My goal has been to improve my photography skills on birds in flight, yet I was distracted on my latest birding adventure by the number of birds new to me. First some birds in flight:
At first I knew I was looking at a different woodpecker and that it was not my favorite acorn woodpecker. So I took a photo and finally identified it as an Arizona woodpecker.
Then I saw yellow colored birds and wanted to see what they were. I have goldfinches at my home feeder, but one was a lesser goldfinch and the other a hepatic tanager.
The next 2 birds were new to me. I thought they had the strangest head shape when I first noticed them, so immediately researched them for identification: black-headed grosbeaks.
Wow, then I really saw some beautiful colors! Both of these birds, new to me, are now on my life list: Lazuli bunting, with the light blue color, and the Varied bunting, with multiple colors.
My early morning trip to Madera Canyon was well worth the effort. I still have to work on my photos of birds in flight, especially as the hummingbird wings need a 1/4000 second shutter speed for me to really capture their action and be in focus. But to discover these other birds was great fun too. Well worth my hours at the canyon!
