Riparian

On a hot day, a Blue Grosbeak forages in the shade, above.

My recent travels through the Southwestern deserts reminded me how important even a few drops of water can be:

The Drip

Because for hundreds of square miles there isn’t a drop to be seen:

Water is scarce and precious in this region. But wherever it persists, lush vegetation crowds close around it. Aside from other benefits, taller trees like cottonwoods and sycamores offer shade, another precious gift in a hot, dry climate:

This is about as green as it gets in much of Arizona and New Mexico:

Many of the birds found in these riparian areas are the same species that might be seen out in the shrub desert, like this White-winged Dove:

Others are more closely tied to water and greenery and are seldom seen far away from it. Among them are birds like this stunning Vermilion Flycatcher:

And the equally beautiful Blue Grosbeak:

Yellow-breasted Chats can be common in these places, but are often hard to see:

This elegant bird with a glossy black crest is a called a Phainopepla:

Phainopeplas often fly catch from exposed perches. Like White-winged Doves, they’re also at home in the shrub desert.

While I attempted to photograph another bird (with little success), a Roadrunner hopped onto a stump behind me:

Roadrunners are perhaps the most iconic birds of the Southwest, but while not rare, they’re easy to miss. They patrol these riparian corridors as well as the desert, and can even turn up in suburban yards.

As their name suggests, these big cuckoos, comparable in size to some of the larger coucals and malkohas of Africa and Asia, are mostly ground dwellers. They run around hunting insects, scorpions, rodents, lizards, small birds, and even rattlesnakes—basically any creature they can overpower.

Another predatory bird inhabiting riparian areas in the Southwest is the Common Black Hawk. Despite the optimism its name may imply, it’s quite rare in the US. The Sibley Guide to Birds says there are fewer than three hundred breeding pairs of these fine raptors north of Mexico.

Somehow, one of them found me:

It was a good day.

Thanks for reading, and may you be at ease.