Here are a few more of the birds occasionally found at The Azure Gate.
Black Tail Gnatcatcher
The Black Tail Gnatcatcher is a small (4.5 inch) gnatcatcher found primarily in the lower desert brush of extreme Southeastern California, Southern Arizona, New Mexico, and Southwest Texas. He's probably around more often than we realize. He just doesn't come near our buildings much. Although, he did nest close to one of our guest houses this year.
Western Wood Pewee
The Western Wood Pewee breeds during the summer months in much of Western States. Then they migrate to South America at the end of summer. The female lays two or three eggs in an open cup nest on a horizontal tree branch or within a tree cavity. We don't see them often, yet obviously have tall enough trees to make them feel welcome. Both parents feed the young. They wait on a perch at a middle height in a tree and fly out to catch insects passing by. (This as opposed to the more common desert flycatcher the Pyrrhuloxia that seems to prefer the very top of a tree to perch).
Bronzed Cowbird
The red iris gives the Bronzed Cowbird away. It is found primarily in Southern Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and south through Central America to Panama. The Bronzed Cowbird is a "brood parasite" as it lays its eggs in the nests of other birds -- when those nests also have eggs. In this way the "host" feeds both its own young, plus the young Cowbirds.
