What is your favorite bird? And every fowl encounter you've had under the sun

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I think the OP intended it to be a humorous play on words, as not every encounter with birds is delightful e.g. being pooped on or swooped - as one poster asked early on. Though perhaps it also is an honest spelling mistake. I’m fine with it because some encounters are, well, foul 😂 🤣
 
Our local pair of peregrine falcons is getting ready for the nesting season! We should be seeing eggs by the end of March.
 
Time to catch up. I hadn’t been out too much since I last updated since my work schedule has been full, but I did get away the past two weekends. 2020 year bird #102 was a Lucy’s Warbler I heard calling two Saturday mornings ago while I was picking up the morning fish wrap. Later that day my wife and I took a trip to Whitewater Draw in SE Arizona to see if the cranes were still around. A stop at the Benedictine Holy Trinity Monastery in St. David produced year birds #103 Turkey Vulture, #104 Northern Flicker, #105 Chihuahuan Raven and #106 Chipping Sparrow.

Arriving at Whitewater Draw. year bird #107, Sandhill Crane became immediately apparent. Approximately 5000 flew in that morning. Amazing to watch. I did manage to find a few more year birds including #108 Long-billed Dowitcher, #109 Eastern Meadowlark, #110 Northern Harrier, #111 Tree Swallow. #112 Ross’s Goose #113 Northern Pintail and #114 a very famous pair of nesting Great-horned Owls.

2020 year bird #107 Sandhill Crane

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2020 year bird #108 Long-billed Dowitchers. You can tell by their long bills.

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2020 year bird #109 Eastern Meadowlark

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2020 year bird # Ross’s Goose. It looks like a Snow Goose, but it’s a lot smaller. Look at it’s small round head and tiny bill compared to the Snow Geese around it.

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Some Cinnamon Teal

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You were birding in southeast Arizona. That’s actually pretty far west. How do you know the Meadowlark wasn’t a Western Meadowlark? Did you hear it? The Western species has a very melodious song, whereas the eastern Meadowlark has more of a single-note chirp. Other than that, they look pretty much alike.

Just curious. Are you sure it was the eastern species that far west?
 
Nice to see this thread still going 🙂 for some reason I thought it had stopped.
 
JanR said:
You were birding in southeast Arizona. That’s actually pretty far west. How do you know the Meadowlark wasn’t a Western Meadowlark? Did you hear it? The Western species has a very melodious song, whereas the eastern Meadowlark has more of a single-note chirp. Other than that, they look pretty much alike.

Just curious. Are you sure it was the eastern species that far west?
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Yes, I’m sure it was an Eastern Meadowlark.

I grew up with Western Meadowlarks, so I know the songs very well. The Eastern Meadowlark doesn’t just have the single note chip but an abbreviated version of the Western Meadowlarks. To me, they’re easy to tell apart.

Here’s the Eastern Meadowlark’s song.


Like the Black Vulture, Eastern Meadowlarks have a population in SE Arizona. In fact they are breeding birds here and one would expect to find them in this location. The SE Arizona population is a subspecies of Eastern Meadowlark called 'Lillian’s: Meadowlarks. They’re distinguished from the eastern population by their bright white cheeks with contrasting edges as is evident in my photo.

 
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In the garden now are wattle birds, fairy wrens …and English blackbirds who are scratching up the seeds I’m planting 😠 🤨
 
Earlier today while I looked out of our kitchen window while washing dishes, I saw 2 fat robins on the grass searching for food. Then I saw 3 cardinals (2 males and 1 female) flitting and hopping about on the wooden fence rail and then the most delightful thing of all — a chickadee, my fav bird, sitting on the fence watching the cardinals.
 
The local peregrine falcon couple are now sitting on five eggs! I don’t think the female has ever laid more than that in a season, so five is probably it. Now for the one month waiting game until they start to hatch!
 
tad said:
and #114 a very famous pair of nesting Great-horned Owls.
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Oops! I forgot to post a photo of the owl. I hear t;hey have baby owls now.

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Hit a few more SE Arizona lakes looking for water birds where I found 2020 year birds #115 Mexican Duck, #116 Bufflehead, #117 Eared Grebe, #118 Wilson’s Phalarope, #119 White-faced Ibis and #120 Lesser Scaup

2020 year bird #117 Eared Grebe just starting to go into breeding plumage.

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That little speck in the middle of all those ducks is 2020 year bird #118 Wilson’s Phalarope

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2020 year bird #119 White-faced Ibis

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I managed to take a hike into one of my favorite canyons to bird the next day. New birds there included #121 Black-chinned Sparrow, #122 Bell’s Vireo, #123 House Wren, #124 Painted Redstart, #125 Hammond’s Flycatcher.and #126 Rufous-capped Warbler

2020 year bird #124 Painted Redstart. Hard to believe I got a photo of this guy, they’re usually hyper-active.

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2020 year bird #125 Hammond’s Flycatcher
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2020 year bird #126 Rufous-capped Warbler. These are rare in the US but a small population has established itself in Florida Canyon over the past decade.

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Beautiful Florida Canyon. One of my happy places.

