Burrowing Owl

DesertDale's photos for today. 
This is a Burrowing Owl looking out his hole.  They are a nocturnal .  They hunt insects , small mammals and birds.  They nests single or in small colonies.  They are a ground dweller, have long legs,unlike other small owls.  Greatly reduced in much of the northern Great Plains.

They often perches at the entrance   to its burrow.
This was found at Cibola National Wildlife Refuge.  It about 20  miles, south of Blythe.

Enjoy the info.  Kitfoxgal

Peregrine Falcon

 

DesertDale even had the pleasure of seeing a Peregrine Falcon, a rare bird that was almost wiped out by DDT by the 60's.for

It is known for its speed, grace and power in the air.  Someone has said they have been  clock  going 200 miles a hour.   It has been found on every  continent.  It has been known as the "Duck Hawk" in North America.  It is seen around water .

 

They primarily on birds taken in flight.  At time they will even feed on a bat or rodents.   They are a raptor with long pointed wings and a medium-length tail.  When sitting their wing go almost to their tail.

 

They nests on the Alaskan and Canadian tundra, and is the longest-distance migrant.     They  were almost wiped out by DDT by the 60's.

These photos was take at the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge in Arizona.

Enjoy.  Kitfoxgal

Green-Winged Teal

 The Green -Winged Teal has a small compact body, rounded head.  Their bill are short and thin.
The male has a chestnut head with a green patch a white bar on each flank.  Females has a dull body and head, with a black bill with dull orange edges and a pale line on the sides of the undertail coverts and a white belly.
They are common and wide spread.

DesertDale took this photo at El Cajon.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

 

Green-Tailed Towhee 12-15-2013

DesertDale took this morning on our bird walk at Eastside Wetlands.

 

The Green-Tailed Towhee is a ground loving bird.  They often are found in the open to feed.  Their upper parts and tail are olive,  fading to a whitish  belly.  Their crown is a reddish, white loral spot , throat is white, dark stripes .

They are fairly common .  They breed in dense brush. They are uncommon the west coast.  Winter central Mexico.

 

Enjoy the post.  Kitfoxgal   

 

Abert's Towhee

The Albert's Towhee is a large sparrow.  They breed year round.  Found in heavy brush along desert
desert washes. 

They live in Nevada, far S.W. Utah, Arizona and S.W. New Mexico.

Enjoy DesertDale's photos.

Say's Phoebe

The Say's Phoebe are common around people.   They often nest on buildings.   A bird of open county.   They are found from Alaska through Mexico.

The Say's Phoebe has a slender body , a medium sized flycatcher.  They are a dark brownish gray overall , with cinnamon wash on belly.  with long flattened black bill and a long black tail.
They are in open county, sagebrush, badlands,  badlands dry barren foothills, canyons, deserts and ranches.

House Finch

The House Finch  are a very familiar bird.  They are a native of the west.  They do visit bird feeders, plus, often in flocks.  They hide their nest in dense trees, palms, vines on walls and hanging pots.
The male House Finch has a red eyebrow and forehead contrasting with brown cap. Throat and chest red, lower underparts whitish, with dark stripes on sides.  Some males have red replaced by orange or yellow.

DesertDale took this at our Borrego site.

Northern Flicker

The Northern Flicker are found in woodlands, mountains up to 10,000 ft., towns and farms.  Found in Nevada, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico.
They often feed on the ground looking for ants.   When they fly it flashes bright colors under the their wings.
There are two distinct forms, eastern/northern "Yellow-shafted Flicker  and the Red-shafted Flicker.

Enjoy the posting. DesertDale took this at 5 Palms Oasis.

Birding On The Road: Old Man and A Great Egret Fishing Together

Birding On The Road: Old Man and A Great Egret Fishing Together: Great Egret and Old Fisherman enjoy life.   DesertDale and Kitfoxgal  went birding today at the West Wetlands in Yuma.  I enjoyed the phot...

Old Man and A Great Egret Fishing Together

Great Egret and Old Fisherman enjoy life.   DesertDale and Kitfoxgal  went birding today at the West Wetlands in Yuma.  I enjoyed the photo so much , just had to post the photo. 
The "Great Egret" is being feed chicken gizzards.  They hang out at marshes, riversides and lakeshores.
Enjoy this as much as we did.

