Red-bellied Woodpecker/American Robin

It was a swift attack... over in seconds.

It wasn't territorial. 

It wasn't defensive. 

It was all about a big fat bug.

A young inexperienced American Robin didn't know what hit him. The big fat insect was snatched out of his beak stunningly fast. He could only watch his meal fly away.

The Red-bellied Woodpecker is a bit of a bully.

He has the size and he has the weapons. When it's time to eat, he eats first... others give way.

He has a mate, too. She looks similar, only less red on her head. They may have a nest, but I haven't found it.

Red-bellied Woodpeckers are woodland birds, but you'll see them in the suburbs. You can drawn them in close with suet and peanuts.


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This male is sort of a slob though.

He'll cast aside anything that isn't a peanut. The black oil sunflower seeds go flying till he's down to what he wants.

No real harm. The ground-foraging birds eat the cast-offs.

I didn't make it easy for him to make this mess. He's too big to perch and eat, so he hangs in contorted positions. But he manages well enough.

To not judge nature, that big juicy insect might have been intended for the female or maybe even nestlings.

I'll never know.

Allan

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Credits: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds

Western Kingbird vs. Red-tailed Hawk

An angry Western Kingbird didn't hold back on its feelings towards this female Red-tailed Hawk.

S/he dived bombed the Red-tailed Hawk repeatedly in hopes of making her leave its territory.

But the red-tailed lives here, too. She's invested quite a bit in this ninth-hole golf estate with mountain views.

She knows the kingbird is over her shoulder, but won't acknowledge him and has no intention of leaving.

In fact she has a brood of three... fifty feet high, two trees away.

This whole squabble seems rather silly when you see the babies. They're five times bigger than the kingbird already.

Still, it is rather bold of the kingbird to take on a red-tailed, considering 'bird' is acceptable fare for a red-tailed hawk given any chance.

This baby is dining on packrat. The sibling are content to watch... already fed.

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Mother red-tailed keeps watch from the treetops. Dad comes and goes with food offerings. I haven't seen dad, but I heard he delivered a good sized snake recently. The parents don't tear up the young ones' food anymore. One youngster got the whole snake.

It's time for practice flying. In a three-foot nest, that requires consideration of one's nest mates.

Mother red-tailed circles the nest tree every fifteen minutes or so to keep an eye on things. It's a beautiful setting and also a relief from those annoying Western Kingbirds.

Allan

Credits: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds
The Sibley's Guide to Birds

Abert's Towhee Baby

It's 'What's for Dinner'... a juicy green worm and a couple of crane flies.

This baby Abert's Towhee is newly out of the nest and very hungry. He was born in our lilac vine bush and that's his problem.

Both his parents provide him plenty of food, but he's trapped here in our backyard.

Abert's Towhees are mainly birds of Arizona's Sonoran Desert. They don't migrate and they stay close to their home territory all year long. They are ground-dwelling birds of brushy areas.

But people live here, too, and there are a lot of people.  People build fences around their homes. Fences keep out javelinas and coyotes, but fences are a baby bird's dilemma.

If your 'steel' fence could let a rattlesnake through, people put up an additional 'snake fence' to keep rattlesnakes out.

When a baby towhee is born behind one of these snake fences he's trapped.

Mom and Dad can easily fly over the fence, but it's tough on the little ones.

His parents perch nearby with plump treats encouraging baby to come. But he can't do it.

He flutters and claws, but runs out of energy half way up the fence.

It's only an eighteen inch wire barrier, but he's only weeks old and can't make the climb.

He drops down to find another way.

A parent offers food from the other side.

His nature is to hide, but that won't solve his problem. He looks again to join his parents.

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With perseverance and diligence he finds a seam in the fence.

With wing and claw he pushes, squeezes and struggles through into the desert beyond.

Freedom!

Allan



Credits: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds
The Sibley's Guide to Birds

Great Horned Owls

The two Great Horned Owls who have claimed Arizona's Big Wash as their territory are now calling back and forth nightly. It's a soothing pleasant 'hooting' sound, likely originating from our rooftop.

Eavesdropping into these flirtations is unavoidable at 3AM.

(Hear various Great Horned Owl calls at:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Horned_Owl/sounds

During the daylight they rest.

Walking in the Big Wash, I come across this pair quite often. I've seen them here since May, 2014 on the same cliff raising their broods.

