Birds in the Gardens
2019 Š K. W. Bridges Website: www.kimbridges.com
Cover: Greater Roadrunner @ Desert Botanical Garden
Two Gardens This is a photo essay about birds photographed at two great botanical gardens. Both gardens are near Phoenix, Arizona. Each garden has an international reputation. On many measures, these gardens rate at the top of the scale for this type of garden. The Desert Botanical Garden is near the town of Tempe, part of the greater Phoenix complex of cities. Its proximity to a large urban population makes this a popular attraction for local residents. This venue has a strong positive reputation and the unique environment of the Sonoran Desert draws visitors from around the world. The Boyce Thompson Arboretum is about an hour’s drive from downtown Phoenix. It is the older of the two gardens. Its relative isolation means that there are fewer visitors. It is an immense garden and you’re more likely to feel alone as you wander here. The two gardens share a general environmental similarity. But they are quite different in many aspects. The birds photographed at the two gardens are lumped together here. This is just a reconnaissance, not a definitive study of avian diversity. Note that this is “run and gun” photography. We moved quickly. There wasn’t time for careful composition. Lots of post-processing was done on the images. I want to acknowledge the assistance of Andy Bridges for photography companionship and help with bird sighting and identification. As always, this adventure was shared with Nancy Furumoto whose keen eyesight spotted many hidden gems.
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Greater Roadrunner Desert Botanical Garden
We start with the Greater Roadrunner. This is an iconic bird of the Sonoran deserts but it’s a species that we’ve not often seen. This roadrunner came for a drink and then stayed around for a while. There was ample time to get shots as this bird seemed to enjoy posing.
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Gambel’s Quail
Desert Botanical Garden There were two quail scurring around looking for seeds on the ground. Both of these birds stayed under the shrubs, making it difficult to get a full-bird image. The quail’s quick movements added to the challenge.
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Northern Cardinal
Boyce Thompson Arboretum Sexual dimorphism in coloring and patterns is common among birds. This difference is striking in the Northern Cardinal. Males and females are each a visual treat. We saw several individuals of this species. Sometimes a bird perched in a tree. Other times, the bird was on the ground, searching for seeds in the litter. The colors are best seen when a bird emerges from the shadows.
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Mourning Dove
Desert Botanical Garden We found two Mourning Dove individuals. This photo shows them sitting next to each other on the top of a Barrel Cactus. We saw this pair of birds on the same cactus plant on two different days. That was lucky for us as the best image came from the second day’s photos.
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European Starling Desert Botanical Garden
The European Starling is the most abundant bird as reported in the Desert Botanical Garden’s Monday Bird Walks. Yet we could only photograph two individuals. One bird was perched far away and barely within the reach of our telephoto lens. The other individual was under cover, lit with the last minutes of sunlight (after it had taken a bath). That location was too dark to get a good photo. We need to be satisfied with a grainy image. Why should it have been so difficult to photograph this common species? The Monday walks are in the morning; we were in the garden in the afternoon. By then, these birds are likely out in the surrounding urban areas. This is a species that likes the vegetation provided by home gardeners. Most likely we were in the garden at the wrong time of day to see European Starlings.
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House Finch
Desert Botanical Garden The male House Finch shows a lot of red during breeding season. The females are dull by comparison. These are seed and fruit-eating birds. You often see this species in large flocks. Here, for whatever reason, we spotted them as solitary individuals.
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Chipping Sparrow
Boyce Thompson Arboretum The Chipping Sparrow is a wideranging species that inhabits mountains and arid lands. These are small seed-eating birds that also include insects in their diet. Breeding is a few months away, so this bird shows its nonbreeding plumage. The “chip� in the name comes from the distinctive call made as they forage.
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Ruby-crowned Kinglet Boyce Thompson Arboretum
The Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a speedy bird. It flies quickly from place to place, pausing briefly at each spot before flying on. Individuals are often hidden in the vegetation. It helps a photographer that this is quite an abundant bird species. We spotted these birds in quite a few places as we walked through the arboretum. The “ruby-crowned” part of the name? Check the photos carefully and you’ll see why.
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Anna’s Hummingbird
Desert Botanical Garden & Boyce Thompson Arboretum Anna’s Hummingbird is a common hummer of the southwest US. Like most hummingbirds, males of this species are most easily identified. This is especially true when the bird is in a very dark place; colors are muted and details less distinct. Females and young become hard to distinguish in low light. A practiced eye, and behavioral cues, help separate similar-appearing species. Our eyes are not practiced. (Translation: Our hummer identifications here may be wrong.)