Osprey --- Second Installment

The Osprey are a fish hawk.  They are found along coastlines, lakes and rivers  world wide.  They eat almost entirely fish.  They may eat small mammals, birds or reptiles when fish are scares.
They plunge feet first to catch their meal, fish, what they have spotted.

 The Osprey lay 2-4 eggs .  Incubation is in about 38 days.  Both parents take lay on them.  The female with the young most of the time at first.  The male brings fish and the female feeds them to the young..

 

Some are a permanent   resident in southern Florida, elsewhere they do migrant.  They do not migrant in flocks, travel singly.

 

DesertDale took these photos at the East Yuma Wetlands.

Enjoy.  Kitfoxgal

Northern Harrier

Northern Harrier they fly low over grassy fields or marsh.  They have a long, slim, rounded wings and a long tail with white on their rump.  Their head is small.  They have a well-defined facial discs like the owl. 

They are fairly common.  They make their nests on the ground in tall reeds or grasses.  It depends on the population of the rodents on how successful the site is.  They often associate with the Short-eared Owls.

 

DesertDale took these photos at the East Wetlands in Yuma.

Osprey

 

Once again DesertDale took this photo of the "Osprey" near the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge in Arizona.  They are one of the easier raptors the beginner birder to identify.

Their wing area is very large for their body size.  It gives them more lifting power.  They also will migrate while holding a fish .     They are usually seen near water.  They will be found wherever there are a fish population throughout the North  America.  Their has increased since the 1980's.

 

Enjoy the posting as much as I did seeing DesertDale taking the photos.  Kitfoxgal

Orange-Crowned Warbler

 This is the Orange-Crowned Warbler DesertDale took at our site here on Sidewinder.

The Tennessee Warbler are so similar in the Fall.  The Orange-crowned shows a long whitish or yellowish split eye ring with a indistinct short yellow supercilium.
They are stable, especially in the a West, were they are very common. In the winter  they can be found in thickets and shrubby areas from southeast U.S. and Ca., though Mexico to Guatemala.  They rarely linger in the north.

They lay 4 to 5 eggs in its nest or near the ground.  Mar.-May in the West and June in the east.

They seem to think they are very plain but  I think its a pretty yellow bird.

Enjoy the photos.  Kitfoxgal

Black-Crested Titmouse

 The Black-Crested Titmouse could be a mirror image of the Tufted Titmouse in its behavior and appearance.   It shows little fear of humans.  They also does not hesitate to use another nest.

The Black-crested and the Tufted Titmice interbreed in a north-south 30 to 60 mile wide belt from Oklahoma through central Texas.   Their offspring show variably  intermediate shades of dusky crests and gray or brownish foreheads  which makes it hard to assign them to a species.
They are found in oak or other woodlands along watercourses, open tracts with scattered trees

DesertDale took the photo last year, on our trip to Florida.
Enjoy. 

Costa's Hummingbird

The Costa's is a small hummer of the southwest. This is a male.  Had one of female but it would not post.  The male have a  violet gorget and crown.  Their tail lacks white tips.

  The female's throat and under parts are a dingy white to a pale gray, throat sometimes are a blotched violet.
 They are found in the western U.S. and Mexico.  They breed usually in Feb. to July in the desert in the washes and chaparral.
Dale sent me another photo of the female Costa's , so was able to post it.  DesertDale took these photos from inside our rig, where we put  a feeder just out side the window.
Kitfoxgal
 
 

Belted Kingfisher

The Belted Kingfisher is one of the widespread kingfisher in North America.   They need to have the water to be clear and still. 
They are medium size, with a big head and along heavy bill.   They live in much of the U.S.
They breed in burrows close to or along the water.   The population is stable.
Here is the site with more info, http://birds.audubon.org/species/belkin.
Enjoy.

American Goldfinch

The America Goldfinch is very colorful, as you can see. They are common around weedy fields, woodland edges suburbs.  They gather in flocks winter.   They like bird feeders.   In the summer males are a bright yellow with black wings, tail and forehead.   Females are duller yellow-green.

Enjoy the posting.  Kitfoxgal

Peregrine Falcon

The Peregrine Falcon are uncommon.  It was once threatened with extinction in North America. Usually nests in cliffs  but may nest on ledges of tall buildings.  They are large and powerful.  When diving for pray, may reach speeds up 100 mph.

