Hundreds of Lark Sparrows

More from my trip to Arizona. The feeders in the backyard of my hostess's house had many visitors, but the most numerous were the beautiful lark sparrows. Although I saw a house sparrow here or there, the lark sparrows provided the daily song and beauty. These photos and video were shot in Camp Verde, Arizona, from April 29-May 3, 2016.

Lark Sparrow, Camp Verde, Arizona, April 29, 2016

These striking birds have very strong stripes and a spot on the chest that reminded me of the song sparrows we see here in Central Park.

One of my favorite sights while I backyard bird-watched was the "lark sparrow tree," when a nearby tree would "leaf out" with these lovely little birdies.

I understand that these birds are decreasing in number east of the Mississippi, but are still thriving in the West.

I've added a short video to the Filming the Feathers series to celebrate these feathered beauties, set to a recorder sonata by Handel.

A Glimpse of a Scott's Oriole

EDITOR'S NOTE: I have been reliably informed that this is NOT a Scott's Oriole, but instead is a black-headed grosbeak. My apologies for the misidentification, and I will be redoing the video and the entry on the Photography page soon. January 14, 2018

Scott's oriole, Camp Verde, Arizona, May 3, 2016

On May 3, while I was visiting in Camp Verde, Arizona, a male Scott's oriole visited my hostess's feeders just long enough for me to take a little video and some photos. I'm finally editing all my photos from that trip, and here's the latest Filming the Feathers video. The photos below are included in the video.

The Scott's oriole is about 9 inches from beak to tail, and loves insects, fruit, nectar, and apparently sunflower seeds and peanuts. It is found all over Arizona.

A Roadrunner in Arizona

I spent a week at the end of April/beginning of May in Arizona. While in Camp Verde, I got to see my first greater roadrunner on May 3, the last day of my trip, in the backyard of my hostess's house. It was a thrilling sight. I took a little bit of video and as many photos as I could in the short time the bird visited.

Before I saw the roadrunner, one of the cats I shared the house with was playing with a little snake. I took some video of that. When the cat moved away, in came the roadrunner to grab the stunned little snake.

I grew up watching Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner cartoons. This was my first chance to see a roadrunner. I didn't see a coyote, or any Acme logos anywhere. Maybe next time.

I did a short film of the roadrunner, which I've added to the Filming the Feathers collection of Silly Videos by Susan Kirby. I set it to music by Debussy. It's very short!

These photos are in the video, but I like putting them here as well.