On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
It’s Albatrossity Monday! We have 3 days of the amazing aurora in PA from last Thursday, and then we head to Florida.
Big thanks to swiftfox for sending in a lovely series, but if you’ve been procrastinating, please send in your posts!
Albatrossity
I have a few more images from my August excursion to Arizona and back; ten today and probably less than that next week. Then we will start on the September/October images from my trip to California and back. Buckle up!
I spent another morning at the Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary, and got some images of birds that I had not photographed the previous day. One was this Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria), a gorgeous male, who was patiently waiting his turn at a feeder occupied by a couple of rotund White-winged Doves. Click here for larger image.
Also waiting at the feeder were these Bushtits (Psaltriparus minimus). If you have ever seen these birds, you know that they are small, nervous, and prone to hiding in the bushes, where they remain jumpy and nervous. So I was thrilled to get a shot of not one, but two of them in focus and in the open. Sometimes you just get lucky! Click here for larger image.
A common feeder bird in this part of Arizona, the Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) frequents suet, seed, and even hummingbird feeders. Their crazed look and deranged-sounding calls are actually quite endearing. Click here for larger image.
Speaking of hummingbirds, here are a few more that did not appear in previous installments. Anna’s Hummingbird (Calypte anna) is familiar to anyone in California or Oregon, where it is a year-round presence at the feeder. This is a female, who is not quite as pugnacious as the males, but who is feisty enough and large enough to displace most other species if she wants to feed. Click here for larger image.
This female Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) has a spot of colorful feathers in the center of her gorget, like a bejeweled necklace. These are migrants through Arizona, with breeding territories in Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and even Alaska. They also tend to wander in the fall and winter, and have shown up in in just about every state except Hawaii. Click here for larger image.
The final hummer image is this young male Black-chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri) feeding on Cardinal Flowers (Lobelia cardinalis graminea). You can see that the anther of the flower is perfectly positioned to deposit a yellow stripe of pollen on his crown, and some of that might be transferred to the next flower he visits. Coevolution in action! Click here for larger image.
I would be remiss if I did not include at least one image of some of the lizards at this sanctuary. This handsome fellow is Clark’s Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus clarkii), I believe, and he entertained us when the hummingbirds were sparse. Click here for larger image.
Outside the sanctuary there were some other birds to see and photograph. The Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus) is a common resident of the area, and this female was poised to give me a piece of her mind that morning. Click here for larger image.
The nearby Coronado National Memorial also hosts some species that are sought-after by visiting birders. One of these is a drab but vocally enthusiastic sparrow, Botteri’s Sparrow (Peucaea botterii), which is predominantly a Mexican species. It currently has a limited range in south Texas and Arizona grasslands. Due to drought or overgrazing or both, it was mostly extirpated from the US for a while, but has been making a comeback in recent decades. This one was still singing, making it much easier to find than it usually is. Click here for larger image.
In 2022 this species, the Chihuahan Meadowlark (Sturnella lilianae), was split from Eastern Meadowlark (S. magna). It was also previously known as Lilian’s Meadowlark (S. m. lilianae), a subspecies of Eastern Meadowlark, but it was distinctive enough that generations of birders made sure that they saw it and heard it, in anticipation of an eventual split and an addition to their lifelist overnight. So now there are three species of meadowlark in the US, and the potential for a new lifer for birders who visit SE Arizona. Click here for larger image.
eclare
That Acorn Woodpecker does look crazed!
Wanderer
As always beautiful photos. The hummingbirds are my favorites.
SteveinPHX
Greetings from the Portal, AZ area. Got to see a male & female Acorn Woodpecker late in the afternoon right after we got here!
Thank you again.
Argiope
Love the dino descendants in all their splendor, be they feathered or skin-shedding. Thanks for the photos! Great way to start a rainy Monday.
stinger
Drab! 😲 I love the creamy blending on the Botteri’s Sparrow! Love all these photos, in fact!
J.
Love the lizard photo! The detail is amazing.
Tenar Arha
I really like the Bushtits photo. Yes yes, I know you said lucky shot, but also 👍👍 for your excellent educated timing.
StringOnAStick
Thanks for inc!uding a nice looking lizard, I think we have those blue tinged beauties here as well. I have loved lizards since I was a kid, they do have personality.
An Anna’s gives me a good buzzing every time I pick my green beans, pugnacious is exactly right! Being in the East side of the Cascades we have real winter here but I swear I see them all winter.
Are some lesser goldfinches usually less bright yellow than your gorgeous fellow? It seems the ones mobbing the finch sock are paler here.
The current talk of the local subreddit is the annual fall sightings of light orange catfaced spiders, triggering rounds of “very cool, these are good bugs” to “burn your apartment and run away”. The first reaction is the correct one since they kill a lot of bad pests.
KatKapCC
These are lovely. Thank you. I’m struggling to look at anything online lately, and this is a nice respite.
Albatrossity
Yes, this is a male in summer plumage, Females and immature birds, as well as winter males, will be less colorful. Click on the link in the caption for that picture and you can see some of the other plumages.
Spiders get a lot of bad press, don’t they?
KRK
Great stuff as always. Love the lizard and the Botteri’s sparrow. Thank you.
mvr
Was going to say the black chin hummingbird was my favorite but then I saw the Vermilion Flycatcher and I kind of like flycatchers and then also that there was a new meadowlark. So I’ll just have to like them all best.
Elizabird
“Speaking of hummingbirds…” Nice transition!