Earlier I had the wrong info .  DesertDale has corrected my error.

 Had a knee replace. Been out of service for a couple of month.  Kitfoxgal

American Goldfinch

The American Goldfinch is very  colorful.  They are very common around weedy fields, woodland edges and suburbs.  They do gather in flocks in the winter.  In the winter they vary from yellowish brown to gray. 

Enjoy.  Kitfoxgal is back once again.

Herring Gull

The Herring Gull is the largest gull of the continent .  The west coast  has other gulls that  are equally
common.  They like the coast, large lakes, land fills and fish docks.  Immature are a dark brown  with blackish bill at first. They reach adult plumage in their fourth winter.  They do get very loud at times.

Been with-out power for a couple of weeks.  Enjoy the posting.  Kitfoxgal

Lesser Goldfinch

Lesser Goldfinch is common in parts of the west.  It is a very small finch, that are often found feeding in weedy fields or streamside trees.  Usually found in dry county close to fields .
They eat seeds and some insects.  They also feed on flowers and buds of trees.
They build their nests in the southwest.  Their  breeding seasons  may extend over much of the year, from early spring to mid autumn. 
In courtship the male feeds the female.  Usually have 4-5 eggs.  They are permanent resident. 

Red-Headed Duck

The Red-Headed Duck gather in large flocks in the winter time on lagoons along the Texas coast.

 In summer time  they are found on the prairie marshes were the female often lay their eggs in the nests od other water birds.
Redhead Ducks populations have been steady since 1955, at around 400,000 to 800,000.
They  dive to feed on seeds, rhizomes, tubers of pondweeds, wild celery, water lilies, grasses and wild rice, plus insects and small fish.

Enjoy.  Kitfoxgal

Red-Breasted Sapsucker

DdesertDale took this fine looking photo at Lobdell.

The Red-Breasted Sapsucker , as you can see, is very colorful.   It is found in the Pacific Northwest.  Their bodies and wings are like other sapsuckers .  They may interbreed with Their cousins, the Yellow-bellied or Red-naped sapsuckers.
In the winter they may move south or into lowlands.  Their nest are high, may be 50-60 or more above the ground.

American Avocet

Avocets are found around lake shores or tidal flats.  They like the wide open space .  They often feed while leaning forward, eating tiny food items just below the surface.

 They like the beaches, flats, shallow lakes and prairie.  Often favors salty or alkaline lakes.    They feed on tiny creatures that live in shallow water. 

Often sweeps head from side to side, with their bill upturned , barely under the water, finding food by touch.  Sometime snatching their food by touch.  They sometimes snatches passing insects out of the air. 

They nest in loose colonies, sometimes Black Necked Stilts.   If a predator comes near on foot, they may start to run about in a crouch with both wings spread. Most migrate to the coast in the winter.

Enjoy DesertDale's photos.   Kitfoxgal

Anhinga

 Anhinga  are found all over the world in warm shallow water. 
Male's are a glossy black, base of wings & tail are a glossy black blue, base of wing and tail are white.  Back of head and neck have feathers are a gray color.
Females are similar to the males except that they have a pale green buff or light brown heard, neck and upper chest

They are sometimes called a Snakebird, Darter, American Darter or a Water Turkey.  They build their nest on ledge of step slopes near water.
They are a permanent resident.

http://kitfoxgale.blogspot.com/

Steller's Jay

Steller's Jay are found in the forests in the western mountains and coast.  They love to be around camp grounds or they like to visit other bird feeders.  The are the only dark jay with a crest.

 There is a small spots on forehead near the eye.  It could be white or blue(near the coast).

Enjoy this posting.  Kitfoxgal

Fish Crow

I am back.
The Fish Crow is common in the southeast. They  are found north along the coast and along rivers.
They foraging on beaches and I swamps.  They can be recognized by their sound. They have a
high-pitched sound. 

Missed posting. Kitfoxgal

Doves

 The "Dove White-winged" is a southwestern dove.  They have white on the tip of their wings.
  They are common in the summer in  the desert, towns and brushy country sides..  They are also common all year in parts of Florida.

The "Common Ground-Dove walk about on the ground, in pairs or a small flocks.  They favor brushy places or the edges of woodlands.  They use to be very common in the southwest.
In flight their wings show bright rusty red and the short black tail shows pale corners.