Birds Birds Birds!

Snowbirds aren’t the only birds that migrate to Yuma for the winter. Here are some of the feathered types we saw:

The Common Ground Dove, which might be common around here, but it was a new bird for us:

An American Kestral that haunted a strip of our bike route:

The Greater Roadrunner, one of the birds I’d hoped to see while in this part of the country:

The amazing Great Tailed Grackle, which looks even better when it’s in flight because its huge tail makes it look like a little airplane flying:

This Black-Chinned  Hummingbird, which liked to sip nectar from the cacti blooms:

All kinds of finches, including this one, which I think is a male House Finch:

And this one, which might be its bride:

This Eurasian Collared-Dove pair didn’t have a very romantic spot, but they seemed content enough (the distinctive collar around the backs of their necks isn’t visible on either one here, but I can provide the proof if someone doubts the identity of these birds):

I want to believe this one is a Crested Caracara. It was soaring very high up, and the camera could only pick up a few markings (I’ll listen to reason on this one, if someone has a better ID on it):

And the closest I could come on this one is that it’s maybe an American Pipit or Bullock’s Oriole… but again, it can be hard to tell, which is I guess why so many people are such avid birders!! Let me know what you think:

Though we saw several birds of prey on our bicycle rides in the desert, this particular bird defies my birding skills. Notice the strap on its leg, a bit of leather, as though it’s been used as a hunting bird by a falconer. If you can identify this mystery bird, please do!

If the tail feathers will help, I caught this edge as it flew away:

We saw Long-Billed Curlews in a few places on a regular basis…

…and even got to see a flock of them take to the air:

A Northern Mockingbird seemed to always greet us from the same tree along the Yuma Fitness Trail at the Ray Smucker Park, and it was good enough to pose on cut fronds of a palm tree where I could grab my camera one day:

And a pair of Ferruginous Hawks circled over us while we road our bikes near the SKP park:

We saw Great Egrets where I wouldn’t have expected them to be, from city parks to lemon groves to alfalfa fields, and in this small strip of grass at The Big Curve in Yuma:

In the case of this hummingbird, I was glad I carry my camera nearly every place we go!

We saw all kinds of birds in all kinds of places, though after I thought about it, seeing birds in any kind of tree, even a palm tree, shouldn’t have surprised me!

Now don’t get me started on the beautiful flowers and cacti and other plants we were happy to see blooming in the “dead” of winter!