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 springtime in Arizona, thanks to Albatrossity. On Wednesday we spend the night with BillinGlendale, and we have the first two of a 4-part series with Captain C. Not to mention that we are going to Belize with Mike S, not to be confused with the Mike S who does not have a democratic congressperson.
Albatrossity
More pictures from our time in Arizona in late March, as spring meanders northward for the rest of us.
Since I previously shared a picture of a male Pyrrhuloxia (Cardinalis sinuatus), it seemed only fair to include the female in this batch. This seems to be a young female (hatched during the previous calendar year), since the beak still has some dusky patches rather than being all-yellow. These “desert cardinals” are found in drier brushy habitats throughout our desert Southwest, occasionally wandering north to places like Kansas just to keep the local birders on their toes.
The other” cardinal also can be found in Arizona. Unlike the Pyrrhuloxia, Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) frequent brushy streamside habitats in this part of the country. This female shows the redder tinge, substantial crest, red bill and dark face that distinguish it from the Pyrrhuloxia.
Bewick’s Wrens (Thyromanes bewickii) are another species that is found in the southwestern part of this country, but that was not always the case. In the early twentieth century, this species was a regular yard-dwelling species in the Midwest and Appalachia. As documented by my friends Dale Kennedy and Doug White (Kennedy, E. D. and D. W. White. (1996). Interference competition from House Wrens as a factor in the decline of Bewick’s Wrens. Conservation Biology 10:281-284), the expansion of House Wren populations in the east gradually extirpated Bewick’s Wrens from that part of the country. Today they are rarely found east of the Great Plains. They are a perky and melodious species, and their absence from their former haunts is a loss for folks who live in the East and have never seen one.
As noted previously, it was still somewhat wintery when we were in Arizona, and several bird species that would normally have migrated north were still in the area. Many had not yet completed the pre-alternate molt into their spiffy summer plumage, such as this Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina). The crown has the dark streaks and indistinct median pale stripe that this species sports in winter, compared to a more summery-looking bird in the next image. By the time you read this there might be Chipping Sparrows in your part of the USA; check this migration map for details.
Chipping Sparrow ready to migrate north.
Yellow-rumped Warblers (Setophaga coronata) were also present in multiple stages of molt. The local subspecies, the Audubon’s Warbler (S. c. auduboni) has a yellow throat, unlike its white-throated eastern counterpart, the Myrtle Warbler. This one still has some whitish pin-feathers visible on the head and neck, so it was not quite ready for prime-time.
The hummingbirds, however, were looking pretty good in their summer finery. This is a Rivoli’s Hummingbird (Eugenes fulgens); your older field guide might have this bird as a Magnificent Hummingbird, which is certainly is. It was split from a very similar Central American species, the Talamanca Hummingbird (E. spectabilis) in 2017. A large and flashy denizen of the oak/pine canyons and similar habitats in Mexico, it is one of the early-arriving hummingbird migrants in the region.
Orange-crowned Warblers (Leiothlypis celata) are familiar to birders from coast to coast in North America, but this bright yellow version is the Pacific subspecies (L. c. lutescens), and might cause some excitement if it showed up east of the Mississippi. In all of the subspecies, however, the eponymous orange crown is nearly invisible in the field.
This handsome guy is a male Ladder-backed Woodpecker (Dryobates scalaris), a non-migratory resident of the southwestern US and much of TX. It is similar in size and voice to the more familiar Downy Woodpecker (D. pubescens), which is helpfully not found in SE Arizona. The facial pattern and the spots on the flanks help differentiate this species from the Downy Woodpecker as well.
As one might imagine, the abundance of seeds at the feeders in these bird sanctuaries is a great temptation for squirrels and other rodents (not to mention bears and javelinas). This chunky-cheeked Rock Squirrel (Otospermophilus variegatus) seemed to be doing rather well at the Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary.
Benw
Nice warblers
WaterGirl
I can’t believe that I didn’t make that chunky squirrel the featured image for this post.
