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.

Originally posted by Windemere 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

Originally posted by DukeC 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.

Originally posted by DukeC 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