Gone Birdin'

July 19, 2025

the desert evokes a feeling of stillness—
silence,
barring the mourning dove.

but this is illusion,
a veil to the passerby;
for the desert teems with life.

a perpetual
vibration.

the coyote’s paws,
the woodpecker’s beak,
the raptor’s howl.

morning birdsong
complex,
welcoming the sun
…
welcoming the sun.

-T. Wiley

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July 2, 2024

1. The Elf Owl. My friend Emmie and I set up wildlife cameras to monitor Desert Purple Martins and accidentally captured footage of an Elf Owl visiting its nest in a saguaro cactus. They’re the smallest owl species in North America, and are mostly insectivorous.

I’ve been told their favorite prey-items are scorpions 🦂. Vicious…

2. The Whiskered Screech-Owl. Richard Fray took my sister and I night-birding in Madera Canyon for my birthday in July. We encountered a group of Whiskered Screech-Owls and froze. To encompass the moment in a word: beauty.

3. The Burrowing Owl. Yet another day of owling brought a big ol’ colony of Burrowing Owls. I kept my eyes peeled for these while I lived in San Diego but never did see one. Indeed, they were even more miniature in person than I imagined.

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May 27, 2024

I remember this day like it was yesterday. May 27, 2021. I was working in New York and, in a most strategic and organized spreadsheet, kept lists of recent bird sightings via eBird to inform where I should birdwatch on my next day off. Large numbers of warblers were reported at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens the days prior, so my decision was straightforward. I set an alarm for 5 am.

It was the epitome of spring—warm air, mud on the ground, birdsong alive. Relentless male songbirds displayed their colorful plumage from every surrounding tree, and birds zipped by catching insects mid-air. The scene exuded life.

I watched warblers from the comfort of a shade-filled grove for the better half of four hours. Remembering there was more ground to cover, I made my way to a trail circling the bay. In the middle of an intense internal debate about whether the crow I was seeing was a Fish Crow or American Crow, activity from a group of goslings caught my eye. A few photos from this special moment are included here.

Cheers, all, and happy birding.

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May 22, 2024

Shasta and I were in east Texas chatting outside of our friend Mark’s cabin near Gladewater Lake. Mark mentioned he had nesting Brown-headed Nuthatches, and that a female had returned this year. Shasta inquired, “a Brown-headed Nuthatch?” I leaned over and whispered, “he means White-breasted Nuthatch.”

It sounded like a fake name—Brown-headed Nuthatch. I consider myself an alright birder, and my friend Shasta is outstanding. It seemed unlikely that between the two of us, neither had ever heard of it. No way.

Our friend defended his claim. “No, it’s a Brown-headed Nuthatch!” Shasta investigated via the Merlin app. Sure as shit, there it was. The Brown-headed Nuthatch, Sitta pusilla, local to east Texas and Oklahoma, and throughout the South. A “tiny, compact nuthatch… zigzags up and down tree trunks and branches high in the canopy, squeaking like a rubber duck as it goes.”

I was overcome by an amalgam of embarrassment and excitement. I felt like a jackass, but simultaneously, a familiar, instantaneous panic ensued. I grabbed the nearest pair of binoculars and speed-walked over to the nest box. We watched for a few minutes before returning to work. Then, I came back with my camera a couple of days later.

With that, I’ll close. The Brown-headed Nuthatch, all the way from east Texas.

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March 11, 2024

My friend Jenny and I were awestruck after encountering a tremendous number of Sandhill Cranes at a pitstop in Willcox, Arizona. There were thousands of them. The sun was beginning its descent when we arrived, lending a soft hue over the landscape. We walked in silence for half an hour, fixated on the group. Most birds rested with their heads tucked into their dorsal feathers, while several others leapt into the air in a behavior befitting their nickname “Dancing Cranes.”

We were drawn away by a melodic song and followed the sound to a patch of tangled vegetation. There, a single Chihuahuan Meadowlark belted out his song between foraging, offering us intimate looks before sundown. We would go on to spend a couple of days birding the Chiricahua Mountains of southeast Arizona, but funny enough, this unassuming stop remains one of my favorite memories from the trip.

