Birds I've Seen Around Arizona - Red-tailed Hawk

Today, as I often do, I drove past this roadside attraction -- a painting of a giant baby playing with a life-sized tractor. Usually, I point it out to my kids and they get excited and forget about whatever they were fighting about. A mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do.

This morning, much to my delight, I saw a GIANT hawk perched atop the baby's head. I was driving at highway speed, and I am terrible at identifying hawks. Still, its dark head and wings and pale belly, together with its large size, suggest that it is a red-tailed hawk. Oh, and the fact that it's probably the most common hawk in North America.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-tailed_Hawk/id

Birds I've Seen in my Yard - Black-headed Grosbeak

Black-headed Grosbeak_8337
Originally uploaded by ru_24_real

So as happens from time to time, I looked out my bedroom window as I waited for the shower water to get hot. This afternoon, I looked out just in time to see a new visitor to my yard. Or perhaps just new to me. He sat among the branches of my yellow trumpet flower (or whatever that flowering bush is called), let me get a good long look at him, then hopped to my hibiscus. Photo op!

Yes, I streaked the house to run for the camera -- fortunately I was home with just Bode, who doesn't really notice what I'm wearing! When I returned to the bedroom, though, the grosbeak was long gone.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-headed_Grosbeak/id