April’s Fool

Hi! I missed March…this year is flying by, I guess. Hope things are going well in your worlds. We have had an unseasonably hot spring in Phoenix, Arizona, breaking records left and right. We hit 107 degrees fairly early on and it climbed up from there! In March! Unheard of and unpleasant. Now it has “cooled down” to the 90s, still awful. And it’s just about time for it to start getting hot anyway. I just think the poor Earth is scorched and in danger of implosion (cheery). I still saw some birds but they must be miserable, too!

At any rate, I went to a park that is part of the Phoenix Mountain Preserve called North Mountain. I had never been to that particular park even though it is only 10 miles from our house. I loved it and went twice. The first time it was cold and raining, the second time kinda toasty. And I saw some nice birds!

Costa's Hummingbird in chuparosa — *Costa’s Hummingbird*

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher — *Gnatcatcher, either Blue-Gray or Black-tailed (seems to be some differences of opinion)*

This one below was a total surprise AND a lifer for me plus it was a RARE BIRD and my report of it on eBird was the first reported one in that park ever. Other people did report it after that…but very exciting! And lovely.

Lawrence's Goldfinch, Lifer! — *Lawrence’s Goldfinch*

White-crowned Sparrow, immature. North Mountain Park, Phoenix, AZ. — *White-crowned Sparrow*

Then there has been some bird action in our yard, nest-building, chasing, and even babies already in March (very early)!

Working on that Nest! — *Curve-billed Thrasher*

Adult Towhee and 2 Chicks — *Abert’s Towhee with 2 juveniles*

*Burrowing Owl* *at Scottsdale Community College*, *where they have a habitat* *for them*

Gila Woodpecker on Saguaro — *Gila Woodpecker* *at a city park*

Rosy-faced Lovebird in Mesquite — *Rosy-faced Lovebird*

And Ferguson was kind enough to pose for St. Patrick’s Day!

Once it continues to get hotter and hotter, my birds will probably become scarcer and scarcer, at least around town so some out-of-town birding may be in order. I actually have not done that for quite some time but it would be nice to escape the heat and see some different feathered friends…

**I think WordPress changed some things since I last posted so I’m not entirely sure what this will look like…

Yikes, February!

I can’t believe I missed January and now almost February!!!!! Well, I’m posting something other than birds and cats for starters, I guess. So these bighorn sheep are at the Phoenix Zoo but there is a place in Papago Park, which is where the zoo is located, where you can see them scrambling around the buttes without actually going to the zoo (freebie!). We went and these 2 put on a little show for us! They seemed to find us sort of interesting, too. So cool.

This is another view from the same place, looking out over the surrounding mountains at sunset.

I guess I’ve been out and about too much because I seem to have way too many photos lined up…my problem is usually the opposite…so here goes…

Our friendly neighborhood Cooper’s Hawk (immature) paid a visit the other day. I flushed him from our mesquite tree inadvertently and he flew up to the power lines before disdainfully leaving…so majestic and fierce.

And equally majestic is this Osprey who we have seen hang out at a closeby office park in the past and who showed up again recently…

Some little yard friends:

Mockingbird on California Pepper Tree — *Northern Mockingbird eating peppercorns*

Anna's Hummingbird on Aloe — *Anna’s Hummingbird*

Eufala Skipper with Glowing Proboscis — *Eufala Skipper*

Red Eyes and Tattered Wings — *Painted Lady*

Peeping Misty, not a peeping tom — *Misty the peeping neighbor cat*

And I guess I’ve gone to a few local parks lately and had a little luck…

Double-crested Cormorant, I finally saw crests! — *Double-crested Cormorant with crests showing*

Yellow-rumped Warbler, male — Yellow-rumped Warbler, migrating

"Just" a Mallard Hen — *Female Mallard, posing*

And I’ll end with another mammal…a Desert Cottontail, frozen in fear of me…

I guess I saw more in the last couple months than I realized. I hope you are enjoying yourselves, too, and having some fun and exciting experiences.

Next up, SPRING! What may it bring to us all?

A December to Remember

Cactus Wren Singing Carols — *Cactus Wren in Palo Verde, AZ state bird and state tree*

Hi! As December winds down and a new year is on the horizon, I wanted to wrap up our bird and cat year here in Phoenix. We tried to indulge in some holiday festivities and one was going to the Desert Botanical Garden, where we have been members for years. The above photo was taken there in the parking lot on our way out. There were very few birds around, for some reason…

One of 3 "Living Trees" at DBG — *One of three “living trees”*

I saw a lovely female Northern Flicker, Red-shafted, in our yard, so pretty!

A little after 5pm one day in our very urban central Phoenix yard, some drama ensued. I looked up and was surprised to see an immature Cooper’s Hawk on the phone lines. We have an adult Coop who shows up regularly but I hadn’t seen a young one in awhile. While excitedly grabbing a few shots, I looked up to see what it was looking at and was very surprised to see this Red-tailed Hawk enjoying someone’s innards. I’ve only ever seen a RTHA flying over our yard, never landing closeby. Soon after this shot, the Red-tailed flew off, carrying its prey, with the Coop in hot pursuit and both landed in a tree many houses down so I don’t know if the Coop was able to scavenge a little or what…the size difference was huge, though. Really a fascinating sight for me to see, a brief Wild Kingdom experience in our own yard.

