It has been pretty windy for good birding here at Falcon although I’m seeing some interesting stuff and have picked up a couple of life birds -- a Long-billed Thrasher and a Cactus Wren. These were both birds that I should have seen last year but didn’t. Falcon, like many areas, is infested with Red-winged blackbirds. They really are a pest: you put out a feeder and before long, dozens appear. They tend to drive off the other birds with their noisy aggressiveness -- but I know that I’ll enjoy them once we, and they, get to Vermont.
Pyrrhuloxia are one of the signature birds here -- I remember seeing them for the first time last year. They are quite friendly, coming to feeders, and are pretty birds -- not as spectacular as their Northern Cardinal brethren but still quite attractive.
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| Greater Roadrunner |
Of course, Northern Mockingbirds and Greater Roadrunners are everywhere. Crested Cara-caras are also very numerous.
This afternoon on a walk, I came upon a very accommodating Cactus Wren who posed for pictures while the dog strained at her leash, and then went through a whole song cycle for us. I was surprised at the size of the wren -- I had been looking for a more furtive smaller bird.
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| Cactus Wren |
I’ve seen quite a few birds that I’m not sure of -- some quail that were either scaled quail or bobwhite, a little brown job that I have a picture of (and will get folks to ID it for me), and meadowlarks that are either Eastern or Western.
The weather forecast is probably going to put a damper on birding for a few days although once the wind dies down, it may be productive if only in the high 30’s. That’s a day we’d bird in Vermont so why not here? I’ll let you know what I find.
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