taking advantage of minimal shade
A particularly stately Smoke Tree (Psorothamnus spinosus) in bloom, Maricopa County, Arizona
Fighting for keeps. The victor held the loser under water for a long time, but the loser finally escaped
One very sleepy Great Horned Owl that was not at all disturbed by our presence. They like to roost on the large horizontal stems of the mature California Fan Palms.
Link to California Fan Palm (Washingtonia filifera) A.k.a. Desert Palm observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/192412485
Link to another Great Horned Owl in same oasis: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/200537207
Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) Large owl in the Strigidae family that stands up to 56cm (22 inches) tall. It has prominent, widely spaced ear tufts (feathers) at sides of head. It is found in a large variety of habitats including dense woods, prairie, deserts, and in wooded towns and suburbs. It is typically well-camouflaged beige and dark brown overall, but varies in color. Often engages in haunting duets, with males and females hooting back and forth. Preys upon a variety of animals, including mammals, birds and reptiles.
Feeding Behavior: Hunts "mostly at night, sometimes at dusk. Watches from high perch, then swoops down to capture prey in its talons. Has extremely good hearing and good vision in low light conditions.
Mammals make up majority of diet in most regions. Takes many rats, mice, and rabbits, also ground squirrels, opossums, and skunks. Eats some birds (especially in the north), up to size of geese, ducks, hawks, and smaller owls. Also eats snakes, lizards, frogs, insects, scorpions, but rarely fish.
Feathers: Because of their nocturnal habits, Owls tend not to exhibit sexual dimorphism in their plumage. Specialized feathers and wing shape suppress the noise produced by flying, both taking off, flapping and gliding. This silent flight allows owls to hunt without being heard by their prey. Owls possess three physical attributes that are thought to contribute to their silent flight capability. First, on the leading edge of the wing, there is a comb of stiff feathers. Second, the trailing edge of the wing contains a flexible fringe. Finally, owls have downy material distributed on the tops of their wings that creates a compliant but rough surface (similar to that of a soft carpet). All these factors result in significant aerodynamic noise reduction."
Ebird with species description, range map and sound recordings: https://ebird.org/species/grhowl/
Xeno-canto Bird songs, sound recordings, and species range map: https://xeno-canto.org/explore?query=Bubo%20virginianus
Audubon Guide to North American Birds https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/great-horned-owl
National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, ed. Jon L. Dunn, 7th ed., 2017, pp. 294-295.
National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of Western North America, ed. Jon L. Dunn, 2008, pp. 220-221.
Monterey Birds, Don Roberson, 2nd ed. 2002, sponsored by Monterey Peninsula Audubon Society, p. 282.
The Cornell Lab (Birds in U.S. and Canada) https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/ (enter common name)
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Coachella Valley Preserve: For thousands of years, particles of sand from the San Bernardino Mountains and Indio Hills washed into the Coachella Valley forming a system of sand dunes. Today, these dunes are part of the Coachella Valley Preserve System, a 20,000-acre sanctuary, a desert oasis for many species of birds, reptiles, plants, and human visitors.
The Coachella Valley Preserve contains several palm oases that sit on top of San Andreas Fault lines. Underground water rises to the surface through these cracks. California Fan Palms (Washingtonia filifera) grow along the cracks where the water seeps up creating a desert oases. Many plant species thrive in the alkaline soil.
Coachella Valley sits at the convergence of four vast ecological systems - the Colorado (or Sonoran) Desert, the Mojave Desert, and the coastal and peninsular mountain ranges.
Birding Hotspot. Current access information: https://www.cnlm.org/portfolio_page/thousand-palms-oasis-preserve-coachella-valley-preserve/ (usually open Wed-Sun, street parking only)
and general information about the Preserve: https://www.blm.gov/visit/coachella-valley-preserve
Simone Pond (no public access at this time, except for special-event docent led visits, as of 2/25/24)
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Merlin Bird ID: How to use/get the portable App (Bird ID help for 8,500+ species) https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/
Comprehensive Feather I.D. tools and more: https://foundfeathers.org/resources/
Found Feathers (Worldwide): https://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas/idtool.php
Found Feathers: INaturalist Project: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/found-feathers
Birds of Prey (worldwide): INaturalist Project: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/birds-of-prey-99060f60-e812-429a-a649-d61fbdf39b20
Irene's Ebird Profile: https://ebird.org/profile/MTIwNjIzMg and my worldwide checklists: https://ebird.org/mychecklists
Irene's Birds of Prey on INaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?project_id=104882&ttl=900&v=1725330729000&place_id=any&verifiable=any&subview=grid&user_id=3188668
Irene's Bird (Aves class) observations worldwide on INaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&taxon_id=3&user_id=aparrot1&verifiable=any
Irene's (aparrot1) Profile Page on INaturalist listing Nature Resources (References with links) for Plants, Birds, Fungi, Arachnids, Reptiles, Amphibians, Marine Life, Plant Galls, and more: https://www.inaturalist.org/people/3188668
Anidando, posiblemente empollando.
Fouquieria splendens subsp. campanulata
There were three, but only managed to photograph one. Tag #16. Purple with white numbers is bird #816 according to the sources I looked at.
skulking in a flock of snow geese before finally catching one
Cruised up on the smaller one and heard the larger one buzzing in the bushes when we got out of the car
The difference between the desert cottontail and brush rabbit definitely stand out when they are side by side. :)
The Red-tailed Hawk appeared after the Bald Eagle had been chasing the Osprey for about five minutes, wanting to steal a fish the Osprey had just caught. The hawk went ballistic on the eagle, hitting it repeatedly. I final blow caused the eagle to suddenly drop in altitude and give up on chasing the osprey. The Red-tailed Hawk never went for the Osprey.
Taken with phone so couldn't get closer shot
Experts - What is going on here? This male American Kestrel sure did seem to have the hots for this female Merlin. He kept trying to get close to her and even brought her a few treats (insects?) from the grass beneath the fence. She accepted the treats but didn't seem thrilled with the attention. However, when he flew off, she followed him...
I have a separate observation for the Pyrrhuloxia
Adult and two chicks roosting in the gravel inside a utility yard.
Known rarity a first state record if accepted!
Banded and released as part of project investigating saguaro use by the bird community; handled with appropriate federal and local permits
*obs for bird on left, not the WESO
I had to.
"Hello world!"
Says Toots the rooster.
NW residential Brawley.
Mockingbird and Curve-bill Thrashers "mobbing" a Tiger Rattlesnake.
the squirrel and dove were inseparable!
Ongoing rarity in Palm Canyon.
A very stern-looking friend.
This juvenile was sitting very close to the high peaks trail
This dove literally landed in my lap during offshore sailing passage from Bahamas to Beaufort North Carolina. It was very tired and wet, dried and preened its feathers while catching a ride for about 24 hours before it flew away.
The California Thrasher stood its ground
Bright pink/brown morph rock pigeon. There are 28 variety of morph feathers for rock pigeons. This one is strikingly beautiful in the right light.
I Wonder If That Means Me?
Caught this mockingbird apparently reading the sign and contemplating crossing the barrier.
Absolute beast of a Joshua Tree next to an abandoned convenience store. Shot on an 00's digital camera.
Photo by Tim Tibbitts, date approximate