The White Flycatcher
(click on a photo to enlarge)
Over a week ago now (I’ve been doing domestic stuff like painting walls and got behind with blogging), I visited Sweetwater Wetlands Park in west central Tucson. It’s a convenient stop, just off of I-10 a bit northwest of the Prince Rd. exit. I hadn’t been to Sweetwater in months which I regret because it’s probably the #1 birding hotspot in Tucson, especially in the cooler months. Some weeks earlier a leucistic Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus) was spotted at the park and I procrastinated to the point that I forgot it was there. So, when I made my visit, I wasn’t even looking for the ghostly white bird. Instead it found me.
Leucistic Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus)
This bird is so white that at first impression you think it’s an albino but on closer inspection, you notice the dark eyes which would be pink were it a true albino as well as a slight pinkish-orange cast on some of the feathers. Trusting and calm, it perched just above where I was standing and proceeded to preen giving me even better views of the feathers in the vent are which should be scarlet if the bird is a male and much more pigmented if a female. The tail feathers are grayish instead of black.
Preening
Birds are referred to as leucistic even if they have only a few white feathers that would normally be pigmented. In true albinism the gene that produces the pigments which color the feathers is missing. This bird is an extreme case of leucism. On this day, the little white flycatcher was in the company of both a striking crimson and black male and a female, making the contrast between them even more impressive.
Sweetwater is truly an oasis in the desert and attracts a large variety of wintering waterfowl. I never cease to admire the beautiful Northern Shovelers that are, by far, the most numerous ducks on the ponds. I also think the drakes are among the most photogenic of all the ducks.
Male Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)
Flashy Orange Feet!
A female shoveler flew in and proceeded to bathe.
Gotta Keep Those Feathers in Shape!
There’s something about the little Pied-billed Grebe that always captivates me even though it doesn’t have flashy colored feathers. It kinda looks like an aquatic chicken.
Pied-billed Grebe (Podylimbus podiceps)
This little guy or gal (the sexes both look alike) lacks the black vertical stripe on the bill that gives it its name. This is because it’s in non-breeding plumage until about April. They spend most of their time diving for food and rarely fly. This bird wanted to get to another spot on the pond quickly and did so by “running” on the surface of the water.
Slinking on by in the silky waters of the pond was the more secretive Common Moorhen. These birds are usually only seen singly or in pairs, never in large numbers like their close cousins, the American Coot. I think the name Uncommon Moorhen would suit them better.
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
One last little surprise before leaving the park, a Yellow Warbler– two, in fact. Birds that should be overwintering in Central or South America. You just never know what you’ll find on a visit to Sweetwater!
Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia)
Published by Arlene Ripley on January 29th, 2010 Tagged Arizona, Birds, Nature, Tucson, Wanderings | 2 Comments »
A Bluebird Winter
(click on a photo to enlarge)
This has turned into the winter of the bluebird. Even lowland areas such as downtown Tucson are reporting flocks of Western Bluebirds. If I drive to the old water tanks along the Forest Road in the nearby Coronado National Forest, I never fail to find many Western Bluebirds at the seepage from the tanks.
Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana) Flock at the Water Tanks
I spotted ours in late October and since then we’ve had them coming for water almost daily. A beautiful flock of seven Western Bluebirds.
Western Bluebirds Tanking Up
No, wait. Make that six Westerns and one female Mountain Bluebird. How did she get in there?
Female Mountain Bluebird (Sialia currucoides)
One morning, early on, she arrived before sunrise with a beautiful male, but they left before I could take photos. I wondered if I’d see the male again and I didn’t.
The flock would fly in and land on the dead agave stalks we put up for perches. We have lots of Palmer’s Agave up here and the dead flower stalks make wonderful bird perches, especially when tall trees are at a premium, in fact, non-existent.
Western Bluebirds on Agave Stalk
One morning as I was driving out of the Ranch, I passed a dry wash with many large junipers (Juniperus monoensis). Those juniper-laden washes have always fascinated me and I plan to walk the largest one but haven’t yet done so. I noticed lots of bluebirds in the trees and was pleased to note that all of the bluebirds I was seeing (a flock of about 60 birds) were Mountain Bluebirds (Sialia currucoides)! Next morning, bright and early, I was in that wash, camera and binoculars in hand.
The junipers were laden with berries and the bluebirds were eagerly scarfing them up.
