bird and then some at Lakeside Park!!!!  There were some incredible surprises in the mix as well....rarities.  I love my birding buddy.  She's not only a cool person, but I now miss her when I'm birding alone.  Birding anytime is great but it's better when we work together as today would prove.

Great Tailed Grackles

And of course there were those that stood out from the "black feathers" only club.  But Kathie's careful eye discovered Cowbirds!!!  She was in awe and when it's something big, she says things like, "Oh my gosh Chris.  Oh my gosh! That's a...."  And we both get excited over the discovery.  

Wigeon

First, she documents and by the time she gets that camera ready, they've taken off on her. Birds are fast so I usually snap the shot and ID later.

Mallards landing

Now to be honest, blackbirds or sparrows scare me and can be difficult to ID. Or maybe it's just in my mind.  But they are birds and they are cool.  I just don't know why I feel that way because the blackbirds are incredibly interesting behavior wise.

American Coots

But inevitably, my eye is attracted to the raptor sitting in the tree.  I'm fascinated by them. Or how the above Coots gathered in a big group to have breakfast.

Red Tailed Hawk

But something captured both Kathie and my eyes.  Yellow.  WTH?!  There were two yellow headed blackbirds on the grass!  If you've ever tried taking shots of these birds, you know how difficult it is to get them on camera as they like to hang out in the reeds around water areas.  But here out in the open, there were TWO Yellow Headed Blackbirds.  And these birds do grab my attention and it was one of the many personal thrills for this day. The Vermilion Flycatchers and Herons being the other exciting finds...

But this sequence here of shennagins really got me excited and was thrilling to get on the camera.

Like hummingbirds, there was a pecking order and someone crossed the line......it was the female Grackle.

What a ^%&#!  She had to get her bill into the fold but thankfully the two young ones stood their ground......until 2 Kestrels presented themselves up in the airwaves and then all hell broke loose.  Everyone and their mother goose got up and flew the coup!

Well except for this cute adorable little White Crowned Sparrow.  They're back!

White Crowned Sparrow

The shot below of the Cowbirds REALLY got Kathie jumping up and down.  Luckily I was able to capture the two together.  It's important to note that they are two completely different Cowbirds hanging out on the same branch.   The trees were full of Brewer's, Grackles, etc etc.  And these two were cleverly disguised in the mix. And while the Bronzed Cowbird wasn't a lifer for me, the Brown Headed Cowbird was.  It was an unusual find in Tucson.  I saw my first Cowbird in Madera Canyon.

Male Bronzed Cowbird and a Brown Headed Cowbird

Kathie told me that this would happen.  She said that many times there are different birds hiding in the mix.  But my eyes were pulled to the Vermilion Flycatchers, Egrets, Herons, Raptors, Hummingbirds, etc etc.

And lately the Warblers have grabbed my full attention.  Coming up, I'll present several from my Portal visit. It was a fun day, as always, with Kathie.  But most importantly, I learned the very important lesson of looking closer.  Not everything is as it appears.  And then I joined the Dark Side of the force:) And it's appropriate.  Kathie would be the Emperor and I would play her henchman Darth Vader.  That Yellow Rumped Warbler never had a chance:)  More tomorrow.....

Yellow Rumped Warbler

Kharma

The Sora.  A rare find.

A little over half a year ago, I thought birding was funny.  Not that it was a joke, but I didn't get it.  Sometimes I would joke that birders were goofy people and sometimes just plain ol' strange.  Well, the tides have turned and it hit me several weeks ago that I had crossed over to the other side.  And I don't know how I feel about it.  It started with my post, The Closeted Birder.

Several of my birding friends reported Cedar Waxwings in the area and I knew I had several days to get my butt over to the springs where they were hanging out.  Agua Caliente park is a large park FULL of palms.  And with palms come the fruit that these birds love.  I walked the entire park searching for them and other birds.  It was a breezy day and I wasn't sure I would find the Great Blue Heron or Cedar Waxwings reported around the waters.

Northern Beardless Tyrannulet

I certainly found a lot of other birds out there, but I needed better guidance and thought that the docent in the gift shop would know more.  If you walk inside the building, there is a birding checklist.  It's actually quite nice and helpful for someone like me who has difficulty at times trying to identify birds. The docent was out.

So I went to the art gallery where there was another person selling beautiful artistic quilts from various artists. I asked if she knew anything about birds and she said that "She knew what most people knew about birds." which answered my question.  So I left and found several birders in the area.  They didn't know so I kept my eyes open until I spotted a birder standing near a group of palms.  More on that tomorrow.  But here's what happened.

Yellow Rumped Warbler

The Cedar Waxwings were near a group of palms along with a bunch of American Robins. We shot a lot of great pictures and had a really nice conversation.  I stayed a bit longer and did some more photography until I got some shots with better lighting.  It's very tricky to get good pictures of birds doing something special in midflight.

But what turned out to be a dull start ended with a bang and I wanted to share my excitement! On the way back to my car, I stopped at the center and let the lady know that I found them.  She was talking to another woman and while they were polite, I could see that they didn't care.  And I get that, but what I didn't expect was the mean laugh that followed after I turned my back and left the room.  "He's one of those nutty birder people."  I have to say that I have a thick skin, but that kind of hurt a bit.  When did it happen?

When did I become one of "them"?  The adrenaline rush from finding anything in the wild is pure magic.  It doesn't matter if it's a deer, wildflower, bird, cactus....it's just a wonderful gift.  I let it roll off my shoulders but I'm documenting this to remember that moment so I won't forget.  Maybe I am one of "them" but it sure beats sitting inside a room all day waiting for people to visit when the sun is out and about shining. Kharma.  It was a good lesson for the day.

One other note. "When the people play; birds will stray!"  I have to remember to search for low traffic areas where the majority of people don't congregate.....which would then turn out to be a high traffic area for birds that day.  More tomorrow on my Cedar Waxwing show!

American Robins

Time to fly!