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Costa’s Hummingbird Desert Botanical Garden
The male Costa’s Hummingbird is easily identified; there’s no species ambiguity when you see its purple cloak. It’s nice to get a hummingbird picture while the bird is in flight. In reality, it is easier to grab a photo when the bird sits (patiently) on a perch. As long as the resting point isn’t too high, the branch isn’t too far away and the location is not behind a wall of vegetation. Female and immature bird identification can be difficult. Don’t trust the IDs here for these tiny, elusive species.
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Yellow-rumped Warbler Desert Botanical Garden
The Yellow-rumped Warbler feeds in the middle part of a tree canopy. That’s where we spotted this bird. It was hard to photograph as this individual spent most of its time inside the tree canopy where the vegetation blocked a clear view. With some patience, and a bit of luck, this bird came to the canopy’s edge for a moment. That’s all that was needed for us to capture this small species with its striking yellow feathers.
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Curve-billed Thrasher Desert Botanical Garden
The Curve-billed Thrasher draws attention to itself. We spotted several individuals making noisy calls from the top of a cactus. Others were seen scratching in the litter beneath the shrubs. The bright yellow/orange eye of this species helps with the identification. A large, curved bill collaborates the ID.
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Gila Woodpecker Desert Botanical Garden
The Gila Woodpecker and Saguaro Cactus go together. The bird uses these tall cactus plants for its nest. This explains the holes seen in many of the Saguaro plants. We found our bird on a tree growing in the cactus forest. This woodpecker went up and down the trunk, often sliding behind where it couldn’t be seen. That made the image capture difficult.
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Harris’s Hawk
Boyce Thompson Arboretum The Harris’s Hawk is a big raptor. What a treat to see them fairly close! We watched these birds for quite a while. At first, there was just one perched on the top of a truncated tree. We walked around the tree, searching for the right photo angle. It was clear that we were being watched, too. Then another Harris’s Hawk swooped in and crowded beside the first bird. A double thrill. Later, we spotted a perched individual. Soon, it flew off, giving us an opportunity to get a photo of it in flight.
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Cactus Wren
Desert Botanical Garden The Cactus Wren became one of our favorite birds. It was common to see it perching on the top of a tall Saguaro (often out of photo range). It seemed as comfortable in the trees. That made it easier to get photos. Near the end of our visit, we got a treat. A bird started feeding in aloe flowers. This was a visual reward for the many hours spent holding a heavy camera.
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Pied-billed Grebe
Boyce Thompson Arboretum “Pied” means having two or more different colors. That’s an apt name for this waterbird as its bill is distinctly multi-colored. The Pied-billed Grebe is an underwater hunter. It seeks out fish, insects and invertebrates in Ayres Lake.
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American Coot
Boyce Thompson Arboretum Ayers Lake is large enough to attract water birds. It is a rich aquatic habitat. American Coots are not resident here. This species may hang out in the lake for a while during the winter.
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Western Bluebird
Boyce Thompson Arboretum Perched on a thorny branch, this female Western Bluebird lacks the bright blue that’s so distinctive in the male’s plumage. This is an insectivorous species that nests in hollows created by other birds.
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Hermit Thrush
Boyce Thompson Arboretum We spied this Hermit Thrush down in the litter. That’s where these birds are often found as they forage for insects. You can see that the bird’s tail is slightly reddish. That’s a species characteristic.
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Spotted Towhee
Boyce Thompson Arboretum This Spotted Towhee is in a favorite habitat, down in the litter beneath the shrubs. That’s a good place to scratch about in search of food. It’s difficult to photograph birds in the deep shadows. This was a seriously dark location. A handsome bird like this deserves a better photo.
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Black Phoebe
Boyce Thompson Arboretum This is the kind of bird that photographers like. The Black Phoebe is a handsome species. But more important, it has a behavior that helps you get a good photo. We saw two birds, one at Ayer Lake and the other on Queen Creek. Both flew out over the water and then dashed back to a perch. These individuals did this over and over. This made for easy snaps when the birds were still. They were almost too quick to catch in flight.