Male Mountain Bluebird with Juniper Berry
Male Mountain Bluebird
My two favorite photos of male Mountain Bluebirds showing off their stunning turquoise colors.
Naturally I had to return to this spot several more times, and each time I was rewarded with stellar views of the feeding bluebird flock accompanied by a single Sage Thrasher (Oreoscoptes montanus) who, on my first visit, hopped right on the roof of my car while I was still sitting in it! Since there was no apparent water around for miles, I got the bright idea to bring a plant saucer and fill it with water. I set it under a juniper, camouflaged the saucer with some rocks and sat and waited for the bluebirds to come down for a drink. Some did but what I did not expect was within a few minutes of placing the water dish, other species also came in for water. Species that I hadn’t seen in the wash before.
First to find the water was a Northern Cardinal.
Male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
Male Mountain Bluebird (note the water dribbling down his chin!)
Sage Thrasher (Oreoscoptes montanus)
Crissal Thrasher (Toxostoma crissale)
Crissal Thrashers, by the way, have become exceedingly common here this winter. We also have one at our feeding station and I see one or more on most days when I go birding up here in the Dragoons.
Published by Arlene Ripley on January 16th, 2010 Tagged Arizona, Birds, Bluebirds, Cochise County, Nature | 2 Comments »
Rose-throated Becard
Today, seven days into the new year, we finally took the time to drive to Tumacacori in Santa Cruz County to the now famous Santa Gertrudis Lane to look for the Rose-throated Becard and other rarities that have been reported there over the last few weeks. We didn’t get off to an auspicious start — less than a mile into our trip, the tire sensor warning sounded and an inspection showed a low left front tire. By the time we got back to the house, we could hear the hissing as the rest of the air escaped and watched as the tire went completely flat. We loaded the other vehicle with our stuff, removed the flat tire and replaced it with the little temporary one and instead of heading for points southwest, we drove two cars down to Benson to find a tire repair shop. This, of course, ate up precious birding time.
About two hours later than anticipated, we arrived at the designated spot and walked down the lane. Of course, other birders were already there, roaming about, standing alone or in groups looking through binoculars and scopes at the various berry-laden Pyracantha shrubs, privets and hackberry trees. We met one man leaving who told us that he’d seen none of the “target” birds (Rose-throated Becard, Rufous-backed Robin and Varied Thrush to name a few). This was disappointing news.
We decided to walk down the Anza Trail to which there is an entrance gate off Santa Gertrudis Lane. It was noon and no one else was around (generally not a good sign when you’re looking for a rare bird) and it didn’t seem very birdy but we prodeeded to walk a bit farther down the trail. A Bridled Titmouse popped up and then a Hutton’s Vireo. A Hermit Thrush here and there and lots of Western Bluebirds high in the trees. Suddenly in a tree very close to where we were standing, some movement. I caught a glimpse of a rosy throat the immediately knew what I had found — Life Bird #595, the Rose-breasted Becard! This was my number one target bird for today. Any other would be icing on the cake. As it turned out, at the same time we were watching the becard, the Rufous-backed Robin put in a brief appearance at a Pyracantha shrub but by the time we got back there, it was no longer being seen. The Varied Thrush was not reported by anyone and may have left entirely.
It would have been nice to stay longer but there was that tire waiting to be picked up before 5 PM many miles up the road, so we had to leave. Nevertheless, etched in my memory will always be the vision of that first glimpse of the elusive little becard, sitting for a brief moment in a tree allowing me this photo. I didn’t even mind that the sky was a dull gray and the sun was hidden behind the clouds. The little bird from Mexico with the rosy throat was quite a New Year’s gift.
Rose-throated Becard (Pachyramphus aglaiae)
(click on photo to enlarge)Published by Arlene Ripley on January 7th, 2010 Tagged Arizona, Birds, Nature, Wanderings | Comment now »
New Year’s Day 2010
A beautiful start to 2010……….a day at Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area in the Sulphur Springs Valley of Cochise County watching thousands of Sandhill Cranes. Happy New Year everyone!
(click on photo to enlarge)
Published by Arlene Ripley on January 3rd, 2010 Tagged Arizona, Birds, Cochise County, Wanderings | Comment now »
Happy Holidays
Thanks and Best Wishes to all who have visited the “Curious Naturalist” over the past year. I have enjoyed and appreciated your comments and I look forward to sharing more observations and adventures in 2010.
