Some of the usual birds were at Agua Caliente Park in Tucson, Arizona these past months. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see a saw-whet owl tucked within leaves at the park one day. Another day the bird, or another one, was tucked within leaves at a different tree. People mentioned seeing two of the owls. Hmmm…I have only seen one at a time, so I am not sure there are truly two owls here. Either way, this bird makes my 709th bird on my life bird list! I got a photo … see below.

The only other unusual sighting was a solitary northern pintail. I love walking at this park, but lately it has been quiet.

Maybe I spoke too soon! One day I saw 10 phainopeplas, a few curve-billed thrashers with 2 of them building a nest in a cactus and one verdin building a nest! Birds are on the move as I saw one cormorant probably just passing through our area as was a western bluebird. Overall a great month.

Did you also know birders record their bird observations for 4 days, minimum of 15 minutes per day, mid- February each year around the world? It’s called the Great Backyard Bird Count. It’s interesting to eventually see how many of the 7,000 birds world-wide are observed within those 4 days as all sightings are tallied. If you missed it this year, check it out for next year. I’m hoping you have some birds to observe right in your neighborhood to report in the future. Happy birding!