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Analysis Introduction We visited two desert botanical gardens. The primary goal was to see the plants. These are, after all, botanical gardens. Both sites provide good botanical viewing. Each in a different way. Taking time to visit them both gives you a good perspective of this region’s landscape complexity and the desert flora. Birds grabbed our attention, too. I was carrying photo gear appropriate for avian photography; a Sony A7R III camera (42 mpixel sensor) with a Sony 100-400 mm lens and a 1.4X extender (maximum focal length: 560 mm). Taking photos of birds is very tempting when you are prepared with the right equipment. There is other motivation. Getting photos helps us see the birds better, especially as many are unfamiliar species. This photo essay is about the birds. Representative photos make up the first part of this report. In this analysis, the focus is on a central question:
How complete is the photo collection of the bird species in these gardens?
Note that this this question is not “how many species of birds did we see?” We saw more kinds of birds than we could photograph. Posing for a photographer doesn’t seem to be high on a bird’s list of priorities. A number of species were too far away, hidden in the vegetation, located in an area too dark for photos or simply too anxious to stay still. Also note that the photos and the analysis are based on just one person’s bird pictures. We were in the gardens as a team effort. This essay shows the products of just one team member. 92
Setting There are four great North American deserts. These areas have relatively low annual precipitation in common. Other characteristics differ, such as the periods of rainfall, minimum low temperature, and altitude. These differences give each type of desert its unique characteristics, especially in the living biota. The two Arizona gardens in this report are both part of the Sonoran Desert. It is considered a floristically rich desert, in large part due to having two rainfall seasons (winter and summer).
The general distribution of the four types of North American deserts. The red dot is the Phoenix area. Redrawn from desertmuseum.org. 93
People generally associate deserts with heat. Many deserts get extremely hot during the summer. The Sonoran Desert is no exception. The general temperature profile for the Phoenix area is shown below. The visit reported here was near the start of February. The temperatures were between cool and comfortable.
Temperature zone probabilities for the Phoenix region. From weatherspark.com.
The two sites are both desert gardens. The Desert Botanical Garden is a relatively flat area at an elevation of about 1,300 ft (~400 m). A crow would fly about 47 miles (~76 km) ESE, up into the Superstition Mountains, to reach the Boyce Thompson Arboretum. There is a gain of some 1,100 ft (~330 m) elevation. BTA is at 2,400 ft (~730 m) elevation in a valley on the slopes of the 4,300 ft (~ 1,310 m) Picketpost Mountain. The urban location of the Desert Botanical Garden makes it an easy visit for the 1.66 million residents of the greater Phoenix area. Nearly a half-million visitors come to this garden each year. The Boyce Thompson Arboretum is relatively isolated in a rural area without a 94
The locations of the two desert gardens. From Google Earth.
nearby population center, other than the distant Phoenix region. The annual visitor attendance is 75,000, less than 20% of the number visiting the DBG. The Desert Botanical Garden is a more formal, compact venue. You’re aware that a large urban sprawl is nearby. Up in the mountains, the Boyce Thompson Arboretum has a completely different feel. There are rustic hiking trails that take you through this extensive property. The landscape diversity, with a hill, small lake, and a mountain streambed (with water, if you’re lucky), plays an important role in giving this garden its character. The gardens are very different. Both are worthy of a visit.
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A view of the Desert Botanical Garden from above. From Google Earth. 96
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A perspective view of the Desert Botanical Garden. Note the 3D reconstruction of the lands 98
scape, buildings and vegetation. From Google Earth. 99
A view of the Boyce Thompson Arboretum as seen from above. Queen Creek runs mostly along
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the bottom of the image. Ayre Lake is at the middle of the right page. From Google Earth.
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A perspective view of the Boyce Thompson Arboretum. Queen Creek runs through the right o and vegetation are flattened in this view. 2X vertical exaggeration. From Google Earth. 102
of the property. Magma Ridge is the hill to the left of Queen Creek. Note that the buildings 103
Observation Periods We were in the gardens on February 7 through February 9, 2019. Our total photography time at the two gardens was 570 minutes (9:30). Fifty-nine percent of our time (5:37) was at the Desert Botanical Garden with the rest (41%; 3:53) at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum. The span of these photography periods is shown in the accompanying diagram. Our schedules determined the times we could visit the two botanical gardens. We were basically limited to afternoon visits. It is generally thought that mornings are the best time to look for birds. This is the period when most birds are active and feeding. Unfortunately, we couldn’t visit during the likely more optimal viewing hours. That presents a bias in our “observational efficiency.”
