GracesWarbler

I took a trip to a riparian preserve near Phoenix last weekend, and saw a Great Egret for the first time! However, I noticed something in its tail, which hung down into the water as it walked around to hunt. See the second photo, below. At first I thought it was long tail feathers, but I don't see any feathers like this when I look at other Great Egret photos online, so now I'm wondering if it was a reed or something. Do Great Egrets stick things into their tails? Is this normal, or unusual? Any insight would be appreciated! Bonus picture: while I watched, the egret walked over to the shore and snatched a dragonfly off a reed:

Cool shot, and great lighting! It looks like it's wearing a long coat. I went somewhere new for birding last weekend: a riparian preserve near Phoenix. Lots of birds, rabbits, and turtles, and lots of people too! Northern Shovelers. A coot. A Snowy Egret, hunting. A catch! I can't quite tell what it got. Can anyone identify it? Some sort of fish?

We got a record one-day snowfall where I live yesterday (nearly three feet!). That morning, I spotted a house finch on the balcony, chirping. Hopefully those feathers keep it warm.

(Gambel's) Quail

Spots vs. stripes! Neat. Here's are some Yellow-headed Blackbirds. Male: Female:

Hoot hoot! Today I saw a Great Horned Owl! (Perhaps for the first time.) This was at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix.

Wonderful examples so far. I like how the male Rose-winged Parakeet looks like it has a a goatee. Here's a female and male Gambel's Quail:

There is a fantastical variety of birds, and some species have notable differences between the males and females. Post your best photos showing these differences. Having both birds in the same photo is great, but not required. I'll start. Here's a male and a female Red-winged Blackbird:

It amazes me how birds can manage to eat such large fish! Here's another one from the Phoenix Botanical Gardens. It's a Cactus Wren!

How did this story end? I went down to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix yesterday. Good birds there, and some let you get a little closer than normal, probably because they like the plants so much. Here's a lifer for me: a Verdin.

From a couple weeks ago: Mountain Chickadee Lesser Goldfinch fledgling Western Bluebird

Yeah, I was curious/worried about it, so I took a close look, but after a minute or so I left and gave it space. I figured it would be best not to crowd it. Hopefully it's growing up alright!

I was birding a couple days ago (October 6) in Flagstaff, AZ, and I saw a tiny fledgling bird on the ground (first two photos). I saw a Lesser Goldfinch nearby (third photo), which I thought might be a parent. Two questions: 1) Is the little bird a Lesser Goldfinch? 2) Is it normal for a bird this young to be on the ground? It could flutter a little, but only fly a foot or so in the air. It hopped around a little, seemed unsure of what to do (but didn't seem too afraid of me), and chirped loudly. Do the parents come and feed birds in this situation? It was such a tiny little bird, so I was a little concerned for it.

Went out to my favorite birding spot last weekend. Here's a hummingbird. Is it a Broad-tailed (this is in Flagstaff, Arizona)? Here's a female Yellow-headed Blackbird. I've seen a bunch of males (to be fair, they are quite distinctive), but this is my first time noticing one of the females. I'd never seen one of these before. It's a Sora, and it ran off into the reeds practically as soon as I took this picture.

A Yellow-headed Blackbird! Just when I feel like I'm getting a hang on identifying some common birds, the lady-birds throw me off. Thanks. Actually, I'd never heard of a Sora before, before I went looking through the bird book for this one.