Birds around the house in early March

The Hooded Oriol was very conspicuous for about three days, chattering and scolding. He discovered a hummingbird feeder on the patio  and still likes our Aloes.

 As usual, he has to share those with the Gila Woodpeckers. They are claiming saguaro cavities and use our old antenna as a sounding board.

Pyrrholoxia male and female are calling after we have not seen them all winter long. I hope they'll stay around. Maybe we should bring out some sunflower seeds.

Ladderback Woodpeckers show up from time to time, they especially still like the old dead peppertree, but I have never seen nesting attempts.

The Gilded Flickers are interested in several existing cavities. It would be nice if they could use one instead of hammering out a new hole. We have so many in our saguaros that some  arms and even center trunks are breaking off. I have sold the boots that develop as scar tissue around the nests to an artist friend, but I prefer healthy saguaros.

Roadrunners are also preparing to nest, we hear their unnh-unnh-unnh calls all morning during breakfast.

I hope the Roadrunners don't catch our patio Desert Magister - we saw her grow up over several years after our dogs and cats wrecked havoc among the population when they were young. That seems to be under control now ...

White-winged Doves just showed up, only to find the invading Eurasian Collared Doves already in residence and on eggs    

Turkey Vultures have been arriving for at least a couple of weeks now, but today the dogs got really upset and chased a pair of Black Vultures through the property. Those are rare here, but until my camera was ready, they had already gained so much height that they hardly show up in the pictures. Too bad, they were circling each other like they were courting.

Good news from the Dark Female: Our resident Red-tailed Hawk is again using one of her saguaro nests, this time the one closer to us. I'll have to check my records, but it seems that she's been raising her broods here now for at least 5 years, if not longer.

The Kestrels are also very territorial around their chosen saguaro, so there are probably eggs in the nest as well.

There is a constant din from the metallic songs of white-crowned and Black-throated Sparrows. They are everywhere, but not very eager to sit for photos. Phainopeplas are better - sitting pretty on top of trees - we did not pull down mistletoe  for a couple of years and those silky guys are happy.

Non-insect Pollinators of Saguaro Cactus

Backyard Saguaros

Saguaro Flowers, Watercolor, M. Brummermann 1994

 In May, Saguaro Cacti form crowns of flower buds on the ends of arms and the main stem. The crown is actually a spiral of more mature buds on the outside, and smaller ones closer to the apical growth spot. The flowers open up a few at a time, so the bloom can go on for several weeks. Any individual flower opens during the night and rarely lasts longer than until noon of the next day. By then the waxy flower starts to wilt. It has almost certainly been visited by several pollinators since Saguaro flowers attract scores of very different animals with great amounts of pollen and nectar,

Lesser Long-nosed Bat visiting Saguaro flower at night. Photo:  Merlin D. Tuttle, Bat Conservation International

Famously, Lesser long-nosed bats, migrating through our area just when the Saguaros bloom, are considered a  main Saguaro pollinator. But I've yet to see them in our backyard, and our humming bird feeders are never raided by night, so I'm not sure whether they are indeed visiting our 20 or so mature Saguaros.

White-winged Doves seem to time their return from southern wintering grounds and their breeding to enjoy both the nectar and soon after the juicy fruits of our Saguaros.

Gila Woodpeckers don't just love the nectar and can often be seen with their faces smeared with pollen, they move right in with the Saguaro, hammering out a nest cavity.  The cactus stabilizes it with hard scar tissue, forming a 'saguaro boot'.

The Gilded Flicker, our local form of the Northern Flicker, is another woodpecker that is drawn to blooming saguaros. This photo shows how strong those flowers are, probably a necessary adaptation to bird pollination, especially when other landing options are so very prickly.

Noisy, raucous Cactus Wren families drop in from their nest in a nearby Cholla. Their youngsters often sit begging among the flowers, impatiently demanding to be fed by both parents. This year we have very few nests. I hope they recover soon...

Our breeding pairs of  Northern Cardinals and Pyrrhuloxias are unusual visitors, but love an opportunistic slurp of nectar.

Female Northern Cardinal

 Male House Finch

House Finches spend a lot of time at the nectar source, but then they are also great hummingbird feeder connoisseurs.

Aggressive Curve-billed Trashers love the sweets and also the dominating height that the saguaro offers, so the males alternate feeding with territorial singing.

But over the last years the Thrashers got powerful competition as our local Ravens learned to appreciate saguaro nectar. The social Ravens can often be heard telling each other when the sweets are served. Under their assaults, even some of the sturdy Saguaro blossom break off and tumble to the ground.

Saguaro fruit, Photo by Ned Harris

 Most flowers, pollinated by so many willing helpers, will develop into fruit within a couple of weeks. When the fruits ripen they stay on the cactus and burst open, forming  bright red stars. This is an announcement to all the sugar-lovers to come back, this time to help spreading thousands of tiny saguaro seeds.

Sunbathing Gila Woodpecker

One of our Hummingbird feeders is hanging right in front of the window above my desk. Talk about distraction! Verdins, House Finches, Hooded Orioles, Red Admirals, Gilded Flickers, and an occasional Costa's, Ana's or Black-chinned Hummer are constantly coming and going. I think in our hot and arid climate, the fluid is just as appreciated as the sugar.

Gila Woodpecker and Gilded Flicker


When the traffic is high, birds will wait for their turn on the cloth line right next to the feeder.
One young Gila male uses this time to bask in the sun. The wings spread open, contour feathers fluffed up, pupils dilated...

Just like mammals, birds are regulating their body temperature very efficiently by shivering and panting. (Swifts and Hummingbirds and probably many nestlings undergo periods of torpor during which their body temperature plummets). In addition to this autonomous thermoregulation, birds also use behavioral means to control their body temperature.

But today, even at 10 am it's already 84 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade. So the guy is probably not cold. When I had a tame Jackdaw who loved to do his basking on my shoulder, I found him quite unresponsive to outside stimuli during basking, so wild birds are taking a considerable risque...

My Woodpecker sits still for not more than a couple of minutes, then flies off, but he's right back to turn his other side towards the sun.

Scientists have speculated that basking may drive out skin parasites, but I don't think anybody has the answer yet. My Jackdaw as well as this Gila Woodpecker leave me with the impression that this is pure ecstatic pleasure to them....as good a reason as any, isn't it?