TV Loop Zone 9-4-13

Zone-tailed Hawk juvenile

The walk up the wash to the survey start point was active with song this early morning.  I almost wished I could have "started in the middle of the route," when the noises of traffic would not be a factor.  The walk seemed slow not from the loose sand my feet trudge through but the pulling of my senses toward the variety of birds calling from every direction.  When I did reach my destination I was given a sweet surprise in the form of a juvenile Zone-tailed Hawk sitting in a cottonwood along the edge of the wash!  





I skewed my starting point slightly just so this magnificent raptor would not be disturbed.  Zone-tailed Hawks are a rare sight around the city, but are most often seen during spring migration and late summer during post nesting dispersal.   As mentioned in a previous post, their similarity to Turkey Vultures in flight is uncanny despite the size difference.  Later in this survey another Zone-tailed would circle over, its rattier tail distinguishing it from the first. 

The birds were outstanding along this stretch of wash with its new growth from the recent monsoons.  Although only a mile from our neighborhood the change is significant, and I'm guessing this stretch received some storms which just missed our neighborhood.  A singing Northern Beardless Tyrannulet lifted my spirits with its descending whistled tune.   Five Harris's Hawks circled about along with two American Kestrels.  Two Nashville Warblers flew into the lower branches of a small cottonwood as I passed.  Although no snakes were seen a Clark's Spiny Lizard (based on horizontal bars on forelimbs) clung to the bark of a mesquite. 

Bobcat camouflaged within brushy understory

I was trudging back up the wash after the survey when a rustling sound came from the elderberry I had just passed.  At first I saw nothing through the maze of branches.  As my focus shifted left my eyes met the warm slanted eyes of a bobcat, just a human length away.   We stared, and I smiled, yet neither moved from this magical moment.  She may have had kittens close by since she did not appear to be the one rustling about.   I moved out of her space before trying a couple photos, and, though she was most accommodating, the brightness of the sun obliterated any attempt to focus into her shady abode.   My eyes are opening with each of these wonderous encounters with our wild neighbors, and any allusion to potential danger would be a misstatement on my part.  

Bobcat-digiscoped

Male Blue Grosbeak

A raptor circled the wash, and closer inspection revealed its identity as an adult Gray Hawk!   Incidentally a Gray Hawk had used the same cottonwood used by the Zone-tailed today, and it may have been the same perch!    As I neared the car a male Blue Grosbeak came out in the open for a bit.   As I drove home the two Zone-tailed Hawks circled over the east end of our neighborhood along the Agua Caliente Wash.   It was another exciting morning along the Tanque Verde Wash!  Thank you for appreciating our wild and friendly neighbors who share our space so generously with us.