Wildlife of The Azure Gate Bed and Breakfast - Part VII

Continuing with wildlife photos I've taken here at The Azure Gate Bed and Breakfast since the Pandemic started and we began "staying at home":

Harris Hawk

Lark Sparrow

Female Lesser Goldfinch

Lesser Goldfinches feasting on Saguaro Blossoms

Male Lesser Goldfinch

Lucy's Warbler

Mallard Ducks enjoying our Swimming Pool

Hawks: Part VI

The Harris (or Harris's) Hawk. A quite stunning hawk of Southern Arizona and Southwest Texas. It's population has been declining, in part by humans capturing them (illegally) and using them in Falconry. Further, climate change and water usage from the Colorado River Valley have eliminated them in those areas.

Current estimates put the population at about 920,000 down 62% over the past 50 years.

Harris's Hawk is a social hawk, with a complex social order. Several years ago we would often see 4-6 at a time, traveling and eating together. We would often see them in the same tree or on the same telephone pole. They work together to capture prey as one tries to flush birds out of dense trees while others wait to pick them off. Larger prey is often shared by the group. Their diet includes small mammals, birds, and lizards.

Birds on a Wire: Harris Hawk

The Harris Hawk (or Harris's Hawk) is a Southern Arizona raptor that is also found year round in Southern New Mexico and Western Texas as well as throughout Mexico, Chile, Argentina, and Paraguay.

It is one of the few "family-oriented" raptors, often hunting in family groups up to 8 or so.

It is also a raptor prized by "falconers" since it can be trained. I remember watching the Clive Owen film "King Arthur" where Tristan has a "falcon" that rides on his shoulder. Of course knowing Harris Hawks as I do, I recognized it immediately and thought, "Gee, they didn't have Harris Hawks in England -- and certainly not in the times of King Arthur." 

That reminds me of a Clint Eastwood western movie that begins with a Turkey Vulture soaring over the desert making loud rasping calls. I recognized the call to be that of a Harris Hawk. (Actually, Turkey Vultures have no vocal organs and make no sounds). The "more" to this story is that a frequent guest of ours (she has since passed), was a close friend to Clint Eastwood. I told her about the "error" in Clint's movie. The next time she came she said she asked Clint about it. And, Clint leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Darlin' nobody will know the difference."  I guess movie directors can take whatever liberties they want, right?

Here then a photo of a Harris Hawk that is sitting on a telephone pole with a small branch it had collected for it's nest:

Harris Hawk

Ironwood National Monument

Ironwood National Monument near Marana, Arizona is an area that I have not explored. So off I went with Christine and some guests for a scenic tour and hike.  The landscape is fascinating with the mountains, saguaros, and ironwood trees. The ironwood trees are the oldest trees in Arizona at 1500 years. 

Ragged Top Mountain is the biological and geological crown jewel of the national monument. Several endangered and threatened species live here, including the Nichols turk’s head cactus and the lesser long-nosed bat. The national monument also contains habitat for the cactus ferruginous pygmy owl. The desert bighorn sheep dwelling in the region are the last viable population indigenous to the Tucson basin. The area holds abundant rock art sites and other archaeological objects of scientific interest. Humans have inhabited the area for more than 5,000 years. More than 200 sites from the prehistoric Hohokam period (600 A.D. to 1440 A.D.) have been recorded in the area. 

The Bighorn Sheep are lambing now, so I resisted the temptation to find them. I'll wait until April when lambing season is over and see if I can find them.

The hike we took toward Ragged Top Mountain ended with a Bull standing in the middle of the trail and not wanting to move. We were ready to return to our car and continue on our way, so we turned around.

During our drive we came across an abandoned homestead, a Harris Hawk, Red Tailed Hawk, Gila Woodpeckers, a Loggerhead Shrike and a few other birds. Here are some of the day's photos:

Ironwood National Monument, Arizona

Old Abandon Homestead

Harris Hawk

Red Tailed Hawk

Gila Woodpecker

Loggerhead Shrike

Blocking the trail

Harris Hawk Gathering Nest Materials

Continuing with my "5" Star Photos. Here a Harris Hawk stopped on a utility pole en route to making a nest in a nearby tree. It almost seemed like the hawk wanted its photo taken. Why else would he have stopped there in the open?  I had to thank him for that wonderful and unique opportunity:

Harris Hawk

Harris Hawk Scolding

Living on 5 acres in the Sonoran Desert has provided many "5" Star Photo Opportunities right outside my door. Today's is the perfect example. Here a Harris Hawk was perched on top of tree. I have easy access to my roof so could get very close. The hawk was obliging at first, but maybe it was one step too many and he scolded me. It wasn't the photo I was looking for  ............ but it was perfect. Thank you Harris Hawk.

Harris Hawk

Harris Hawk

We have had five Harris Hawks around for the past two weeks. Two of them were in our aleppo pine tree the other day and let me get up on the roof and fairly close for some photos -- as you will see below.

The Harris Hawk is a medium-large raptor whose range is from the southwestern United States south to Chile and central Argentina. Birds are sometimes reported at large in Western Europe, especially England but it is a popular species in falconry and these sightings almost certainly all refer to birds that have escaped from captivity. The Harris Hawk is unique because it hunts cooperatively in family groups while most other raptors hunt in solitary. 

Individual Harris Hawks range in length from 18 to 30 in and generally have a wingspan of about 3.6 ft.  The females are larger by about 35%.  They have dark brown plumage with orange shoulders, wing linings, and thighs. The white on the base of the tail is a dead give-away in flight. They have long, yellow legs. The vocalizations of the Harris's Hawk are very harsh sounds. Christine and I have been "scolded" by them on more than one occasion. 

