Still Ablaze

The internet is still ablaze after reading Cass' Ode a couple days ago. If you haven't done so yet, scroll down and read the screed that everyone is talking about. Indeed, things may never be the same...particularly how you feel about gymnosperms.

As for me, I'm exhausted, and my normally razor-sharp wit has been worn and weathered into a spongy and entirely uninteresting substance. That said, I do still have some bird photos that I think are worth tossing your direction. All photos today are from Agua Caliente Park.

Ash-throated Flycatchers are common in many habitats throughout the southwest. Although they are the drabbest (ashiest?) of the North American Myiarchus, you cannot help but want to be friends with them. 

California Quail have a plump and delicious air about them.

I really like the plume that sticks out of the foreheads of both Gambel's and California Quail. It is the jauntiest thing imaginable.

I don't know what kind of cholla this is, but I really like it. Such an inviting blossom attached to such brutality. If you haven't seen cholla, imagine what a porcupine would look like if it could assume plant form.

MacGillivray's Warblers are the brightly-colored treat that may or may not be lurking in the center of every shrub this time of year. Like it's cousins from Connecticut and it's other cousins in Mourning, they are adept at not being seen.  

I've been keeping eyes and ears fully popped and open for my first Swainson's Thrush of the year, but it has yet to materialize. Here is its commoner cousin, a Hermit Thrush. UPDATE: Right when this post was finished, I heard a distinctive, water-drop "Whit!" come from my backyard...looking out the door of my cabin, there was a Swainson's Thrush, perched upon the old Olympic racing boat that resides next to my cabin.

Phainopepla female. She's hot.

This male Phainopepla is a featureless black hole. Don't get too close, or you will be sucked in and spat out into some other universe...where Phainopeplas govern the laws of physics.

Bigelow's Monkeyflower may only be a few inches tall, but they bring the desert floor to life.

Dusky Flycatcher. I used to be hella good at telling Hammond's and Dusky apart, in the blink of an eye. Now, more often than not, trying to weave together the proper identification feels more like wiping my ass with stinging nettle. I don't hold it against the birds or anything though.

Well....it almost was a good picture. Black-tailed Gnatcatcher.

Compared to chollas, Barrel Cactus appear friendly and hospitable. It's spines are much more springy compared to the spines of other cactus. Sometimes I want to hug them, but sobriety prevents me from doing so.

Desert Solitaire Is Not A Real Species

Greater Roadrunner. As if I've seen any other kind. She was scurrying to and fro, inside the campground.

The title of this post is some advice for The Jen, who famously used to hate birds. She has not seen desert birds, and must be thoroughly educated before embarking on her imminent southwestern road trip.

Edward Abbey once wrote something along the lines of "There is no shortage of water in the desert, but exactly the right amount." This is true. Any more water, and the desert would no longer be the desert. Have you seen what has happened to our more watered lands? The last thing the world needs is more stripmalls, and their overwhelmingly horrible occupants.What would become of the roadrunners and Cactus Wrens? The Zebra-tailed Lizards and rattlesnakes? The peace and quiet?

As much as I love the desert, my last trip into cactus country was meant to focus on an oasis...Agua Caliente County Park, which floats within the arid ocean that is the Anza Borrego Wilderness. This park, due to its natural springs, is quite verdant compared to the surrounding patches of cholla and ocotillo. Migrant birds love it. Therefore, I had to go. I have fond memories of skulking around famous birding oases from my more awkward years...Butterbredt Springs, Galileo Hill, Deep Springs, Furnace Creek Ranch. I was really impressed with the volume of birds moving through Agua Caliente, it must get it's share of rarer birds later in the northern diaspora...seekers beware.

Here's the first cluster of pictures, I think there's a few species that have never been on BB&B before....stoked? Yeah, me too.

I'm still working on getting the correct Costa's Hummingbird picture. This one is an improvement. How would you describe those colors on it's mustache? It's so refreshing to have things other than Anna's Hummingbirds to look at again.

Brewer's Sparrows love deserts so much, they spend the year touring them. Their summers are spent in the high deserts (Great Basin scrub), and winters are spent in Mexico and the desert southwest.

Brewer's Sparrows assert their dominance. They're proclivity for unique song-writing and energetic performance is unparalleled in the sparrow realms.

Luckily for me, this Wilson's Warbler chose a color-matching place to grab a drink of water. It's one of the most common western migrants in spring, but always leads to dilated pupils.

Don't look too hard, you're not going to find a bird in this photograph. Sorry. It's just a hedgehog cactus. I really like cactus....er, cacti. Me like bird too.

A female Black-throated Gray Warbler lashes a mesquite for insects. In other news, goddamn it is hard to get good warbler pictures.

White-winged Dove. It's a looker. Not quite a facemelter, but it could make you a bit weak in the knees.

This is a young White-winged Dove...it's got a dark eye and grayer facial skin than the more vivid bird above.

This female Black-tailed Gnatcatcher found a nugget of goodness amid the desert duff. If you ever are feeling sadistic, start teaching yourself how to identify silent female gnatcatchers without looking at the undertail. Hellish stuff.

This is the young male Costa's Hummingbird you met earlier in the week. Apparently his tongue is almost as long as his body. Showoff.

I have better Phainopepla pictures, but this is the only one that documents their ability to transform into an umbrella. Desert birds need to be able to handle anything, including rain.

Agave bloom! A wellspring of life in a sea of death. Bats and moths get off on this stuff.

What You Really Want

What happened people? Did Tufted Ducks fall out of style all of a sudden? I guess, in most parts, they are only hip in winter.

The people have demanded a desert bird, so who am I to hold out? So here I present to you.....a Costa's Hummingbird. I specifically chose this particular young male, because he is is completely drab (as a desert bird should be) and is wincing from the unforgiving sun and the extreme heat. You can even see his little eyelashes wilting. Sure you can see some Costa's away from the desert, but in their hearts of hearts, they know that this is where they belong. I saw more Costa's Hummingbirds at this one spot (Agua Caliente County Park) than I have anywhere else...at least 20...pretty impressive concentration of these not-too-common birds.

Seriously though, this Bird Love thing (have you been to 10,000 Birds recently?) has been eating up a lot of my...er...Felonious' time in the past few days...he will have something to show for it soon. And yes, when all is said and done, there will be more desert birds.

It's Monday! Ahhhhhhh! Good luck out there.