Category Archives: Birds

Burrowing Owls

Birds,

 

 

I went on an Owl Walk with Desert Rivers Audubon Society at Zanjero Park in Gilbert. This was a lot of fun and we saw 4 Burrowing Owls.

Burrowing owls are small owls that usually inhabit dry, open areas where grasslands, rangelands, agricultural lands, and  deserts and scrublands are found. They are very small owls–not more than 12 inches tall. They also have relatively long legs and short tails. They are mainly brown with many white or tan spots. They also have white “eyebrows” above their yellow eyes.

 

These owls like to build or occupy homes underground. The ones in Florida usually build their own burrows. However most other burrowing owls occupy abandoned homes of others such as ground squirrels prairie dogs, badgers, foxes, or coyotes.

Many of them have found a home in Gilbert, especially in Zanjero Park where volunteers have erected tunnels for them with large plastic pipes. There are about 15 of them in the park, though we only saw 4. I was quite happy to see that number in the wild, but I was disappointed that none of them perched on a branch. Photographs on boards or plastic tunnels are not very pleasing. But you gotta dance with the girl you brung.

The park is rather dull looking right beside a major highway. Someone said the government was thinking of building a major access to the highway right there. This would completely disrupt the owls. On one side is a farm that no doubt provides tasty rodents to the owls. The way things go around here that farm may not last long either. These owls need protection.

The owls are federally protected by treaty and legislation in both Canada and the United States. They are endangered in Canada and listed as threatened in Mexico.

According to our guide from the Audubon Society burrowing owls from Canada leap frog over these owls to Mexico. These owls they believe have migrated from the northern plains in the United States, not Canada.

Even though the setting was poor for photographs I did get some shots. The birds were very cooperative. Although they did not perch on a branch, they did stand in front of or near their burrows and were not very disturbed at people near by. I had a lot of fun. I want to go back and try again for better environmental shots.

Birds of the Sonoran Desert

Birds, ,

 

Black-throated Sparrow

I am a wild flower guy.  But this is the worst wild flower year in Arizona in at least 15 years and perhaps ever. So I have been forced to adapt.  Instead of wild flowers I have pursued birds. I love birds too, but unlike flowers, they don’t often stay in one place. That makes photographing them tricky.

“In many experts’ view, dinosaurs never really went extinct. Small ones, whose scales were modified into feathers, can be seen almost anywhere you look.”[1]

Any creature that lives in the desert has a big challenge–how to survive. Surprisingly many creatures do survive here. Some even thrive.

At first that sounds hard to believe. After all water, which is absolutely essentail for any animal to survvie is hard to find. Added to that, it is often hot here and as it heats up so does evaporations, tending to elminate what little war was here in the first place. As if that is not enough an animal’s need for water increases as the temperature increases. I can testify to that. Sometimes, on a hike, I have thought water was not required. That is always a mistake. I try to make sure I always have water along, and usually I need it.

Finally, when it is hot it is difficult for organisms to maintain their correct body temeprature. So how do they do?

The answer is that every creature that tries ot live here must have a survival strategy. And it must be a good one. That applies to mammals, insects, and birds.

The most common strategy is avoidance. Like lazy boys who hate work do their best to avoid it, so animals of the desert try to avoid the heat. Many do that by sleeping during they day. Usually there are more animals active at night than during the day.

The birds that are nocturnal like owls or crepuscular (dusk-to-dawn) have an advantage. For example. Owls use this strategy. Despite the challenges I was surprised to learn from a veteran birder, that out of the 50 states in the United States Arizona had the third highest numbers of distinct species. Only California and Texas beat it! And both Texas and California have long coasts with wonderful sea birds and shorebirds. Even Florida and Alaska which are both famous for their birds, have less varieties that can be found there.

Why is that? The answer is diversity. Arizona has diversity of terrain. It has mountains, it has plains, it has grasslands, and of course, it has deserts. Add those up and that makes birds. Surprisingly many bird species.Despite the challenges I was surprised to learn from a veteran birder, that out of the 50 states in the United States Arizona had the third highest numbers of distinct species. Only California and Texas beat it! And both Texas and California have long coasts with wonderful sea birds and shorebirds. Even Florida and Alaska which are both famous for their birds, have less varieties that can be found there.

According to Wildbirds.com, California has 664 species of birds, Texas 644, and Arizona 555. Manitoba by comparison has a paltry 390.

Why is that? The answer is diversity. Arizona has diversity of terrain. It has mountains, it has plains, it has grasslands, and of course, it has deserts. Add those up and that makes birds. Surprisingly many bird species.

 

The House Finch was introduced in the eastern USA and over time has expanded its range from their to most of North America, including both Manitoba and Arizona.

Contrary to what I just said, the Cactus Wren is not shy and will stand still for a photograph, unlike my even more lovely grand daughters.

[1] Douglas H. Chadwick, Enduring America, (1995) National Geographic Society, p. 96