First Birds of 2013

Although it has been a while since I have posted on my blog, it is never far from my mind. Viewing friends posts and blogs always is very inspirational for me and I feel that a little 'reset' was beneficial.   Some images of the first birds of 2013 are not especially new to me, but I was extremely happy to get a  Loggerhead Shrike, which is a lifer for me :)  

                                                                      Common Raven

                                                                       American Pelican

                                                               Loggerhead Shrike  (lifer!)
  

                                                                      Black Phoebe  

                                                           Ruby-crowned Kinglet                

Yellow-rumped Warbler

                                                            Happy Birding 2013 to All !!

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.