Bird stuff

The Park is a’ twitter with birds. Courting birds, fighting birds, nesting birds. On Friday we watched a pair of male phainopeplas compete for a female, who sat calmly at the top of a tree ear the Sin Agua garden, while her suitors performed acrobatics all around her, being sure to show off their sexy white wing bars. I’ve seen several pairs of verdins with nesting materials—including one that was apparently putting the finishing touches on a nest along the Texas trail; Gila woodpeckers apparently already tending young inside their nests in saguaro holes; and cactus wrens and doves searching for just the right twig or branch for their new home.

In addition to all these treasures, I was privileged to be the “helper” at our bimonthly Harris Hawk demonstration, featuring Sueno, a captive hawk who was badly injured as a fledgling and is now an education hawk. Sueno is very smart and knows several words; she is also devoted to her “family,” in this case her trainer. Here’s a very brief video of Sueno doing her thing.

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