Where to bird today? How about a Baja backyard birding adventure!

House Sparrow

Sometimes it’s nice to take a “breather” and just spend some time at home.  Today, me and my sweetheart Debbie, decided to hang out on the south patio, have some iced tea and shoot whatever birds we see.  Well how fitting, first bird to get in the way of my camera lens is a House Sparrow  ( in Mexico it should be called a Casa Sparrow).   The bird above is a female and isn’t she a looker!   And where there is Mrs. House Sparrow there’s usually Mr.

House Sparrow

What a handsome devil!

Then came along Mr. (in red) and Mrs. House Finch.  What a joy to watch and listen to these birds.

All of the sudden the birds split. All it takes is one squak  from Mr. House Sparrow and everyone is gone.  Debbie and I know something is up, (must be where that old saying comes from).  Sure enough, we look up and there they are!  The bird picknic spoilers, a Zone-tailed Hawk and a  Red-tailed Hawk.

Then came along another couple of bird-eating rascals.  A Sharp-shinned Hawk and a Peregrine Falcon.  The Sharpie is in molt.  See the ragged secondaries?

All the birds have taken cover and are quiet and still.  I spot an almost rare treat perched in a Palo-Blanco tree.  Well I’ll be!  It’s a Ruddy Ground Dove.  If you don’t look close, this bird can be mistaken for the Common Ground Dove.  The Ruddy doesn’t have that scaly look about the head and chest like the Common does and it’s bill is mostly black.

Ruddy Groung Dove

Some of the little guys start coming back to the feeders first for they need to feed often.  I see a male Costa’s Hummingbird  fidgeting around.  And then a most beautiful female or juvenile Xantus’s Hummingbird  zooms by.

Everything begins to return to normal.  A female Northern Cardinal hops around looking for sun-flower seeds.  A young or female Hooded Oriole is sneaking shyly about the feeder.  Always suspicious of my watching eyes.

I’m going to end today’s blog with my shot-of-the-week.  A pretty good photo for a hand-held shot.  Isn’t he something?  An endemic Xantus’s Hummingbird.

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