The Vermilion Flycatcher, what a beautiful, feisty little bundle of color.
The vermilion flycatcher is a small bird native to Central and South America. They capture insects on the wing by flying suddenly out from an exposed perch. These foraging flights are often short and direct, and often involve a swift swoop that takes them in a looping circle out and back to the same perch. I so enjoy watching them hunt for food and enjoy the challenge of taking their photo.
I found this description of this bird on the web and it certainly fits its personality.
In Aztec mythology, the bird is associated with the god of the sun. It is seen as a symbol of strength and vitality.
Male
I think this juvenile felt very handsome and just wanted his photo taken.
What a beautiful juvenile!
And, last but not least the gorgeous female with her tinge of salmon color.
I hope you enjoyed seeing these colorful Vermilions!
~Photos of the American Wigeon taken at Canoa Ranch near Green Valley AZ – January 2023
Male
The drake’s are commonly called “baldpates” because of the white on their crown and forehead.
The American wigeon is a bird of open wetlands, such as wet grassland or marshes with some taller vegetation, and usually feeds by dabbling for plant food or grazing, which it does very readily.
While on the water, wigeons (dabblers) often gather with feeding coots, redheads, canvasbacks and other divers, and are known to grab pieces of vegetation brought to the surface by diving water birds, so are sometimes called “poacher” or “robber” ducks. They are fond of wild celery, a deepwater plant, that they poach from divers.
Pair
American wigeons are serially monogamous; they form pairs that remain together during a single breeding season and after the second week of incubation, males usually leave to molt. They nest on dry land.
Wigeons also commonly feed on dry land, eating waste grain in harvested fields and grazing on pasture grasses, winter wheat, clover, and lettuce.
Having a largely vegetarian diet, most wigeons migrate in the fall well before northern marshes begin to freeze. The American wigeon is highly gregarious outside of the breeding season and forms large flocks.
A pretty female.
So, if you are out and about near open fields, ponds and marshes look for this beautiful duck with the white forehead and bright green on the side of their face.
~Back in January 23, while visiting Madera Canyon, we were walking along a trail near Santa Rita Lodge and spotted this beautiful House Wren sitting on a tree stump.
They are small and compact, with a flat head and fairly long, curved beak. Short-winged, often keeping its longish tail either cocked above the line of the body or slightly drooped.
I haven’t thought about it before, and it makes perfect sense that there are regional differences between House Wrens.
A “brown-throated” subspecies of the House Wren occurs in mountains of extreme southeastern Arizona. It has a distinct buffy eyebrow and cinnamon-buff throat and chest. House Wrens occur all the way through the Americas to southern Argentina. Individuals in the Caribbean and South America tend to be warmer colored and have somewhat different voices.
In summer, House Wrens are at home in open forests, forest edges, and areas with scattered grass and trees. Backyards, farmyards, and city parks are perfect for them. In winter they become more secretive, preferring brushy tangles, thickets, and hedgerows.
Acorn Woodpeckers are medium-sized woodpeckers with straight, spike-like bills and stiff, wedge-shaped tails used for support as the birds cling to tree trunks.
These woodpeckers live in oak and mixed oak-evergreen forests on slopes and mountains in the Southwest and West Coast. They’re tolerant of humans, and you can find them in towns where there are acorns and suitable places to store them.
Males have a red cap and whitish forehead. In flight you can see their white rump and with patches.
Male
Females have a black back and black cap. Their red feathers on the head is restricted to the back of the head unlike males.
Female
They are very unusual woodpeckers that live in large groups, hoard acorns, and breed cooperatively. Group members gather acorns by the hundreds and wedge them into holes they’ve made in a tree trunk or telephone pole. Acorn Woodpeckers also spend considerable time catching insects on the wing. They give raucous, scratchy waka-waka calls frequently.
I found a youtube vid of Acorn Woodpeckers storing acorns in tree trucks. See link below. Very interesting to watch them.
Leaving Catalina State Park in Oro Valley, AZ last January we traveled to Amado, AZ and stayed at a private RV park called DeAnza RV Resort. The reason we stayed in Amado was to travel to Madera Canyon.
Madera Canyon is a birders paradise. Here is a quick link if you might be interested in traveling to this gorgeous area. https://friendsofmaderacanyon.org
One of the common birds seen in this area is the Mexican Jay. I first saw this Jay on December 29, 2020 and was number 398 on my birding list. They are fun to photograph and it is fun to just sit and watch their interactions with each other.
The soft-blue and gray Mexican Jay looks like a duskier version of other scrub-jays (whose genus they share) but has a smaller black bill and lacks a blue necklace. Its range extends from Mexico into pine-oak-juniper woodlands of the southwestern U.S.
Notice how much white the Mexican Jay has compared to other species of Scrub Jays.
Mexican Jays live in family groups of up to 25 individuals and may have several active nests in one territory. All group members share the responsibility of feeding young. They rarely disperse and stay with their groups throughout their lives.
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