BIRDS, ART, ANIMALS AND FLOWERS, Maricopa County, Arizona

Tuesday, March 2, 2021

    With Roxy Squires, I started birding at Coon Bluff Recreation Area along the Lower Salt River, Mesa, AZ at 7:55 a.m. with sun already well up in a comfortable morning temperature of 58°F giving us a good start to find birds at breakfast.

Most prolific were the male and female PHAINOPEPLA chasing one another from one tree to another. Note the red eye!

Female 

Male

HOUSE FINCH like desert food sources, too. Between foraging they enjoyed the morning sunshine. 

House Finch: Male is growing brighter and brighter in breeding plumage;

Female on lower left snag.

Out over the river, a BALD EAGLE flew circles over our heads.

Some birds are big; others small.

CURVE-BILLED THRASHER - above

BLACK PHOEBE  - hawking insects over the river --(above)

PIED-BILLED GREBE - small duck with breeding bands across bill showing well

A RED-TAILED HAWK was spotted perched high on the bluff, then later, cavorting with another over the river.

Always a treat, we found a small flock of WESTERN BLUEBIRDs sunning and flitting back and forth over the river to the mesquite bosque.

MALE - above;   pale FEMALE below

Two birds that touch our hearts (viewers, too, it seems) are the male and female VERMILION FLYCATCHER BELOW.

MALE

FEMALE

While we didn't start out in search of wildlife, we hit the jackpot, so to speak, Big ole JAVELINA are hard to miss with their size and stiff-haired backs: wild pigs in the PECCARY family.  

The wild or feral horses are a much more common sight.  With the river water running high and swift only a few full-grown horses crossed.  The rest of the band turned back onto the north shore.

We walked about 2.5 miles, first heading east along the Salt River; then returning through the mesquite bosque. A memorable day!!

For a complete list with photos, click the eBird link below:

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S82631457

_______________________________________

Wednesday, March 4, 2021

Art work called WIND

 by a SFO Studio: WATERLILY POND    

Natasha Lisitsa & Daniel Schultz

Hinde is posed within the support system for WIND and considering how windy it got later in the day after we had returned home, we were thrilled to have seen it this way rather than blasting us and the birds.

The other piece of their art called WATER was interesting. Using yellow rods to show the flow of water did not work for me. But that's art!

Pansy and Anthurium

Birds were active (we spotted 25 species) but moving quickly around the wonderful plants, cactus and exhibits.  NORTHERN FLICKER - Red Shafted is always a nice bird and seldom observed farther east in our part of the desert. 

CACTUS WREN were singing from saguaro all through the Garden.

A pair of GAMBEL'S QUAIL was a nice sighting. There were many many of them out and about so it looks like babies will be in the forecast.

One exhibit about Native American Life: Housing and Kitchen

It's rare to find a Cristate or Crested Cactus available for photos. When a cactus mutates, it grows wide at the top as shown below:

Also present was a grove of ORGAN PIPE CACTUS such as is found in Arizona's southern area known as Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.  It is full of cactus like these below:

Another sculpture within the Gardens was the one below that I did favor:

Rarely do I try hard for photos of hummingbirds, but I felt certain I was watching a female COSTA'S HUMMINGBIRD but wanted to document it.  Females are not as well marked as the males as you know, so, not seeing that species with any regularity, the photo confirmed my suspicion.

It's a very tiny bird with slightly decurved beak and, when perched, its wing tips touch its tail tip.

After about 3 hours of walking, we were ready to head home again, following the Covid-safe exit as more people entered. Masks were mandatory and the Gardens were limiting numbers of guests by requesting reservations for a time slot.

Many years back, glass artist Chihuly created a spectacular desert presentation of his art work. One still stands at the entrance.

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S82684668

* * *