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February 3, 2024

My first Rosy-faced Lovebird sighting was about a year ago in Scottsdale, Arizona. I was in the car with my dad and saw a green bird flying out of the corner of my eye. I asked him to stop the car and he did, but I was unsuccessful in refinding the bird in question. I was 99% sure it was a Rosy-face Lovebird. Nonetheless, I wasn’t sure enough to add it to my life list. It’s been driving me crazy ever since.

Early one February morning, I heard an unusual call while helping my dad in the garage. I poked my head out and saw a flock of five Rosy-faced Lovebirds foraging on the grass across the street. I quite literally ran into the house, grabbed binoculars, and crouched behind a shrub. I probably looked insane. But finally seeing them was awesome. Plus, finding Rosy-faced Lovebirds the same month as Valentine’s Day just felt right.

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January 15, 2024

Two beautiful birds in a striking habitat, and a happy morning with my sister.

Photos taken on Sugarloaf Loop in Sedona, Arizona.

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December 31, 2023

My sister and I drove to Santa Fe, NM on a whim last year to visit the Rosy-Finches at Sandia Crest (see last year’s photos here). The birds only stay for the winter, so it was somewhat of a “now or never” situation. We were successful in finding two of the three Rosy-Finch species: a Black Rosy-Finch and Brown-capped Rosy-Finch. No matter how much I tried to convince myself otherwise, I knew in my gut we’d missed the Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch.

We didn’t time it this way, but our trip happened to fall on New Year’s Eve. Santa Fe was illuminated with twinkle lights and holiday music, so festive it felt like a scene out of a movie. It was such a memorable way to ring in the New Year, we planned to try for the Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch again the following year.

Fast-forward to New Year’s Eve 2024, we were back at Sandia Crest with the Rosy-Finches. The previous year was absolutely frigid, so a blue sky and warm sunlight were welcomed.

This time, all three species were present. Woo hoo!

After our first trip, I spent the year studying Rosy-Finch plumage so I’d be prepared for our return. Black Rosy-Finch non-breeding plumage is (usually) pretty straightforward. Black Rosy-Finches are mostly black; Brown-capped and Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches are mostly brown. However, there have been instances where I thought a Black Rosy-Finch’s feathers looked brown, though they weren’t quite light enough to be one of the other two species (see first photo below). I modified the rule for myself: if the breast feathers aren’t an obvious light brown, it’s probably a Black Rosy-Finch.

Distinguishing between non-breeding Brown-capped and Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches is more of a challenge. When I’m stuck on an identification, I look at the transition between gray and brown on the cheeks. I’ve found that Brown-capped Rosy-Finches have a soft gradient, whereas Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches exhibit a more rigid color contrast (see photos below).

Cheery Dark-eyed Juncos foraged in the snow as we said goodbye.

Until next time, Sandia Crest…

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November 23, 2023

I snuck out of the house early Thanksgiving morning to do a little hometown birding at Seven Springs Recreation Area. As my dad would say, birdsong echoed through the air like a symphony.

It wasn’t until I sat low on the ground that I spotted a small army of Black-throated Sparrows in the surrounding shrubs.

Observing these birds was a delight. Throughout the morning, I tallied up a Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Harris’s Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, Western Bluebirds, White-crowned Sparrows, Canyon Towhees, and Northern Cardinals.

Nothing like desert birding on a cool morning to celebrate Thanksgiving and sit with gratitude. Happy days!

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September 30, 2023

I looked back at last year’s September post and saw it written about a nuthatch too—a White-breasted Nuthatch. It seems photographing nuthatches in autumn is becoming somewhat of a tradition. I’m thinking Pygmy Nuthatch for next September, if I can wait that long…

This Red-breasted Nuthatch was foraging in a ponderosa pine at Picture Canyon in Flagstaff, Arizona, energetic as he could be. He spiraled around the bark collecting seeds, clinging upside-down, sideways, and every which way in true nuthatch fashion.

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