The male Pyrrhuloxia is decked out in his holiday finest!
Published by Arlene Ripley on December 25th, 2009 Tagged Arizona, Birds, Cochise County, Miscellaneous, Nature | Comment now »
The Hole in the Tree
(click on a photo to enlarge)
On Wednesday (12/16) I was scouting some areas in the national forest looking for good birding spots for the December 18 St. David Audubon Christmas Bird Count. As I expected, bird numbers and diversity were quite low thanks to a “non-monsoon” year.
As I sat in the parking area of my last checkpoint, I happened to notice a hawk, partially hidden, sitting on a mesquite branch. Noticing a rufous breast I assumed Cooper’s Hawk but to my surprise it turned out to be a red-tailed. The bird was very interested in a small hollow knothole about and two inches wide on the side of the main trunk.
The hawk awkwardly clung to the trunk as it probed and prodded into the hole with its bill. I could see small feathers flying. It made a half-dozen attempts to extract the bird inside and eventually plucked it out. I couldn’t see what it had so I watched until it finished its meal and flew to a nearby tree. Here the light was perfect to capture the hawk’s coloration and my conclusion is the Fuertes subspecies of Red-tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis fuertesi. Breeding range for this subspecies is mainly Mexico and SW Texas extending into SE Arizona. This subspecies typically lacks a significant belly-band however Red-tailed Hawks have many color variations so I can only presume my ID is correct. Comments welcome!
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis fuertesi)
After the hawk flew off, I inspected the area around the cavity and found this:
Small Feathers Stuck to the Tree
And on the ground, this:
Wing Feathers
Imagine seeking shelter in this small hole, and then meeting your fate.
One less woodpecker for the count………….. Ladder-backed? Hairy? Sapsucker? Again, comments welcome.
1/9/2010 Update: We sent the feathers to Carla Dove, head of the Feather Identification Lab, Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. She identified them as belonging to a Gila Woodpecker (Melanerpes uropygialis)! I never even considered that a Gila could fit in such a small hole. Thanks to Carla, mystery solved!
Published by Arlene Ripley on December 19th, 2009 Tagged Arizona, Birds, Cochise County, Nature | 1 Comment »
The Little Green Eggs (conclusion)
(click on a photo to enlarge)
It took 40 days for the Hubbard’s Small Silkmoth (Sphingicampa hubbardi) caterpillars to complete this stage of their life-cycle. Two days after hatching and feeding on mesquite leaves the caterpillars, originally just a few millimeters in length, began to green up and grow.
Two Days Old (8/21)
Notice the subtle changes that took place over the next few weeks. Mostly they just got longer and larger.
Four Days Old (8/23)
After a week, some changes are noticeable along the back. The small, hair-like spines (scoli) are now larger and more colorful and the horn at the tail end is more prominent. White and yellow colors are more noticeable too.
Seven Days Old (8/26)
Not much change between 7 and 11 days except for some subtle red hues in the enlarging scoli.
Eleven Days (8/30)
At 19 days, the caterpillars are about an inch in length, deeper blue-green and the scoli are becoming more tinged with reds and blues.
19 Days (9/8)
21 Days (9/10)
By day 25 the last instar stage has been reached. The caterpillars are about 1.5″ in length. They are handsome or grotesque depending on your viewpoint but no one can deny that their coloration and overall appearance is outstanding.
Last Instar, 25 Days (9/14)
Psychedelic Colors (9/15, 26 days)
After reaching their final growth stage, which lasts about a week, the caterpillars stop eating and begin wandering in search of a place to pupate. They often attain a deep rosy coloration at that point.
Wandering Adult Ready to Pupate
Normally they would burrow into the soil and then shed their skin. However, shedding on the floor of the terrarium seemed to be okay with them too. The pupa forms under the skin which then wiggles its way out.
Shed Skin
The pupa will overwinter and hopefully emerge next spring. The plain coloration of Hubbard’s Small Silkmoth adults gives no indication of their colorful caterpillar history except for the rosy underwings that are useful to flash should a predator consider them for a meal.
Sphingicampa hubbardi, adult
Published by Arlene Ripley on December 7th, 2009 Tagged Arizona, Cochise County, Insects, Moths, Nature | 2 Comments »
