Red-tailed Hawk (I hope!) Wed. Wings

To those of you who have followed me over the past couple of years, you know how I struggle to correctly I.D. Hawks. I "think" this may be an immature Red-tailed Hawk according to size,color, markings, etc. No matter how many books or illustrations I view to help me identify a Hawk, it usually is different from what I think it is!   I always appreciate your comments and helpful information :)

                                                                    Prescott, Arizona

Harvesting Fall - Wings on Wed.

                                                                       ' Finch Fest'

Clark's Nutcracker - Wed. Wings

It was a spur of the moment decision to make a day trip to Flagstaff, Arizona and enjoy the beautiful Fall colors at a higher terrain.  We ended up at Lockett Meadow which is 12 miles northeast of Flagstaff and is 8,000 feet elevation more or less depending upon how far in you hike. We had hiked about 3 miles in  and I heard this bird making very loud commotion. So glad to get these pics of a Clark's Nutcracker - another 'lifer' for me!

Per Wikipedia: Clark's Nutcrackers store seeds, usually in the ground for later consumption, in caches of 1-15 seeds (average of 3-4 seeds).^[2] Depending on the cone crop as well as the tree species, a single Clark's Nutcracker can cache as many as 98,000 seeds per season

Clark's  Nutcracker - Lockett Meadow - Flagstaff, Az.

Hawk Eye - Wings On Wed.

Look closely, my pretty   .........  ! 

Correction: Swainson's  Hawk - Prescott, Az.

                                                      Appreciate Kathie Brown's keen eye :)

Butterfly Wings On Wednesday

                 Queen Butterfly - Willow Lake - Prescott, Az. 
                                                            (danaus gilippus)                                       

              Bordered Patch Butterfly  (backyard) Prescott, Az.
                                                (chlosyne lacinia)                   
                     

    Spalding's Dotted Blue - Willow Lake- Prescott, Az.

(euphilotes spaldingi )                   

Two Phoebes - Wings On Wednesday

Although they are common to this area, it was last week that I actually saw my first Black Phoebe. At first glance I thought it was a blackbird and then saw the white belly:)  

                                                             

                                                          Black Phoebe - Prescott, Az.

     Below, a  Say's Phoebe carried a tasty morsel along with him or her on top of a roof.
    I see these Phoebe's quite frequently in our area and its fun to watch them twist and turn to catch insects in mid air.

                                                          Say's Phoebe - Prescott, Az.

Clash of the Titans

Its always enjoyable to watch Hummingbirds defend their territory and more fun to get an image of very close encounters.  I believe the Hummingbird on the left is an Anna's and not sure of the one on the right, perhaps a female Broadtail?

A Pair of Roadrunners for Wed.Wings

 I have seen a LOT of Roadrunners - usually out hunting alone. Here are a pair of Greater American Roadrunners hunting together up on a bluff.  The blue and red markings are visible on one, which my field books tell me it is a mature adult.  I'm hoping the other is a young female and they are an 'official' couple :)

                                                 
                                         Greater American Roadrunners - Prescott, Arizona

Late Summer Nature at Lynx Lake

 On a warm August summer morning at Lynx Lake we observed a Great Blue Heron fishing. It is hard to see but in the 3rd photo it appears he has caught some type of crayfish.

Eyeing the prey ....

                                                               with  precise expertise ....

is a nice meal indeed! 

This is the first time I have viewed  Mallard hens with the blue/purple plumage 

Many types of wildflowers and mushrooms (spiny type) grow along the east shore of Lynx Lake

 A young Rock Squirrel who posed very nicely - I was informed by a fellow hiker that there are a family of 5 nearby

 Acorn Woodpecker who was very intent & vocal on guarding his territory  

 Preying Mantis looks like he's daring me to come any closer! 

 

Last, but not least, is a sure sign that Fall is not too far away - a Junco!

Have a safe and happy Labor Day :) 

Birds, Mammals,& Insects of Summer

 Anna's (m) Hummingbird Peek-a-Boo

                                      1st year Mule Deer - Gila National Forest - New Mexico

Red Dragonfly

Friendly Llama's down the road  

                                                      A young Greater Roadrunner in the yard

                                                       Mosaic butterfly on wildflower

Calliope Hummingbird - Wed. Wings

During our stay at the Little Toad Inn, Silver City, NM.  We had many opportunities to view and photograph different types of hummingbirds during the Hummingbird Festival. This male Calliope Hummingbird's beautiful gorget really caught our eye :)

  

Spotted Owl - Wings On Wednesday

What started out to be a 'spur of the moment' get together with birders and friends Linda Rockwell and Donna Simonetti, this ended up to be one of my best birding experiences. The Little Toad Creek Inn & Tavern hosted the "Hummingbird Celebration" just north of Silver City, New Mexico. This drew together our common interest: birds. Speaker Joan Day-Martin gave a very nice presentation about hummingbird identification. Later that morning we went into the Gila National Forest and enjoyed a splendid afternoon hiking and taking photos of deer,flowers,mushrooms,beetles etc. On Sunday after breakfast we hiked onto a different trail and no words can explain the excitement of viewing this magnificent creature: the Spotted Owl! I have never EVER viewed or photographed an owl in the wild, so this was a big event for me. We all felt the mystical aura of this endangered Owl and were so happy he obliged us many happy and precious photos of him:)    

Spotted Owl - Gila National Forest - near Mimbres, New Mexico

                                             My short video of preening Spotted Owl

Donna Simonetti & son Juan

Linda Rockwell, Cynthia White, Donna Simonetti

Can one ever have enough cameras?  :)

Neon Skimmer - Wings on Wed.

Birds were scarce this week but did manage to find this beautiful Neon Skimmer 

Prescott, Az.

                   

Birds of Willow Lake-Wed. Wings

Yellow Warbler 

                                                                        Summer Tanager                 

                                   Double Crested Cormorant in treetop nest- Willow Lake

                                                               Great Blue Heron

So far, my outings at Willow Lake have been rewarding.  I have been able to photo (and hopefully correctly identify!) birds that occupy this area of Prescott during the summer months. Willow Lake has been severely depleted by the on-going drought and I do notice other birds such as Double Crested Cormorants and Great Blue Herons flying to other nearby lakes, fishing for food for their young and bringing it back to their nests at Willow Lake. The monsoon rains are forecast for this week and it will be a most welcome arrival for all :)