I Believe Your Bill Is Curved!

I went back through my pics from the South Mountain Park trip in Phoenix from last week and found a bird shots I didn't remember taking. I was so excited about the Gila Woodpecker that I overlooked these shots of the Curve-billed Thrasher. He was only around for just a minute for I got a few pics.


I have Brown Thrashers during the summer here in Arkansas but they have migrated for the winter. The Curve-billed thrasher doesn't migrate like the Brown Thrasher does. This is probably because they live in such a warm climate, no need! They also have a very distinctive orange-yellow eye.


Stay tuned for my next few posts. I was able to go to the Grand Canyon and do some sight seeing on Friday. The snowy view was outstanding and I also got some shots of a few birds that I added to my life list!

Gila! Gila!

It has been a long time between posts for me. My apologies, I plan to pick up the pace! I have been out in Phoenix, AZ on a business trip this week. It has been a very good trip, both personally and professionally. I have been able to do some sightseeing with the other guys on the trip late in the afternoons. We went up to South Mountain State Park yesterday afternoon to see the sun set. As soon as we got out the car, I saw several woodpeckers flying back and forth around the parking area. I knew this was going to be a good day for birding! The woodpeckers I'm accustomed too aren't in Arizona!

It was a Gila Woodpecker. They are very similar to the Red-Bellied Woodpeckers we have in Arkansas. They don't have the red stomach but have the zebra type pattern on their upperparts.

The red identification the male has on his head doesn't cover all of their head, only just a small patch on the very top. The female lacks the red marking. They also seem to be somewhat darker and more golden compared to the Red-Bellied.

There were many Gila Woodpeckers located at the top of the mountain. They were acclimated somewhat to the people there and weren't too scared. I was able to get fairly close them and get these shots.

God Bless!

Litte Red-Head

Yesterday I got a few more shots of the little juvenile Red-Headed Woodpecker. He is looking a little rough around the edges for sure. I suppose it is due to the fact he is in transition between a juvenile and an adult. The Red-Bellied and the juvenile were not happy with each other. They are definitely trying to determine who is going to get the rights on the tree. Check out the first pictures of the juvenile early on last summer, here and here.


I hope everyone had a great start to the New Year! God Bless.

Happy New Year!!

I got this great shot of the male Red-Bellied Woodpecker this morning. I finally got him sitting just right to get the red streak on his belly. He was fighting again with the juvenile Red-Head Woodpecker!

I'll be posting some shots of the Red-Head later. He is definitely changing colors. I'm off to watch the Hogs. Go Razorbacks!

God Bless!