Spotted Towhee Spotted

Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus)

My most exciting backyard visitor this spring - a male Spotted Towhee!  He stayed for about 3 days, hopping around in true towhee-style in the thick brush.  Most of the time he foraged on the ground under our seed block, mixing right in with the White-crowned Sparrows.  But my resident Abert's Towhees were not as thrilled as I to see their colorful cousin and chased him away at every turn.  I tried to tell them not to be so inhospitable to their visiting relative, but the Abert's just wouldn't listen.

Swainson's or Hermit Thrush?

Look at what all the wind blew in - a surprise visitor to my backyard bird bath! 

 Is it a Swainson's or Hermit Thrush?

Any ideas?  Send them to me at birdbloglady@gmail.com

Eurasian Collared-Dove

Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopeleia decaocto)

Just who are these interlopers in my yard, and how did they get here?  Did they take a wrong turn like the Eurasian Teal we had this winter at the Tempe Marsh?  Actually I kinda like em'.  They look like they're ready for a formal event with their black collars, they are not bullies at the feeders, and they arrive in ones or twos - unlike their unruly white-winged cousins.

Remembering Linda

Just over one year ago my good friend, Linda Hartelt, passed away after a long struggle with pulmonary complications stemming from her spinal cord injury.  So the past year has been a time of mourning her passing, grieving the loss a dear friend, and regretting not doing more to ease her struggle and to help her enjoy the last year of her life.

On an unseasonably cool day in mid June I found myself overwhelmed with sadness.  It was an incredibly gorgeous day outside, and Linda was not here to take it all in.  I couldn't bring myself to go outside and enjoy the day, it all seemed so unfair.  In the midst of my moping I suddenly heard a racket of tapping and fluttering at the back door.  Amazingly, there was a Peach-faced Lovebird perched on the back french door, pecking on the window as though he was knocking to come inside!  I looked around at the back patio and there were Peach-faced Lovebirds everywhere.

Lined up along the pool fence...

Swinging around on the hanging baskets...

One Lovebird even played me a tune on the wind chimes...

and a few seemed enamoured with my little stuffed toy Loon on the window sill...

The flock of nearly 20 lovebirds spent most of the day in my yard, raiding all the feeders, hanging out with the Quail...

bathing in the pool, and checking out the birdhouses...

It was truly an awesome sight to see,  I have never witnessed that many Lovebirds in my yard before or since.  Thank you Linda, you were here after all...

Peach-faced Lovebirds are Back!

Peach-faced Lovebird (Agapornis roseicollis)

After being absent from our yards during March and April, the Lovebirds seem to have returned.  I wonder if they had a better food source in the spring months and didn't need to come to the feeders.  Or were they off to more remote locations to nest and fledge their young? 

You Just Never Know Who is Coming to Dinner

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

Wow, what a treat it was to have this surprise guest show up at dinner-time last night! I was busy focusing on the Gila Woodpecker feeding on a bark buttered bird house when I saw a flash of bright red whiz by and land in the Palo Verde tree. The Northern Cardinal repeatedly came back to feed on a suet cake. That's a first for me. I'm already very blessed to have a great variety of birds visit my yard regularly. The usual dinner-guests include Curve-billed Thrashers, Northern Mockingbirds, Abert's Towhees, Gila Woodpeckers, Gilded Flickers, White-crowned Sparrows, Lesser Goldfinches, Annas Hummingbirds, Verdin, Great-tailed Grackles (they like the in-shell peanuts), Mourning Doves, and Gambel's Quail.

FYI - I regularly put out suet cakes, thistle, bark-butter, nectar, oranges, black oil sunflower seeds, seed blocks, in -shell peanuts, and premium blend bird food. Putting out quality feed really makes a difference, I get everything at Wild Birds Ulimited (Join their Daily Savings Club and get 15% off on all bird food!)

What's With the Fancy Colors Dude?

Bullock's Oriole (Icterus bullockii)

 This House Finch isn't quite sure what to think of the flashy colored visitor with pink beak tips (from frequent drinks at the hummingbird feeder). Its a first for me to have an Oriole appear in my backyard. I think its a young male Bullock's Oriole. He showed up September 10th, likes to hang out in the Palo Verde tree, and continually drinks from the hummingbird feeder throughout the day. He seems to be alone, or I just haven't recognized a female Oriole's subtle coloring. With those pink beak-tips he might have trouble attracting a female mate!'

Peach-faced Lovebirds!?

When I first saw one of these in my neighborhood, I thought someone lost their pet bird. Only later I learned that there are feral flocks of Peach-faced Lovebirds scattered around the Valley, especially here in Mesa. Their colors are just amazing, and they're so darn cute.

Peach faced Lovebirds are actually small parrots from an arid region of South Africa, so they have adapted to our sonoran desert quite well. So how in the heck did they end up here in Arizona? Well, they didn't migrate, thats for sure. It is assumed that a few mating pairs of pet Lovebirds escaped from their homes somewhere here in the Valley, and unlike other escaped pet birds, they survived and continued breeding.

They seem to be picky about which feeders they will go to, and only stay for short periods, and at certain times of the day. I have only seen them in my neighbors backyard, and at Gilbert Water Ranch. See the Map of Lovebird sightings in the Phoenix Metro area.