Who made this?

Photo by Peggy Wenrick 1/26/2013

Peggy sends this photo of a mud construction (about the size of a child's fist) in a tree branch and writes: 

thought it might be a high water deposit, but pretty high (my eye level) and a bit too far back from the stream...any ideas?

Mud experts, please slime...I mean, chime in.

Other birds seen and heard

Photo by Marty Horowitz 1/31/2013

Northern Cardinal, male

Photo by Ned Harris 1/30/2013

Lesser Goldfinch, female

Photo by Elaine Padovani 12/06/2012

Red-naped Sapsucker, red naped

Photo by Marty Horowitz 1/18/2013

Northern Mockingbird, cold

Recent Raptors

Photo by Elaine Padovani 12/06/2012

Elaine captured this juvenile Cooper's Hawk on the bird walk on 12/6/12.

Photo by Marty Horowitz 1/18/2013

Marty noticed this adult Cooper's Hawk doing a flamingo imitation. 

Terry responded to the post about Harris's Hawks: 

I live right on Sabino Creek just south of the bridge one crosses to begin the Phone Line Trail, where the creek hits private land. For decades, we have had a large family of Harris Hawks in the cottonwoods surrounding our back yard right on the Sabin Creek, only one hundred meters from the National Forest line.

Photo by Terry DeWald

Here is a shot of 3 of the gregarious family members in the Mesquites on Sabino Creek, the one on the lower left with a speckled breast being a juvenile.

And finally...

Seen by Carol and Walt Tornow 1/26/2013

Golden Eagles were seen by Carol and Walt as they (the eagles) soared in Sabino Canyon on 1/26/2013.

Teeth de résistance!

The pièce de résistance Check out the tiny molars!!!!
(Anne says: look a bit left of center in the photo above.)

The skull was about 1 inch in length and the molars only a couple mm in size. Never could see a bottom jaw, my guess is that it was pulverized in the owl's gullet.

Comin' straight on for you! Look closely at this one (above) and the previous skull image... lots of the soft nose tissue is still intact!

Photo of the pellet artist! Here she or he is, the same morning the pellet was discovered, happily resting after a long night of owl activities...

Anne says: This is the kind of hacking we like. Thanks to Lyn and company!

Lyn digs in!

Photos and text from Lyn Hart

Photo above: Pellet pulled apart & long bones exposed. They were approximately 1 inch long.

Above: Vertebrae? (Hole was ~5mm or so)

Lots of curious bits here... in the center are some very pink and shriveled parts-- the tail? Above those are two round structures which appear to be bone. I didn't dig around too much since everything was so small and fresh, I didn't want to crush anything.

Pellet for your thoughts...

Lyn Hart writes: 

Found a very fresh owl pellet here at home (1/19/2013), from our resident Great Horned hooter. I took photos of the pellet both intact and pulled apart to show its contents (luckily before I had lunch!). I know this wasn't at Sabino, of course, but I figured most people have never been lucky enough to come across one so freshly, um, hacked out. I can send you photos of it and its creator, if you think its something you would like for the blog.

I said: Whoo hoo hoot! First up, pellet intact. Photos and text by Lyn Hart.

The pellet was about 4.5 inches long and about 1.25 inches in diameter and fresh enough that it was quite soft, as were the undigested tissues. I am estimating that the owl produced it during the night and we (dogs and husband) found it the next morning. We have a Great Horned owl who spends the day in a large mesquite very near the house and the pellet was found under a fence post at the far SW corner of our property (we own about 5 acres of mostly natural desert).

Closer view of exposed bones (shoulder or pelvic girdle?)

Tomorrow: Lyn digs in for science!

Ants

Photo by Ned Harris 1/23/13

These Leafcutter Ants were very busy on this January day.
(Click on Margarathe's photo for a close up.)
They cultivate a fungus underground using the leaves they collect and chew. How cool is that?!