The diet of the Harris's Hawk consists of small creatures including birds, lizards, and large insects, although mammals are they favorite prey. They nest in small trees, shrubby growth, or cacti. The nests are often compact, made of sticks, plant roots, and stems, and are often lined with leaves,  bark and plant roots. They are built mainly by the female. There are usually two to four white to blueish white eggs sometimes with a speckling of pale brown or gray. The nestlings start out light buff, but in five to six days turn a rich brown.

Since about 1980, Harris's Hawks have been increasingly used in falconry and are now the most popular hawks in the West (outside of Asia) for that purpose, as they are the easiest to train and the most social. In one of our favorite movies, the Clive Owen "King Arthur," one of his knights, Tristan carries a Harris Hawk with him (even though Harris Hawks were not present in Europe at the time of King Arthur). We have a wonderful dear friend that stays with us every year that tells us of a similar story in Clint Eastwood's "Pale Rider" where the opening scene is of a Turkey Vulture making a sound of a Hawk. Turkey Vultures don't make any sound at all. When she confronted Clint about this, his reply was "Darling, nobody will know the difference."

Very often, there will be three hawks attending one nest: two males and one female.  The female does most of the incubation. The eggs hatch in 31 to 36 days. The young begin to explore outside the nest at 38 days, and fledge, or start to fly, at 45 to 50 days. The female sometimes breeds two or three times in a year. Young may stay with their parents for up to three years, helping to raise later broods. 

Here are the latest photos:

Interruption

Christine suggested (we've been married 44 years, so ....) that I interrupt the Bobcat Blog to share a story from yesterday. So, while I am at it there are two other short stories to add. First short story: yesterday Christine and I were sitting outside at the dining table eating lunch when I remarked there were no birds around; no hummingbirds at the feeders, no goldfinches at their feeders, no doves and quail rummaging around on the ground. I wondered why? The answer came quickly. Two Cooper's Hawks had been in the big African Sumac on the other side of the pool. This is a very densely leafed tree so we had not seen them until they flew off -- one towards us and the other perpendicular to that one. I did not have my camera, but here is a photo of a Cooper's Hawk from before:

Cooper's Hawk

photo taken at The Azure Gate

The second story was from last week when we were in the kitchen preparing breakfast and talking with guests. There were at least 20 doves sitting atop the tall (but dead) mesquite tree behind the African Sumac. We remarked that they were waiting for breakfast too. Not five minutes later we noticed three Harris Hawks sitting where the doves were -- guess they were also interested in breakfast. Unlike the bird eating Cooper's Hawk, the Harris Hawk is a small mammal predator, so the hummingbirds and goldfinches were still at their feeders. Again, no camera available but, here a shot from another time:

Harris Hawk

photo taken at The Azure Gate 

Finally, from the day before yesterday: I went to check out Lake Cochise and Waterwater Draw. This time of year it is difficult to guess what might be present. We are between the summer visitors and the winter visitors. But, that doesn't mean no birds. Obviously, those present year round are available. But there are also many migratory birds passing through this time of the year with only very brief stops. However, their migratory routes depend somewhat on the weather, so they could arrive and be gone one week one year, and be two or three weeks later the next. All this to say there wasn't much going on at Lake Cochise: ducks, a few avocets, a few dowitchers, but essentially that was it. However, there is a marshy area called "Twin Lakes" very close to Lake Cochise. Now, "Twin Lakes" is somewhat misleading. They are ponds at best, and not very large ones. Why am I telling you this? Because at one of those "Twin Lakes" was a birder very excited to tell me that a lone Pectoral Sandpiper was there. I don't remember ever seeing a Pectoral Sandpiper before. The Pectoral Sandpiper is a long distance migrant. It summers in the Arctic and winters in South America (New Zealand or Australia). It stops for a couple of days in the Eastern half of the US and Canada. So, it is very rare to Arizona.  But, as you will notice from the photo, rare or not it is (was) in Arizona on October 25, 2010. The tell tale signs are the very densely streaked breast with a relatively abrupt white lower belly and yellowish legs. A very distinctive and unique pattern for sandpipers. 

Raptors: Part XI

Back to "Raptors" now. I'll start with raptors found only in the Southwest then move on to the others. The first is the Harris Hawk. Found only in Southern Arizona and Southwest Texas, the Harris Hawk is a frequent visitor to The Azure Gate. The Harris Hawk is unique in that it often hunts in families; usually two or three, but I've seen as many as 12 together. They are easily trained as you can see if you visit the Sonoran Desert Museum (in Tucson) each afternoon at 1:30. They also have a loud rasping sound to let you know you are in their "territory." With rufous shoulders, this is one of the more beautiful raptors.

Harris Hawk with Tree Branch

Harris Hawk Airing Out his Wings

Harris Hawk Close Up

Harris Hawk

A couple of days ago I was making breakfast and talking with guests when I noticed two Harris Hawks sitting at the top of a big Mesquite Tree in our "oasis". The Harris Hawk is pretty much restricted to Southern Arizona and Southwest Texas in the US. Then south into Argentina. It's main diet is small birds and mammals. It is unique in many ways. First, it usually hunts in families, two to four, although I remember once seeing 8 fly over The Azure Gate. Second, it has a very deep rasping voice, quite unlike other raptors. Both Christine and I have walked towards one only to have it "scold" us, like the one in the photo above. Third, it can be trained, so it is a popular hawk of falconry. In fact, the Sonoran Desert Museum here in Tucson has a "raptor show" every afternoon at 1:30 that includes three or four Harris Hawks. They are quite beautiful with their "burnt orange" color on their shoulders.