This is an Acorn Woodpecker. There is a place not far from here called Cochise Stronghold, named for the wily Apache Chief. There is a small campground there nestled among the oaks and there are always several of these woodpeckers flying around and beating on trees. We call them clown birds because of their colorful appearance and fun to watch antics.
Yes there is no bird here. Often times when you get ready to take a picture of a bird it will fly, or move, or in this case dive. You then end up with just an image of a tree branch or water as in this case.
With patience and a little luck the bird may reappear and here it is an Eared Grebe.
We were out for a drive the other day in a pretty wild and remote area in Las Cienegas, an extensive grassland area north of Sonoita, AZ. This Great Egret was sitting in a tree above a pond of water. We had never seen one of these in this area as it is mainly dry grassland. The egret must have seen this pond or known the water was there.
This picture was taken on March 19th at White Water Draw. We were very surprised to see so many Sandhill Crane. We thought they should have left and headed north to their summer breeding grounds.
In the above image of all the Sandhill Cranes there were some white birds mixed in. These were a small flock of White Geese. They are generally a mixture of Snow Geese and Ross's Geese. As you can see from this image they can be fairly difficult to tell apart hence many biologists, talking about the winter flocks, will call them white geese. The goose on the left is a Snow Goose while the one on the right is a Ross's Goose. They breed in different parts of the Arctic and will separate as they migrate north.
As you look at the Cranes you will see a number of Juveniles. These were born last summer and are hanging out with their parents until they get back north when they will be set off on their own. The Juvenile is in the foreground with no reddish coloration on their head. They appear almost bald.
This chunky looking fellow is a Yellow-rumped Warbler, often called a butter butt because they have yellow markings on the back end. They are a very common bird and can be seen almost everywhere.
This is a Western Meadowlark. Very common and distinctive. It has a beautiful spring like song.
This is another Meadowlark but an Eastern Meadowlark. They can be very difficult to tell apart from the Western Meadowlark and here in Southern Arizona we have both species. The differences are very subtle other than the song. We watched this bird and listened to it's song for quite a while. Totally different than the Western's Song. Deanna thought that the song was just backwards from the Western Meadowlark.
The Eastern Meadowlark here in Arizona and some other Southern states has a variation called a Lilian's Meadowlark, they are often considered a subspecies of the Eastern. This may be one of that species. It is considerably paler that the Eastern which is even paler than the Western.
There are lots of sparrows here in southern Arizona. They come here to spend the winter in the warmer weather. This is a Lark Sparrow beautifully marked and hungry.
This is an appropriately named Cactus Wren. It always amazes us how they can move about in and among the spines and not get skewered.
This is really a Red-tail Hawk. Not sure if he is looking for fleas, cleaning the feathers, or just hoping that all these stupid tourists will leave so he can get back to some peace and quiet.
This Virginia Rail is normally a very secretive bird. They hide in the reeds and cattails and are more often heard than seen. This one was wandering around out in the open but close to cover and would quickly scoot back out of sight at the slightest disturbance.
This is a male Ruddy Duck in breeding plumage. Their bill turns this vibrant blue and part of their ritual is to beat it against their chest making a thumping sound. They are fun to watch.
Here is the distinctive Vermillion Flycatcher. They are a common bird here in the south west. We see them a lot.
This is the only test found herein. These birds are Marbled Godwits, long legged and long billed. How many birds are there in this image? Most birdologists would tell you to count the legs and divide by two. Each bird should have two legs so that computation will give you the number of birds. Find out how many there are.
This is not a test rather some sage advice. This is a border patrol station. They are found all around here on the highways heading north from the Mexico Border. This one happens to be north of Sierra Vista along highway 90, it is not right on the border. You will note the large dog sniffing at the cars up ahead.
Advice:do not offer the dog one of your marijuana laced cookies. He would get really agitated and his handler and friends would have lengthy conversations with you.
Advice: As you pull up and Border Patrol Agent and he asks: "Are you a US citizens?" do not ask him why he doesn't get a real job instead of wasting your tax dollars asking stupid questions. You probably will be told to pull over to the vehicle dismemberment area and take everything, as in everything, out of your car, you trunk area, your pockets etc and lay that on the ground for them to inspect when they get back with you in a few hours. It will definitely lengthen your lunch trip north.
We hope you enjoyed this brief post and got the answer to the test correct. When you next come to Southern Arizona be sure and heed the advice presented here, it will save you a lot of hassle.
Please let us know if you have any questions or comments.
All the best – George & Deanna
