Animal Signs: Red Tailed Hawk

Continuing my series on Animal Signs we come to the Red Tailed Hawk. Here are a couple of photos both taken at Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge along the Oregon/California border:

Red Tailed Hawk

Red Tailed Hawk -- Obviously the Area is not closed to wildlife.

New Photos: Summer Tanager

The Summer Tanager is always a nice find. Here are two, both from Huachuca Canyon:

Summer Tanager

Summer Tanager

Animal Signs: Peregrine Falcon

Here is a Peregrine Falcon perched on an appropriate sign -- other birds beware!

Peregrine Falcon of High Voltage

New Photos: Varied Bunting

Another gorgeous bird is the Varied Bunting. Here a couple of photos from Montosa Canyon:

Varied Bunting

Varied Bunting

Animal Signs: Mountain Bluebird

Here are a couple of photos of Mountain Bluebirds perched on signs:

Mountain Bluebird on Road Sign

Mountain Bluebird near Trail 

New Photos: Scissor Tailed Flycatcher

Another trip back to the Sierra Vista EOP (on Moson Road) found the same Scissor Tailed Flycatcher which is rare outside of Texas and Oklahoma:

Scissor Tailed Flycatcher

Scissor Tailed Flycatcher

New Photos: Painted Redstart

Although only found in Southern Arizona and New Mexico, the Painted Redstart is usually seen this time of the year in the mountain canyons. Here is one with a bug he's showing off for me:

Painted Redstart

New Photos: Great Horned Owl

The Homestead Trail in Saguaro National Park often produces a Great Horned Owl (or two). They are typically in or near the canyon wall at the far end of the loop. Here is one sitting in a "cave":

Great Horned Owl

Animal Signs: Moose

Antlered animals use "signs" in the fall to scrape velvet off their antlers to get ready for the rut. Here a Moose near Cameron Pass in Northwest Colorado is doing just that:

Moose Scraping Velvet from its Antlers

New Photos: Elegant Trogon

Always nice to see and hear the Elegant Trogon. Here are two photos from Huachuca Canyon taking this past week:

Elegant Trogon

Elegant Trogon

Animal Signs: Great Egret

Another photo from Fort Lowell Park showing a Great Egret on the same sign as the Double Crested Cormorant was in an earlier post:

Great Egret

New Photos: Cassin's Kingbird

Here is a Cassin's Kingbird which I have not often seen at 8000 feet (Mount Lemmon in the Catalina Mountains):

Cassin's Kingbird

Animal Signs: Elegant Tern

Many municipal parks have water here in Tucson which provide temporary housing and food for a variety of waterbirds. Here is an Elegant Tern perched on a sign out in the water at Lakeside Park:

Elegant Tern

New Photos: Blue Grosbeak

Here are three Blue Grosbeak photos, the first taken in Montosa Canyon, the second in Huachuca Canyon in the Huachuca Mountains, and the third a female taken in Montosa Canyon.

Blue Grosbeak

Blue Grosbeak

Blue Grosbeak Female

Animal Signs: Double Crested Cormorant

Fort Lowell Park in Tucson has provided lots of photos for me over the years -- some of which are included in this series. Here's a Double Crested Cormorant -- paying no attention to what the sign says:

New Photos: Blue Grey Gnatcatcher

These two Blue-grey Gnatcatchers were chasing each other around. One stopped to get a "gnat" during the process:

Blue-grey Gnatcatcher

Animal Signs: Lunch?

Okay, so I don't normally consider myself "wildlife" even though I am out in wilderness areas a lot. But, I like this photo. This is Stump Lake in British Columbia. It varies in size based on rainfall. There was quite a bit of rain this particular year so the water level was significant above the expected norm. I wasn't fishing this particular lake but had planned to eat lunch at its picnic area between two other lakes I had and was going to fish. I thought, "what the heck" I've got my wadders on ... and I am hungry.

Den Eating Lunch as Suggested by the Sign

New Photos: Black Throated Sparrow

Here is a Black Throated Sparrow perching on some Ocotillo in Montosa Canyon of the Santa Rita Mountains:

Black Throated Sparrow

Animal Signs: Burrowing Owl

For the past few years a family of Burrowing Owls has made the Safelite Auto Glass Building their home. Sometimes found in front of the storm drains; sometimes found near their burrow in the ground just across the street; and sometimes sitting on a chain linked fence in front of a vacation building just across the street. Here are three "owlets" on that fence with a "heart" sign behind them:

Burrowing Owls

New Photos: Bell's Vireo

Doing the series on Birds with Fish and then Animal Signs has me back-logged on new photos. So, interspersed among the Animal Sign Series I'll show some of those new photos.

Today, Bell's Vireo taken in Florida Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains of Southern Arizona:

Bell's Vireo with Bug

Animal Signs: Bronzed Cowbird

A Bronzed Cowbird rest on a road sign:

Bronzed Cowbird

Animal Signs: Another Black Phoebe

Here another Black Phoebe perching on a "depth" sign at Sweetwater Wetlands. He would fly off his perch to catch a fly and then right back to the perch again:

Black Phoebe

Animal Signs: Black Phoebe

Here a Black Phoebe is perched on a "No Wading" sign at a pond in Fort Lowell Park, Tucson:

Black Phoebe

Animal Signs: Black Chinned Hummingbird

Here a Black Chinned Hummingbird stopped on this sign for a rest before headed back to a nectar feeder:

Black Chinned Hummingbird

Animal Signs: Bison

I photographed this Bison in Yellowstone Park. He was using this sign as a scratching post:

Bison