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| My Lifer Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl Southern Arizona March 2021 |
Better late than never. That's what I'm telling myself about this terribly delayed post. With this one I want to memorialize an observation made back on March 25th of 2021. Better late than never, right?
There are 19 owl species that are established breeders in the United States. Seeing each of those species naturally becomes a popular goal among birders. Some birders attempt to see all nineteen in a single year. I wasn't aggressive in achieving the goal. I chose to enjoy the journey that led to achieving that goal over several years.
At the beginning of 2020, two US owl species remained undetected by my eyes. Those species were Boreal Owl and Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl. I observed my first Boreal Owl perched near a bird feeder on Admiral Road at Sax-Zim Bog in Minnesota in February of that year, a month before the COVID-19 pandemic began. It would be just a little over one year later when I observed the last of the nineteen species, the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, in southern Arizona.
After receiving a tip from a field herper (one who studies reptiles and amphibians in the field) nearly a year earlier and scheduling a trip to visit my daughter's family in the Phoenix area in March of 2021, I found myself driving along a dusty, rutted, and sometimes rocky road along a desert wash. I was taking in what I consider the beauty of the Sonoran Desert as I slowly made my way to the area where I had placed my hope of finally seeing US owl species number nineteen. When I found myself in a mix of mesquite trees and scattered saguaros bordering a wash, I decided to exit my truck and listen for a singing owl. I timed my arrival to be right at sunrise during the breeding season in hopes of hearing a male singing on his territory before the temperatures got too hot.
I didn't hear a singing bird initially, but after moving to a different location the magic happened. It was faint at first, but as I made my way in the direction of the sound, I captured my first look at the bird. It looked very similar to the many Northern Pygmy-Owls I'd encountered in northern Utah, but its song was noticeably different. I was able to navigate through some sporadic trees to get to a better vantage point and front-on view of the bird. In the binoculars, I could see the orange-brown/rusty coloring, which gives the bird its "ferruginous" name, along with white streaks on the crown where a Northern Pygmy-Owl shows white spots. I was able to capture the image shared at the beginning of this post.
I decided to make a return visit in February of 2025. During that visit to the same general location, I was able to locate a pair of Ferruginous Pygmy-owls that were engaged in courtship behavior. At one point, I had a view of both birds perched side by side in the same tree.
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| A Mated Pair of Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls Southern Arizona February 2025 |
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| Male Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl Southern Arizona February 2025 |
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| Male Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl Southern Arizona February 2025 |
As I was standing in the partial shade of a mesquite tree that morning, I watched the male fly over my head and straight into a cavity in a nearby saguaro. It was only in the hole for a few seconds when it poked its head out. I raised my lens to capture that fortuitous sight, but it left before I could focus and release the shutter. While I missed "the image", I captured the moment and the scene in my mind's eye, never to be forgotten as long as I have my memories. If I had to guess, I'd say that the male pointed me to a potential nest site for that season. May they and their posterity continue to breed successfully.
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