I am coming out of the closet finally

The unnamed owl in the post two posts above this looks like it could be a Great Horned Owl.  But it's an awesome picture.

Windemere wrote: Eaglecap, you were right in identifying the bird as an Arizona Cardinal, though. I just googled it, & it turns out that there actually is a subspecies of Northern Cardinal in Arizona that's slightly larger than the Northern Cardinals in the rest of the country. It's known as Cardinalis cardinalis superbus.

The red cardinal- I have not seen one of those yet in my yard but I have seen the following; cactus wren, road runners, white and red crowned sparrows. turkey vultures, grackles, ugly English sparrows, crows, oriels, some unknown hawks possibly red tail, but some I do not know their names like-
there is a big gray bird that looks like a cardinal and has a bright red chest and some other small dark bird with a funny crest. I need to get an Arizona bird book. I have not seen any Oregon juncos here but oh yes some type of thrasher which has a long beak that points downward and they forage around in the bushes looking for critters to eat which probably include insects and small lizards- plenty of those here.

Cactus wren- I see a lot of them in my yard. I gather it is the Arizona state bird.


sdakotabirds.com
the Curved billed AZ thrasher

gimlack flickr.com

Road runner: I see them all the time.

Swanee 3 flickr.com
Turkey vulture a common sight soaring in our all too blue skies.

Ardeola flickr.com


Edited by eaglecap - 10-Jun-2009 at 19:46

Then we of course have the beautiful cranes that every spring congregate at Lake Hornborga in the province of Västergötland. It´s a fascinating spectacle to see and hear thousands and thousands of these birds in one place:

Edited by Carcharodon - 11-Jun-2009 at 20:41

Nice looking birds. Nearly to nice to eat

Edited by Carcharodon - 12-Jun-2009 at 21:17

DukeC wrote: I too also have to admit to a strong "attraction" to birds.   Some of my favorites are Evening Grossbeaks, Rufous Hummingbirds, Mountain Bluebirds and Western Tanagers.

Canada is incredible for bird life. I use to live just two hours south of BC and did a lot of wilderness trips there. We have an area owned by the Nature Conservancy in the Huachua moutains, on the edge of Coronodo National Forest, that I think has over 300 species of birds. I think it is the largest concenstration of song birds in the USA. It is mostly dry oak forests with cactus and a nice year around creek. I hear those grackles everyday from my house and some pretty birds sit by my window most every morning and sing.

DukeC wrote: Sounds like heaven.   One of my favorite places was the Stanley Park seawall in Vancouver for the seabirds like Oyster Catchers, Pelagic Cormorants and Harlequin Ducks. It's amazing to watch a seagull swallow a starfish whole.

hmmmm that would hurt!! I have been to Vancouver, WA but never to the BC version but I have come close when I backpacked in Manfield Provincial Park down the Pacific Crest Trail intto the Pasaytan wilderness on the Washington State side, awesome country!!

Yesterday I saw five turkey vultures soaring in the sky but then I saw the road kill they were eating. It is part of their niche in nature I suppose- yuck.

Edited by eaglecap - 15-Jun-2009 at 17:18