bird
The Great-tailed Grackle can be seen mainly in the West and Midwest Regions foraging in feedlots, golf courses, parks and neighborhood lawns. They have a tendency to gather with the Blackbirds (whom they are at times mistaken for) as well on lawns and fields surveying for trash.
Black-necked Stilts are among the most stately of the shorebirds, with long rose-pink legs, a long thin black bill, and elegant black-and-white plumage that make them unmistakable at a glance. When foraging, they can be observed walking slowly through wetlands in search of tiny aquatic prey. These birds are characterized as having the second-longest legs in proportion to their bodies of any bird, second only to the flamingo. The Black Necked stilt belongs to the same family as the American Avocet while residing in mainly warm climates in the west and south.
The Green Heron is relatively viewable in most regions of the United States while being more limited in the West. It can be spotted motionless near ponds, rivers and marshes while hunting for fish and amphibians.
Today’s photo is from one of my many recent trips to Arizona. As I am unable to travel, it;’s a good time to reminisce. This is a photo of Gambel’s Quail, named in honor of William Gambel, a 19th-century naturalist and explorer of the Southwestern United States. These non-migratory birds are surprisingly fast and are a pleasure to watch. They are rarely seen in flight and spend most of their time on the ground scurrying around the desert. These are monogamous birds which rarely breed in colonies. . The female chicks which are precocial, leaving the nest with their parents within hours of hatching.
