Went for a drive yesterday looking for wildflowers....didn't find any, but I saw a new bird!
This is a Curve-billed Thrasher. I think you can see where it gets the name :-)
We were stopped at a gas station and he was staking out this cactus and a post on the nearby fence. We saw another one with him just as we were leaving.
The faintly speckled breast is one of the distinguishing characteristics.
The rest of the bird is very drab colored. Fits the landscape out here perfectly.
King of the cactus!
Side view down a bit lower than that cactus perch.
I just liked how this cactus looked
We passed at least 5 hawks up on the power poles on our drive.
Off in the distance we could see the Kitt Peak Observatory.
A distant shot of it.
I'm guessing this is an empty hawk's nest.
A cholla cactus.
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6 comments:
Wonderful drive you had! Kitt Peak is an interesting couple of photos, and I love the hawk and the hawk's nest. I have seen the curve-billed thrasher too. Glad this one posed so wonderfully for you!
It was so nice to meet you and Mike and Dorothy! I enjoyed both of our visits VERY much! Will look forward to seeing you again next year, I hope!
You are seeing such diversity and beauty. Thanks for sharing this.
You would think a cactus would not be the most comfortable place to perch..
That is a good question - how does the bird sit so comfortably among all those thorns?
The cholla cactus is interesting! I don't think I have seen a photo of one before.
That is some bill on that curved bill thrasher...I suppose it is to do with all the cacti around. Can you imagine perching on one like he is?
I don't know how they sit on those thorny cactus. I've wondered about that too. The most common bird I see on them is the Cactus Wren and it nests in those cholla cactus....a safe hiding place! This year we didn't see a Cactus Wren but saw these Thrashers instead in two places. They all have large talons that I imagine help hold them up above the spines of the cactus.
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