Mike in the Wild

My summers in Prescott always begin with much eagerness for the changes from my desert life in Phoenix: cool temperatures, dark night skies, monsoon thunder storms, verdant forest landscapes, an abundance of critters like skunks, and lots and lots of birds.   After nearing completion of my thirteenth season escaping some of the hottest temperatures in Arizona - not to mention record-breaking - I've not been disappointed on the subject of birds.  Every late spring I love reacquainting myself with the woodpeckers, jays, juncos, nuthatches and titmice that call the juniper and scrub oaks a full-time home.   But it might be the more challenging search for migratory birds that I most look forward to every year.  Plenty of neotropical birds that spend our cooler winter months in Central or South America breed in North America during our warm summer.  Orioles, warblers and cardinals are just a few of the avian families whose many species travel to or through ...

Recognizing the call of an individual bird species is an exciting breakthrough in a birder's favorite pastime.  I can't count the number of times the metallic toot of a pair of cardinal's beckoned me from the house into my Phoenix backyard this past winter.  Just last weekend a much less familiar call - more of a quick, double-chortle than a tweet - quickly drew my attention to the other side of my Prescott home's screen door.  There I spied a male summer tanager nibbling at the suet feeder.  But not all sounds associated with birding are as alluring.  Window strikes are often cited as one of the leading causes of bird deaths, and, unfortunately, I've got firsthand experience with this occurrence.  Just two weeks ago, while busily typing on my computer in Phoenix, a thud over my shoulder startled me from my work, reminding me that my own garden and home might be an unwitting killer.   Outside my office window, splayed on the patio, an Abert's ...

I first heard the expression "bluebird day" on a ski trip, when a ski resort wanted to advertise a picture perfect day of fresh powder snow  with clear, sunny skies.  But I was reminded of the term in another way when I encountered a new blue-colored bird for the very first time. The lazuli bunting is a member of the cardinal family, but is not the bluest of these birds.  Its cousin the blue grosbeak takes that prize in Arizona, even though he's not named after the lapis lazuli, a semi-precious gemstone. Any first time sighting of a bird is always an exhilarating moment, especially when you've targeted him on your outing.  I had heard this bunting was in the area from Jay's Bird Barn, the local seed store, so I made a point to be on the lookout during a Sunday morning outing.  I quickly saw him in the grasses and reeds growing in the mostly dry Willow Creek near my Prescott neighborhood, and managed a few distant but grainy shots.   A couple hour...