My morning's Cool Bird

It's Sunday and I HAD planned on going birding today.  I wanted to go to the Rio Salado Habitat as I haven't been there and it is the season for migratory birds to be moving through.  Alas, as usual, life gets in the way of what I want to do.  So instead, I'm being a good girl and getting some of my work out of the way as I know Monday and Tuesday I will not have enough time to get it all done and meet two deadlines.

I woke up early - not that I wanted to but my body chose differently.  Once I heaved that sigh both the cat and dog KNEW it was time for morning kibbles.  They started the full court press.  Cold nose under the quilt, looking for warm armpits, fluffy tail flicked right under my nose, louding purring, and equally, no..., louder panting.  Dog breath.  Yuk.  That was enough to get me out of bed.  Kibbles done. I went outside and listened to the Thrashers as they called back and forth.  My morning "Witty-wits".  This morning one of them was singing.  Really nice to listen to that sweetness and watch the sky go from violet to lilac to pink.  I went back inside before it went to the apricot hue.  I was cold and the coffee had finished.  Morning Sudoku done.  2nd cup of coffee has gone cold.  Time to go out and rid my yard of the dog's week worth of poop.  Lordy, how he can poop! As I worked a sound kept tapping at the edges of my mind.  Not one I'm used to hearing around my house.  I wandered around the yard, looking for signs that the plants are ready to explode into Springtime bloom.  Nope.  No signs other than the Fouquieria that my Dad planted is in full leaf.  

He planted it as an 18" 3 pronged stick.  I think he picked a good spot to plant it as this puppy is definitely a happy Fouquieria.  It isn't an Ocotillo - though it is related.  Meanwhile, that sound continued to tap at my brain.  Wasn't getting through completely.  As I turned to go inside, I heard it clearly.  Kind of a wheezy "creer" that just didn't belong to my usual yard sounds.  Whatever it was, it was up in the pine tree in my front yard, and wasn't big and showy.  Ran and got my binocs and headed into the front yard.  Of course the sun was shining right about where the bird should be.  Repositioned myself so that the palm tree blocked the sun, raised the binocs to my eyes, and Voila!

Not my photo.  I got this from Wikimedia Commons.  Photo by Calibas.

 There it was!  A Red-naped Sapsucker!  Not a common bird around my neighborhood.  In fact I've never seen one in Phoenix before.  Guess I don't get out enough as other birders have seem them, and often enough that they aren't considered an oddity.  Ah well.  Cool for me!  I watched him for a while as he picked about the branches, round and round the tree.  And I realized that the "creer" sound was very much like the Hairy Woodpeckers up at my parent's home in Colorado.  Just got to get the brain in gear a little faster.  AND! After reading up on this bird, I'm willing to bet most of the birds I've been calling Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers here in the desert are probably Red-napes.  I really need to get back on the ball with birding.

So now I can go back to my work that I don't want to do.  Except that my daughter just called and wants to go buy storage containers so she can begin to pack her room in anticipation of moving to the dorm this August.  Anything that gets her to clean her room I am willing to help with!  And yes, Mom... I'm going to send the birthday photos right away.