Mike in the Wild

"Plant it and they will come," is a rough paraphrase borrowed from a famous late 1980's movie.  These words are an apt recommendation to attract birds to a backyard: landscape with native flora and you're guaranteed to have local species visit your garden.   As I've watched a newly planted palo verde tree mature over the last two years, I've seen verdins - some of the tiniest of desert birds - regularly visit it as they hunt for miniscule insects between its leaves or drink nectar from its spring blossoms.  And recently, juveniles have joined their parents in these forages, reminding me that not only does a well-placed tree encourage visits, it might just nurture a family. When you first encounter a verdin, it's usually their peeps you notice before you spot them.  Peep, hop, peep, hop: their nonstop performance is choreographed to a fast metronome.   They're tiny, even smaller than a chickadee, probably closer in size to a bushtit.  ...

Every competitor wants to soar with eagles, reaching the pinnacle of success in their pursuits.  It's why our televisions are tuned to bake-offs and sports competitions; we want to see the very best cooks and athletes.  And it was this trophy bird, the bald eagle, that was my target when I headed over to Indian Bend Wash in Scottsdale.   The wash is actually a greenbelt of parks, golf courses, bike paths and lakes that comprises eleven miles of a flood diversion channel.  A couple of years ago a pair of bald eagles nested in the area and promoted birdwatching to the list of activities available in the development.  But it seems the eagles have moved on to a less crowded habitat as I can't find a record of their sighting this last year.  And I didn't spot them myself in the little corner of the park I visited yesterday.  However near Indian Bend Road, close to the Silverado Golf Club and the Arizona Canal, three different species of flycatchers...

Except for their varying sizes and wide range of colors, all tyrant flycatchers seem quite similar in appearance and behavior to me.   At least this is the case with the specific members of this largest of bird families that I encounter near my home in the American Southwest.  However, the vast majority of these New World species can be found in their diverse habitats throughout Latin America. In Arizona I can usually start to identify a flycatcher when I see a small bird perched upright on a pole or branch.  Of course many birds sit still from a safe vantage point like a street lamp, but it's only the flycatcher that I notice leaping and fluttering from that position in a unique acrobatic hunting display.  Nine times out of ten he returns to that exact same safe place to try his luck at another chance for more insects. Just last week on a short walk in my Phoenix neighborhood I encountered three flycatchers, all similarly hunting for bugs.  I believe e...

While photographing birds is a fun hobby, identifying and categorizing them is a science.  I wish I had paid more attention to the classification of animal life during my mandatory junior high school biology courses.  My interest in birding, and specifically in the flycatcher family, has given me a deep dive into avian taxonomy. When you start paying attention to birds and their names, you run into new and unfamiliar words like passerines and empids .  I  noticed quickly that these words were being associated with a number of birds that were called flycatchers.  Growing up in the northeast, I was familiar with blue jays, chickadees and robins but not at all with this new species.  When I embraced this new pastime here in Arizona, one of the first birds I shot was a male vermilion flycatcher.   Scarlet like the very familiar cardinal, he's one of prettiest and brightest birds in our desert.  It turns out that he's not only a flycatcher, but he's...

The Salt River flows through the heart of the Valley, supplying much of our drinking water. It starts high in the rim country and the White Mountains, collecting rain water and snow melt into a series of lakes and reservoirs.  But below its lowest lake, Saguaro Lake, it runs free and unimpeded for a number of miles before it's dammed and diverted to a network of canals that water a thirsty metropolis.  This lower Salt River is a lush and verdant riparian system that supports both sportsmen and wildlife.  And it's only a thirty-five minute drive east from central Phoenix, promising a wonder of unique and beautiful desert landscapes. Just below Saguaro Lake starts the beautiful lower Salt River. A view almost 14 miles downriver before most of the water is diverted to canals below Granite Reef Dam. There is some unique birding in the area, with a combination of water and desert dwellers in close proximity.  This is a greater yellowlegs, maybe the first ...