Laura Too
Great way to start my week, thanks! Been feeling like the Yellow-rumped Warbler, I am not quite ready to face Monday.
evap
It’s always great to start the week with an Albatrossity post!
Reboot
Thanks for the migration map–and, as always, the birds.
SteveinPHX
Thanks again for wonderful photos. Have not been in SE Arizona for several years. Hope to return soon.
OzarkHillbilly
I have loved chipping sparrows ever since one introduced himself to me in the rudest possible manner.
I had camped out after a 16 hr survey trip in a largish cave, sleeping in the back of my p/u with the hatch up and the tailgate down. The morning sun was streaming in, driving away the early spring chill and I was coming awake. I lay there with my eyes still closed all snuggled up in my sleeping bag trying to decide whether or not I really wanted to get up, build a fire and make some coffee.
I heard a skitter on the tailgate. I rolled over to see what forest denizen was so brave but only caught a brief glimpse of feathered wings flying away. I lay back down and returned to my morning musings. Soon, I heard the skitter again. I resolved to remain perfectly still in order to ascertain what it was my visitor wanted.
Skitter.
I waited.
Skitter skitter.
I remained as still as stone.
Skitter skitter.
It sounded closer.
Skitter skitter.
PLOINK!
WTF????!!! It plucked some of the tight and curlies right out of my head! I sat up and the thief was gone in a flurry of wings. You gotta be f’n kidding me.
I lay back down, wide awake now. Within 30 seconds the thief was back, looking down at me from a perch atop my spare tire, as tho to say, “Hey c’mon, you’ve got plenty, more than any one might possibly need and I only want a little.” This time I got a good look at my little copper topped thief and vowed that when I got home I would look up this LBB (Little Brown Bird) that I had no doubt seen thousands of times but never paid attention to.
Among the things my book noted was their fondness for hair to line their nests. No shit, Sherlock. The little bugger no doubt thought he’d struck it rich when he spotted my curly top sticking out the back of my truck.
Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!)
Great pics as always. I need to get to Arizona. I’ve been to the other 49 states, but not Arizona. Well I’ve changed planes in the Phoenix airport, but that doesn’t count in my book and there were certainly no birds to see. I have seen a Talamanca Hummingbird in Costa Rica, but never a Rivoli’s.
scribbler
@OzarkHillbilly: Love this story!
Chipping sparrows are one of my favorites, so I’m always happy to see them when they make it to my Wisconsin backyard.
ETA: Pictures are wonderful, as always, Albatrossity!
Yutsano
@Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!): Sky Harbour Airport is horrible. I try to avoid any transits there if at all possible.
The woodpecker won for me this week! But I do have a fondness for those birds. Although cardinals are a close second.
Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!)
@OzarkHillbilly: Great story! Im going to remember this to share when I take kids on birdwalks!
Miss Bianca
I’m just so on beyond awed that I get to spend time on Monday mornings with these stunning birb photos (now with extra Chonky Squirrel!). Thank you, Albatrossity.
zhena gogolia
The level of detail on the plumage is awesome (in the original sense of the word)!
S. Cerevisiae
Fantastic photos again, thanks! I didn’t know about the Magnificent Hummingbird split, darn taxonomists are always doing that.
Madeleine
I didn’t know that the tip of a female cardinal’s crest could be such a bright shade of red. Maybe I’ll have a chance to check that out this year. We’ve been hearing cardinals calling.
Munira
The female cardinal is a beautiful bird. Great photos as always.
BigJimSlade
Bird beaks before breakfast!
WaterGirl
@BigJimSlade: Most excellent! I bet Albatrossity steals that. As well he should.
mvr
Your photos are always nice (better than nice actually), but these have an amazing level of detail.
BigJimSlade
@WaterGirl: Steal? I’m just working with his material in the first place :-)
Albatrossity
@BigJimSlade: “Bird beaks before breakfast!”
Copyright, 2022, BigJimSlade.
Brilliant!