I also found a Coop feather in our yard on another day. We have a mature one that also comes to visit.

And the Rosy-faced Lovebirds are regular visitors to our yard…

We have a couple of pine trees, a different type than our own pine tree, one house east of us on the far side of their lawn. It is such a pretty perch and I am always glancing up, hoping to see birds up there, and I often do…Northern Mockingbirds and Curve-billed Thrashers. I keep hoping to see an owl, hawk, raven, something even more exciting up there although I am always happy to see anyone.

And another one, a Thrasher, a couple days ago, on a gloomy day…

We went to some other holiday gatherings, Phoenix Festival of the Arts, where my husband’s band played plus Glendale Glitters, where we met my cousin and his wife, and we had a guest over at Christmas. Mingled and chatted with many neighbors and had a pretty sociable month, all in all.

And, of course, the indoor and outdoor cats indulged in some holiday festivities and got some special treats. Ferguson was certain he heard reindeer paws on the house top and has been meowing the Gene Autry song ever since…

Up on the Housetop, Reindeer Pause (Paws)

Happy Holidays, Happy New Year!

Thanksgiving 2025

Lewis's Woodpecker, 1 of 3 — *Lewis’s Woodpecker*

Hi! It’s Thanksgiving here in the US so have a happy one to everyone living here and Happy Thursday to those who don’t! I totally missed an October post and…almost a November post. I guess I have been sort of busy and I seem to have a lot of photos to share so I will only choose a few faves.

The woodpecker above is rare in our area of metro Phoenix, AZ, and the park where it is scavenging for palm nuts and other goodies is not too far from me so I went to see it. So easy to find, not a lifer, but definitely my best views of one to date. Such a pretty bird and so fun to see a rarity. I took a ton of photos but I guess the above one is my favorite. It was a cloudy, rainy day so the lighting was a little wonky.

A couple weeks ago we went to our closest city park, where I basically began birding years ago, and saw a couple very pretty birds that I don’t see that often…a Wood Duck drake and a Green Heron.

What a handsome duck and unusual for this area this time of year…or really, not common at any time. He was hanging with the Mallards. Close by was the small heron:

It was fun to watch it intently searching for a meal…

We had out-of-state relatives visiting in October and we made a visit to the Lower Salt River in Tonto National Forest and saw the Salt River Wild Horses, always amazing, and a joy to see. We only saw 4 horses out of the 300 or so herd but it’s always exciting to see them eating eel grass from the river.

And these 2 little cuties were also gazing out at the river, Arizona Rock Squirrels, so sweet.

A couple shots from our yard:

Gila Woodpecker, male. — *Gila Woodpecker, male*

Gila Woodpecker, Female — *Gila Woodpecker, female*

Rosy-faced Lovebird with Sunflower Seeds — *Rosy-faced Lovebird*

Breezy Northern Mockingbird — *Northern Mockingbird*

Anna's in the Moonlight — *Anna’s Hummingbird*

And Ferguson will be mad if I don’t show you at least one of his Halloween photos:

To close, we also went to Liberty Wildlife, a local rescue, yesterday, a lovely place that does a lot of good and met some of their Animal Ambassadors!

And, now, we all head into the “Winter Holiday” season, however you celebrate it…a busy time of year for many but be sure to relax and do some of the things YOU want to do…it is supposed to be enjoyable.

HAPPY WINTER HOLIDAY SEASON!

Autumn Equinox

Autumn has officially arrived. It’s a little vague in the Phoenix area because it still gets to at least 100 daily but the mornings and nights are cooler and you can tell Fall is in the air.

So I have tried to get back out birding more again. I have been pretty lax about it for the last couple years due to a few factors but I miss seeing exciting birds. Everyday I check the local rare bird alert and, lately, I’ve gone after a few and actually gotten them! But I’ve missed more than I’ve gotten…oh, well, I have been glad to add the following three birds to my life list. The Purple Gallinule is very popular and has been in the area for a month or more now. This is a Central American bird that also shows up in Florida and Texas but not really in Arizona. It seems to like it here.

And, same with this goose, it does not belong here at all. It hangs out in a local city park with a bunch of Canada Geese.

This Lark Sparrow is not a rare bird yet I did not have it on my life list. There was a whole flock of them at another city park.

And the above 2 birds were at my closest city park, Granada. The Brewer’s Sparrows migrate here in the winter but the pretty red guy is a year-round bird but always so stunning to spot one.

*Black-headed Grosbeak, female or young male* *at another city park*

Costa's Hummingbird — *Costa’s Hummingbird*

I was in search of yet another rare bird that I never saw when I saw these 2 birds, above, at 2 different Scottsdale city parks.

And then back to our yard for the rest.

I’m always pretty excited when “my” Cooper’s Hawk shows up. It definitely scatters the pigeons. I think this is a male because he seems quite small.

I Am Seen! — *Who was more surprised to catch him taking a bath? I think we both were!*

And an autumnal rainbow ends this post. I was looking for yet another rare bird that I did not find but saw this instead, over a golf course in Scottsdale.

HAPPY FALL!