The periods during which we visited the Desert Botanical Garden (DBG) and the Boyce Thompson Arboretum (BTA). 104
Overall Success We have photos of 21 bird species when the collections from the two gardens are combined. Eleven species where captured with pictures from each of the gardens. Just one of these birds, Anna’s hummingbird, was photographed at both sites. The rate of new-bird photographs was about one every 27 minutes. That’s not bad given that a lot of time was spent looking at the garden flora, not searching for birds.
Checklist of the bird species photographed at the two gardens. 105
Desert Botanical Garden Bird Sightings We can get a measure of our “observational efficiency” at DBG by comparing our results with the observation log of a mix of experienced and amateur birders for approximately the same period. DBG has a weekly bird walk each Monday. These group tours, according to their birdlists, begin at 7:30 AM and last four hours. Each walk follows a fixed route. Data were downloaded for six weekly bird-walk reports from 1/7/2019 through 2/11/2019. Each report has the species names and number of sightings made on the day of observation. A total of 54 bird species were seen on the DBG bird walks over the analysis period. Twenty five species are reported on all six lists and these are used here as the “common” birds that we were likely to see on our visit. Two species were dropped from this list, both cormorants, as they were seen flying overhead. This excludes them from being photographed in the context of our visit. The remaining 23 species had the observation numbers summed from the six birdlists to show the relative likelihood of being observed during the period immediately prior to our visit. The DBG common-bird chart shows that the European Starling was seen about 100 times more often than the lowest ranked birds, the “Red-shafted” Flicker and House Wren. Yellow bars indicate the bird species we photographed. Blue bars are the common birds I missed. Note carefully that this doesn’t represent the birds seen. It’s a measure of those for which I got an acceptable photo. The garden’s bird lists are based on birds seen, not photographed. These are very different standards. 106
Twenty-five bird species most commonly seen on the DBG Bird Walks during the six week period near our visit. All of the species we photographed occur on this Bird Walk list. We got photos of most of the most common species and a few of those that are less common.
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Boyce Thompson Arboretum Bird Sightings The BTA has many weekly guided bird walks, too. The data are not available in quite the same way as the DBG lists, so a direct comparison isn’t available. Instead, the analysis here is based on sightings reported on ebird.org. Lists of the thirty most commonly seen birds for January and February were compiled from the latest ebird ten-year reports for the Boyce Thompson Arboretum. These were combined and only the species occurring on the two monthly lists were retained. The bird counts for the both months were summed. The 23 species on this list are considered here to be those most likely to be seen during our visit in early February. Only four of our eleven species with images from the BTA are on this list of common birds. That’s surprising as all our photographed species at the Desert Botanical Garden were on the list of common species seen on the Bird Walks. Here are the species we photographed which were not on our BTA list of common birds with annotations (in italics) regarding the species occurrence from Carl Tomoff (Prescott College) checklist for Boyce Thompson Arboretum. This checklist was developed from fieldwork between 1986 and 1989. American Coot: Uncommon: low numbers; transient, usually present only during migration; winter visitor for a short time. Chipping Sparrow: Common: easily observed; transient, usually present only during migration; Rare: very few numbers; resident in winter. Harris’s Hawk: Fairly common: less easily observed; permanent resident, little seasonal movement. 108
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Spotted Towhee: Uncommon: low numbers; resident in winter (n.b. called the Rufous-sided Towhee in the checklist). This was on the January ebird list of the 30 most common species. Black Phoebe: Fairly common: permanent resident. Several species which were photographed were not on any of the “common birds� lists. Pied-billed Grebe: This might have been missed as not many of the ebird reports include waterbirds. Maybe the birders are skipping Ayre Lake. Western Bluebird: The photos of this species were taken in just one tree. Three individuals appear in the photos; two are females and the other bird is sufficiently hidden in the shadows to make a gender determination impossible.
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Concluding Comments The analysis of this photo essay began with a question.
How complete is the photo collection of the bird species in these gardens?
Overall, there were mixed results. The photo coverage for the Desert Botanical Garden was a fairly good match to the common birds. Not so for the Boyce Thompson Arboretum. Just a few of the common birds were seen at the BTA. Also, it was interesting to pick up some relatively less common species at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum. It was quite difficult to get appropriate, up-to-date checklists for these two gardens. That’s surprising as birding is a popular outdoor activity. Checklists help. Each garden should have up-to-date lists available on its website. These two botanical gardens are great places to photograph birds. Each garden provides an ample yield of species. You will benefit from using a camera with a long telephoto lens. It is probably best to go in the morning. It also helps to have someone with a practiced eye to help spot birds.
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