I'm not sure they recognize me, but they don't seem to mind my presence. The only reaction I receive walking by is a slight turn of a head or an occasional blink.

The larger female is in the upper left and the smaller male is lower right.

I don't know their plans for this nesting season because monsoon rains and erosion has changed the cliff face. Their former burrow/hole has been washed away.

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The female dozes.

They are stunning looking birds with the talons to do great harm to anyone threatening them.

Being largely ignored at this point is a good thing.

I'm convinced I am not upsetting her being this close.

She landed in our backyard tree in October 2019. She only glanced at me occasionally as she rested ten feet overhead in our desert willow tree.

I could have reached up and touched her tail, but I'm not crazy.

Allan

Credits:
Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds

Northern Harrier

It's only food if you can find it.
A next meal is not guaranteed.

A female Northern Harrier searches the cattail marsh for something to eat.

She quickly glides through the thicket, to disappear just as quickly if no opportunity exists. Surprising a coot or small mammal was her plan.

Today she's not having much luck.

The coots and small critters are hiding in the cattails. Her hunting pressure has made them weary. She stops to rest in a tree to let the marsh relax again. This tactic might bring her success later.

She watches from the far end of the pond.

But life depends on finding food today. Hunger makes her hunt.

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Arriving fast, low, and silently is her way of thriving.

Gliding over the wetland is a daily routine for her. It's a pleasure to see her work, regardless of success or failure.

This is 'nature' as entertainment.

It's quiet, unpredictable, rewarding and free.

Allan

Credits:
Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds
The Sibley's Guide to Birds

Costa's Hummingbird

I thought he was injured at first.

This Costa's Hummingbird looks to be wearing a gray mask. I imagined him flying into a window, smashing his face and breaking his bill.

It didn't happen that way. Not this time anyway.

Unfortunately, hundreds of millions of birds* die every year just like that.

Windows are an especial threat to birds. They can't imagine glass. But cars, cats, and a loss of habitat are just as threatening.

Picture for a moment the millions of miles of utility wires that criss-cross America. Harmless enough in the daylight, but deadly on a night migration.

The Fish and Wildlife Service estimates 174 million** birds die each year by flying into these wires.

Our bird is okay, however. Instead of injury, he is going through a molt. All birds do that once or twice a year.

The gray mask you see are the new feathers' protective sheathes. Inside are the purple feathers that give the Costa's Hummingbird its unique helmeted look. 
 
He's quite capable of flying, feeding, and defending his territory.

And, when his molt is complete, imagine him looking pretty spectacular for this spring's mating season.

Allan

Credits:
Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds
The Sibley's Guide to Birds

* https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2019/12/07/us/ap-us-bird-friendly-glass.html?searchResultPosition=5

** https://thinkprogress.org/no-wonder-theyre-angry-13-7-million-birds-are-dying-every-day-in-the-u-s-8a73dc6af459/
 

Birds in the Rain

Living 24/7 in the elements has its drawbacks.

The few and far between rains have made this bird's hunt more difficult.

The bedraggled juvenile Cooper's Hawk landed in our backyard rather wet and somewhat dejected after an unsuccessful attack on the Mourning Dove flock.

All animals must deal with the elements. Whether they get stressed by the rain is uncertain.

Curve-billed Thrashers only live in a dry environment where rains are rare.

Luckily, he doesn't have to put up with this indignity that often.

Too much or too little rain doesn't faze a Cactus Wren.

The Cactus Wren rarely drinks water. Instead s/he gets all his water requirements from the insects he eats.

Rain is a threat for the Broad-billed Hummingbird though. At 0.12 ounce, a hail stone could remove this tiny bird from the picture.

Resting on a thorn in the open, this one is making the best of a wet situation.

The Abert's Towhee in a dry land, ground dwelling bird. Pairing up for life to sing in the desert underbrush, they survive on insects and seeds. Slippery rocks won't phase them either.

Hear their sweet song at:  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Aberts_Towhee/

As for the wet Cooper's Hawk, s/he might make a meal of any of the previously mentioned birds, with the possible exception of the Broad-billed Hummingbird. There's just not enough there to make that effort.

Six or seven hours later in the afternoon sunshine, he had dove for dinner.

Allan
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Credits: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds
The Sibley's Guide to Birds