The Birds Of Southern Arizona
In this article, I will share with you some of the birds I know and love. I will include photos, descriptions, where they are found, something of their habits, and so forth. This photo is the beautiful Broad-billed Hummingbird, Cynanthus latirostris. Notice how many different colors he has. Hummingbirds live off the nectar of flowers, and insects. Their wings beat so fast when they fly that they look like a blur. They seem to need to eat constantly to fulfill their huge metabolic needs. How they find time to set on eggs is a mystery to me! They are the world's smallest birds. Arizona has sixteen species of hummingbirds, which is very unusual. I have photographed fifteen of them. I went into more detail about the hummers of Arizona in a separate article: Arizona Hummingbirds. All photos are mine. This is the Gambel's Quail, Callipepla gambelii. These gentle birds mate for the long haul, and the parents raise the brood of young together. Once the young are old enough to run around (which is very soon), you can see entire families running across the desert together, especially when it is cool toward evening or in the early morning.
I have seen up to 24 babies in a single family. These quail sleep in trees, but nest on the ground. The male quail has some of the prettiest coloring of any of the birds I know and love. When I first got this picture from the developer, I went to a restaurant, and I was looking through my pictures. I was absolutely thrilled with this one! A couple of women came by, and asked me how much I would sell the photo for. I said, "Oh, a hundred dollars!" I didn't get any takers. This is the Harris's Hawk, Parabuteo unicinctus. Their favorite food is rodents and small birds. These birds can sometimes be seen circling in the sky, looking for food. They have very sharp eyesight, among the best for any animal. I sometimes see these birds perched on the top of a saguaro cactus or a telephone pole.
Birds of prey are also known as raptors. One day, I was out at Sweetwater Wetlands. There are four Harris's Hawks that live there. I saw one of them try to grab a Yellow-headed Blackbird, and he missed. After that, the other bird flew behind him, so there was no chance he'd get nabbed. This is the Killdeer, Charadrius vociferus. These are wading birds, who take their food from the water. Their antics are a lot of fun to watch. Parents will sometimes pretend to be hurt, with a broken wing, or whatever, to lure predators away from their young. This is the Hooded Oriole, Icterus cucullatus. They normally live more up in the mountains, where it is cooler. Their song is gorgeous! I often saw these birds in the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains near Tucson. They liked to nest in the dead fronds of palm trees. I saw them one summer in the Tucson Mountains, the year the Catalinas had the Aspen Fire.
The birds came into other places to escape the fire. I never saw them again. We see these on our property a lot. They like to sit on top of saguaro cactus, as this one is doing. They are very fond of saguaro fruit. So am I. They usually get it first. The saguaro cactus is a tall, columnar cactus, that can grow to 150 feet in height or more. They grow about an inch a year, so that will give you an idea how old they must be. Unfortunately, they are dying out. But in the meantime, I frequently see white winged doves on top of them. This is a relative of the cardinal, not nearly as colorful, but a lot less shy. I have had a real challenge photographing cardinals, but these fellows are much easier to catch. They like sunflower seeds. I have lots and lots of birds to share with you. I will add new ones from time to time. I recently put up a couple of galleries of bird pictures on Flickr, and I will be adding to them. I also have a gallery on Facebook.
I am a contributor to the World Bird Gallery. If you are interested in becoming serious about birding in the United States, the best book I know of that will help you identify the birds you see is The Sibley Guide to Birds. You can get it at Amazon. Since late 2009, I have been going out specifically to take photographs of birds. It has been very enjoyable, and I have many stories to tell. I have also become a part of the birding community. I decided to post my lists on eBird. I haven't put all of them there yet, but I have put quite a few. My current life list (birds I have seen in the wild) has 243 species. I'll be adding another one next time. By the time you read this, the number might be even higher. Southeastern Arizona is regarded as one of the prime birding areas of the United States. The United States has about 800 species of birds, and about 450 of them appear in southeastern Arizona. We are seeing more and more species over time.
