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Birding Photography

Ross’s Goose and Sapsucker Action

Birding has been pretty good here. Most of the desert is very dry so the areas with water or that are watered, like the city parks and the golf course, have been active. It has really cooled down with the passage of a cold front and that has brought in more birds too. I had to turn on the heater last night and probably will again tonight. The big excitement today was a Ross’s Goose that appeared on the Ajo sewage ponds. Apparently this is a first record for Ajo, according to Ebird, and the first in Pima County this year. Two birders from Tucson, both of whom are doing a Pima County Big Year, came out here to get it.

Ross’s Goose at the Ajo Sewage Ponds.
Here’s an interesting sequence of photos. This Red-naped Sapsucker was feeding on palm berries. I think of this species as a shy and retiring type of bird but I learned that this is not necessarily the case.
A Gila Woodpecker came in to feed and landed close to the sapsucker. These are much larger birds than sapsuckers.
I happened to be focused on the sapsucker when the action started. Right now the sapsucker is saying “Hey bub, this is my space”.
Fast action, the sapsucker moved before the camera could refocus so it is blurry but look at how the sapsucker goes for the throat.
The larger Gila Woodpecker didn’t even fight back, it just left.

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