Falcons: Part I

On to Falcons.

There are five Falcons common to the United States: American Kestrel, Merlin, Crested Caracara, Peregrine, and Prairie. The Gyrfalcon is a rare visitor to the northern states in the lower 48, but more common in Alaska. The Aplomado Falcon once roamed the southern parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, but had disappeared entirely for many years. It has recently been introduced  in Texas, and hopefully will regain its original territory.

Here then are the Falcons, starting with the American Kestrel:

American Kestrel Male

American Kestrel Female

American Kestrel

First let me welcome Gambia, the 139th country to visit The Azure Gate Blog. Thank you all.



Driving with guests in the grasslands southeast of Sonoita, Arizona we came across an American Kestrel sitting on a wire. Moments later he moved to a fence post.

I'm quite please with how the photos turned out.

My Favorite Wildlife Photos of 2017 - 1

For the remainder of the year I thought I'd share my 20 favorite wildlife photos taken in 2017.

So here they are (in alphabetical order):

American Kestrel

Catching Up: American Kestrel

Santa Cruz Flats is a great place for finding Falcons -- especially the American Kestrel. Here are a couple photos taken this past month:

American kestrel

American Kestrel

Best Wildlife Photos of 2016: American Kestrel

With the Thanksgiving Holiday over, I have a bit of a break and will try to catch up on my posts. So starting today, and for the rest of the year, it will be my best (or favorite) photos taken this year. I'll do this alphabetically starting with an American Kestrel sitting on top of a Palm tree that had lost its top during the cold January (2016) winter. The photo was taken in what Christine calls "The Alternate Universe," or, on the map Santa Cruz Flats.

American Kestrel

Birds on a Wire: American Kestrel

Beginning to regain my strength (from five days in the hospital) I'm back home and anxious to get out into the wilderness. I have been experiencing (what I call) NDS -- Nature Deficiency Syndrome. 

In the meantime, I'll do a quick series I'm titling "Birds on a Wire," starting alphabetically with the American Kestrel:

Birding Santa Cruz Flats in Arizona

First a note to welcome the 125th country that has visited this blog: Antigua & Barbuda. Thank you for your in interest our Wildlife. It clearly is something people around the world have in common.

Santa Cruz Flats is one of the great winter birding spots. There are riparian areas along the Santa Cruz River, scrub desert, and farmlands. All provide a wide variety of birding experiences. Here are a sample of birds photographed on December 9, 2015:

American Kestrel

American Pipit

Blue Gray Gnatcatcher

Burrowing Owl

Common Ground Dove

Oops, a Coyote

Crested Caracara

Ferruginous Hawk

Snowy Plover

Prairie Falcon

Roadrunner

Rock Wren

Santa Cruz Flats: Three Falcon Day

This is the time of year that birding Santa Cruz Flats can be fun. Among many other birds (which I'll post tomorrow) three falcons presented themselves nicely:

American Kestrel

Crested Caracara

Prairie Falcon

I'll throw in a nice Ferruginous Hawk as well:

Ferruginous Hawk

More from San Rafael Valley

On this same trip as the Harrier Hawks, I walked away with several other nice photos:

American Kestrel

Montezuma Quail

Montezuma Quail

Phainopepla

Pronghorn

Savannah Sparrow

Eastern Meadowlark

White Tailed Kite

Birding Santa Cruz Flats in Arizona: RaptorsAmerican

 I wanted to check out the action at Santa Cruz Flats, about 40 miles north of Tucson. It is a fabulous winter birding spot; lots of raptors, a reliable place for burrowing owls, and oddly enough shorebirds. Although not quite season yet I did find some nice photo ops:

American Kestrel

Crested Caracara

Prairie Falcon

Red Tailed Hawk

Turkey Vulture

Las Cienegas Desert Grasslands - Part IIAmeri

And, finally a few more nice photos from the Desert Grasslands of Las Cienegas:

American Kestrel

Botteri's Sparrow

Cassin's Kingbird

Blue Grosbeak

Lark Sparrow

Western Kingbird

Empire Gulch, Las Cienegas, Arizona

Quick trip to Empire Gulch and Las Cienegas this week too:

dusky flycatcher

yellow warbler

rufous winged sparrow

american kestrel

cassin's kingbird