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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

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    First Lesser Nighthawks of the year -- southern AZ

    Summer is almost here. I saw the first Lesser Nighthawks of the year tonight. Wonderful sight. Sometimes a half-dozen or more at one time swooping down low to catch bugs. When I was a kid there were Nighthawks where I lived in the summer and we would throw rocks up in the air and watch them...
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    FYI: Why is bird crap black and white?

    I was walking around my property this morning and saw something I see every morning -- bird crap on the ground under the trees where the birds roost. But then I realized that I did not know why their "stuff" is black and white. So, I looked it up . . . From britannica.com: "While mammals...
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    Has anyone read this book: "The Birds At My Table" by Darryl Jones

    I received this book today and it looks quite interesting. Has anyone read this book? If so, can you tell me what you thought of it? It's about 350 pages. "The Birds at My Table: Why We Feed Wild Birds and Why It Matters" (2018)
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    Sometimes I think I'm laying out a smorgasbord for the Cooper's Hawks.

    I've been feeding the birds for 25 years now. I have four feeders, all within the same general area so I can view them out my den window: a regular seed feeder, a nyjer feeder for the Goldfinches, a suet feeder, and a hummingbird feeder. But several times a day the Cooper's Hawks fly thru and...
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    My backyard list - Tucson AZ

    I am not a birder. I wish I was. Here are the birds I've seen on my 1.5 acre lot. I live out away from Tucson and my lot is 80% natural desert flora -- only the area right around my house is cleared and cultivated. I think my favorite bird is the Cactus Wren. A curious and inquisitive bird...
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    Unknown bird - Sonoran Desert @ Tucson, AZ

    I have a recording of an unknown bird here at my house just outside of Tucson AZ. The best part of the recording is the last 10-15 seconds. ETA: I only hear this bird during the day. It is not very loud. I've only heard it for the last couple of weeks -- never before.
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    Dozens of butterflies on Desert Broom flowers - SW USA

    The desert broom bushes are blooming now, here in the Sonoran Desert. They are covered with small brownish butterflies that are colored somewhat like Monarch and Queen butterflies but are much smaller. When sitting their wings stick up maybe 1 inch (2.5 cm). I will try to get a picture. Does...
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    Bird calls and songs evolving

    As a kid in the mid west of the USA I was interested in birds. I remember almost exactly the call of a Northern Cardinal. Now that was 50 years ago and now I live in the desert southwest of the USA. We have lots of Northern Cardinals that frequent my feeders and they still look the same (male...
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    Wolf Spiders winking at me in the dark ??

    When I walk around my yard at night I usually wear a band LED headlamp to keep an eye out for Diamondbacks and other critters of the night. A couple of weeks ago I noticed something reflecting very brightly in the driveway and it was very small. The driveway is gravel so random reflections of...
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    Blue Grosbeak ??? in Tucson

    I glanced out the window today and I think I saw a Blue Grosbeak. It looked almost black -- in fact I went searching for a black bird in my books and online. Can they be so dark blue that they appear black? It had very dark red lines out toward the end of its wings. (No -- not a Red-Winged...
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    Eurasian Collared-Dove seen in Tucson

    This morning here in Tucson I saw a lone Eurasian Collared-Dove eating with the Mourning and White-Winged Doves at the feeder. It was a bit larger than a Mourning Dove -- about the same size as a White-Winged Dove. I've never seen one before. Anyone else in AZ ever see one? I don't have a...
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    Do Cactus Wrens migrate?

    I live on the SE side of Tucson and I haven't seen a Cactus Wren in weeks, maybe a couple months. They are thick here in the summer. Maybe I've never paid attention before but they seem to have left for the winter ???? All the literature indicates that they don't migrate.
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    Need suggestions on feeding wild bees.

    I want to feed the wild bees. (Well, I don't know for sure if they are wild -- some may come from hives I am not aware of.) But it doesn't matter -- I want to feed them. I plan to get a shallow red pan or bowl and hang it up in a shady spot -- to keep the ants out. I will use 1:1...
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    Paton's birder haven to be sold - Tucson Audubon Society will manage

    This property is located in southern, AZ and is a world famous birder spot. It looks like the Tucson Audubon Society and the American Bird Conservancy were successful in purchasing this gem. It's very sad that the property had to change hands but I guess time marches on . . . . See the full...
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    White-winged Doves have migrated south for the season

    I haven't seen a White-winged Dove in the last week, but I didn't notice the exact day when they finally migrated away south. A sign that autumn is coming. Does anyone in AZ still see them?
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    White-winged Dove drinking nectar from feeder

    Aside from the hummingbirds, the only birds I've seen helping themselves to the nectar are Hooded Orioles and Gila Woodpeckers, but today there was a White-winged Dove sitting there for several minutes taking long draughts from one feeder. Any of you CA,AZ,NM,TX, or Mexican folks seen this before?
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    Sonoran Desert: White-lined Sphinx Moth

    I've seen several White-lined Sphinx Moths right at dusk, hovering over the Bird of Paradise flowers. I fell into the trap of thinking I was seeing a hummingbird because the hummers frequent the same flowers. http://www.arizonensis.org/sonoran/fieldguide/arthropoda/hyles_lineata.html
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    Tucson: Birds I've seen on (or above) my property

    Here is a list of birds that I've seen on (or flying over) my property. I've left off the hummingbirds since I have a hard time identifying them. I'm sure they are mostly Anna's and Costa's. (I did positively ID a Rufous during one migration.) My property is almost all virgin Sonoran Desert...
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    Won't be long now -- the bats will arrive

    Pretty soon the Lesser Long-nosed Bats or the Mexican Long-tongued Bats (not sure which) will arrive and then I have to bring my feeders in after dark and put them out before dawn. It's a pain and it lasts until sometime in October. Sometimes I put out a 30-oz hummingbird feeder for them and...
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    Drought, fires affecting hummingbird migration

    FYI: Here's a CBS video. No telling how long it will be available . . . . http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7418260n&tag=mncol;lst;1
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    Tucson: Where have the Lesser Goldfinches gone?

    I live in the desert on the far SE side of Tucson -- actually in Vail -- and I have been feeding the birds for many years now. But we've only been feeding the Lesser Goldfinches, with Nyjer seed feeders, for a couple of years now. A month or so ago they would pack each feeder (we have three)...
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    Hummingbird migration schedule -- by state

    It's almost time. I found this migration schedule (by state): http://hummingbirdworld.com/h/migrate.htm#by-state This is for Arizona: To the AZ residents: Does this agree with what you've seen in AZ?
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    Do your humminbirds get upset when you mess with THEIR feeders?

    Every 3-4 days I take down my five feeders, one at a time, clean them and refill them. The hummingbirds don't attack me but they do hover around me making that twittering noise they make when they run off other hummingbirds. It's sort of cute. They probably can't understand how something...
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    Can wintering birds survive without nectar-producing flowers?

    I have about a dozen hummingbirds wintering around my house where they feed from my five feeders almost non-stop. But I don't see any nectar-producing flowers anywhere in my area. Can hummingbirds survive eating insects only--and no nectar? Can they get the sugar/carbs from some other source...
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    Happy Holidays to All!

    And for my hummers: It's a special 3:1 mixture tonight so they have it first thing tomorrow morning.
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