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CRV said:
Great photography tad! Love the last 4 bird pics.
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Thanks. Some of my first-of-year (FOY) photos are pretty lacking, but I like posting them just for the record. Now that the migrants are starting to move in, I’m getting some better little bird photos.

A the end of March I was able to visit one of my favorite birding spots, Rose Canyon in the Catalina Mtn’s where I live. It’s a two mile paved road that meanders down the canyon bottom through a number of campgrounds to a small man-made lake. At this time of year the campground is closed and the road is gated so it makes for some easy, silent walking through excellent birding habitat. Since all campgrounds in AZ’s national forests are closed for the time being, there was only one campground ‘host’ present, and since there is no camping in the near future, he wasn’t busy buzzing around in his golf cart getting ready for the season. It was blissfully quiet. (minus the time I passed by the ‘host’s’ RV only to listen to him arguing with his wife).

But I digress. Onto the birds. New birds for 2020 were #127 Broad-tailed Hummingbird, #128 Hairy Woodpecker, #129 Steller’s Jay, #130 Mountain Chickadee, #131 Violet-green Swallow, #132 Bushtit, #133 Pygmy Nuthatch, #134 Western Bluebird, #135 American Robin, #136 Olive Warbler, #137 Red Crossbill, #138 Pine Siskin and #139 Yellow-eyed Junco.

2020 year bird #132 Bushtit. Looking good among the manzanita blossoms.

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2020 year bird #133, the mighty Pygmy Nuthatch. He was banging out a hole in that pine.

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2020 year bird #134 Western Bluebird

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2020 year bird #135 American Robin

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2020 year bird #136 Olive Warbler, endemic to the sky islands of SE Arizona. Everybody wants to see one. I could have gotten some better shots, but just as I was dialing in the campground ‘host’ stopped by in his pick up truck to ask me if I was getting any good photographs.

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And the bird that shall always remain in my heart as the Rufous-sided Towhee, now known in these parts as the Spotted Towhee.

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Sounds quite idyllic! You are blessed to be able to get to such places on your own. There is a similar place in my city, but I wouldn’t go there on my own - too vulnerable to opportunistic no-gooders, and with it being ‘closed’ there’d be no-one around to help. So I truly appreciate all your photos.
tad said:
minus the time I passed by the ‘host’s’ RV only to listen to him arguing with his wife).
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Unwillingly of course, as you hurried by I’m sure. (I always feel uncomfortable when any or my neighbors argue and I can overhear it).

#1 - you’re right - very pretty amongst the blossoms.
#2 Talk about determination!! This bird wins beak down! If I had to make a hole with something that size, e.g. a nail - I throw the nail away and walk off acknowledging my defeat - but not this little bird!

3 Lovely shade of blue (blue is my favorite color)​

#4 Great photo amonst the grey/siliver and dark bark - such crisp definition of everything.
#5
tad said:
ut just as I was dialing in the campground ‘host’ stopped by in his pick up truck to ask me if I was getting any good photographs.
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LOL!! of course - when else would that occur!?!
#6 I’m siding with you here - the Rufous-sided Towhee is more appropriate.

Thanks for sharing!
 
I’ve got a pair of Lucy’s Warblers nesting in this carved coconut feeder my dad gave me. I’m blown away.

The nest

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The adult

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The children

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My goodness am I behind! It’s pays to look up, 2020 year bird #140 was a Zone-tailed Hawk I caught driving across town on April 7th. First impression of this species is that of a Turkey Vulture with it’s all-black color, dihedral wing positions and teetering flight, but a closer look will reveal white bars on the wings, and white bands on the tail. Cool bird. They’re migrating through about this time.

Easter Sunday had my wife and I out at sunrise on a truly glorious morning. Holy Saturday had been cool and rainy and storm clouds still hung over the mountain so we opted for a lower elevation hike in oak/juniper habitat. Year birds observed their included #141 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, #142 Warbling Vireo, #143 Hooded Oriole, #144 Rufous-crowned Sparrow, #145 Scott’s Oriole and #146 Cassin’s Kingbird.

2020 year bird #143 Hooded Oriole

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2020 year bird #144 Rufous-crowned Sparrow

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2020 year bird #146 Cassin’s Kingbird

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The next Monday morning found me at out local, urban wetlands. New birds there were #147 Yellow Warbler, #148 Barn Swallow, #149 Green Heron, #150 Macgilvary’s Warbler, and #151 Western Wood Pewee, kinda rare at this location, but not my first time to see one.

2020 year bird #147 Yellow Warbler

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2020 year bird #149 Green Heron

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2020 year bird #150 Magilvary’s Warbler. Another bird from my youth in Montana, I don’t get to see them every year in Arizona.

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2020 year bird #151 Western-wood Pewee. Kinda far away obviously

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Kind of a nice shot of a Gadwall, a truly handsome duck.

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Continuing on with some urban birding later that weekend I found ;2020 year bird #152 Black-necked Stilt, #153 Cliff Swallow, #154 Spotted Sandpiper and #155 Western Kingbird

Here’s the stilt. See it’s black neck?

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2020 year bird #155 Western Kingbird, not to be confused with the Cassin’s Kingbird from last weekend.

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