Tuesday, October 11, 2022

Abert's Towhees: Crazy & Nosy & Lovable

I'd never seen an Abert's Towhee until I came to Arizona, and there's a good reason for that. The small total population of these birds (only 100,000) lives almost exclusively in Arizona. They found the territory they like and they stay here. They don't migrate, and they don't fly someplace else to breed. They're homebodies, I suppose you'd say. I was gobsmacked when I learned that birders from around the world come here every year in an attempt to see them. I guess I didn't think people would want to spend money trying to find sparrows.
 
I didn't see these birds until I bought Casa Kittling and moved in, but it wasn't long before these large brown sparrows with the black masks worked their way into my heart. Abert's Towhees mate for life, and they spend most of their time on the ground-- even nesting in low-lying shrubs. That they can do this and still thrive here in a neighborhood of feral cats never ceases to amaze me, but they are amazing birds.
 
Abert's Towhees may look drab, but they've got more personality than many other bird species, and that's why I love them. I've watched them find the wet nozzle of my garden hose and then hop up to the faucet to try to figure out how to turn the water back on. They also tried to figure out how to open the large container of bird seed in the laundry room, and I've seen a pair of them playing with a Nerf ball. (No camera then, drat it!) We have an automatic pool vacuum, and these birds have made me laugh so hard by learning to take their baths perching on the vacuum hose. They always pause while balancing and bathing, looking around them with smug pride, the show-offs! Here's a (rather mediocre) photo--
 
 
How a smart aleck Abert's Towhee drinks and bathes.

 
Our resident towhees are making me laugh today because they aren't pleased by something I went out at midnight to do. I've been trying to encourage JR the raccoon to stay around, but trying to find a way to give him the cat treats he loves has been problematic. How to feed the raccoon and not the feral cats... hmm...

Last night when I saw film clips of JR making a swing through the property, I got the bright idea of leaving the cat treats in their container and setting it in the middle of the birdbath that he always checks out (and even climbs into)-- the same birdbath that the cats leave alone. The verdict is still out, but so far the one cat that could see the container couldn't get into it. What I hadn't thought of in my moment of inspiration was the towhees. That birdbath is their favorite. Sure enough, I just watched a film clip of a very disgruntled Abert's Towhee, stretched up on his toes and giving that container of cat treats in the middle of his birdbath a death glare. Oops.
 

A cowbird in the nest.

 
Some of you probably know about birds like cuckoos that are too lazy to raise their own young, instead choosing to lay their eggs in other birds' nests. Usually the young cuckoos are much bigger and wind up shoving the parents' own babies out of the nest. Well, cowbirds do the same thing, and I was not happy to look up from my seat in the pool one day to see one of our towhees trying to feed an insatiable cowbird chick. (Yes, that laundry room of ours gets a lot of traffic.)
 

Juvenile Abert's Towhee in a kangaroo paw plant.
 
 
My life has been so enriched over the years by my towhee neighbors. I'm happy that they seem to feel completely comfortable around me so they can be their wild and crazy and inquisitive selves.
 

15 comments:

  1. I love the photos, Cathy! And I can just imagine the towhees' indignation when they tried to use their birdbath! It's going to be interesting to see if the cats find some way to get to the treats... Getting such different sorts of critters to co-exist is so interesting - you have to find out what each is like and find ways to work with that.

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  2. Towhees in all their iterations are quite amazing birds. I used to enjoy watching the Rufous-sided Towhees where I grew up. And later I got to know the Spotted and Green-tailed Towhees. I've never seen an Abert's. One for my wish list.

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    1. I've seen canyon towhees when Denis and I were out on a desert trail, and rufous-sided towhees used to visit here in the winters, but I haven't seen any for a long time, more's the pity. I just looked up some info and learned that the rufous-sided towhees are now called spotted towhees in the West and eastern towhees in the East. Learn something new every day!

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  3. What beautiful birds! I love the personality that so many creatures have. I was amazed to discover how many animals love our bird bath besides birds. A few weeks ago I caught a deer drinking out of ours. And just yesterday a squirrel was drinking and bathing. I enjoyed hearing about your Towhees!

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    1. Most animals have an uncanny knack for finding reliable sources of water. I can see why a deer would like drinking from a birdbath-- no need to bend down and easier to keep an eye on anything trying to sneak up on it.

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  4. Birds are so fun to watch! I saw an Abert's Towhee once when I was at the St. George Bird Festival in Utah several years ago. I was excited, because it was a new bird for me. You have some great birds down there in Arizona.

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    1. Yes, we do-- and we're lucky because we're on the migratory path for so many different species.

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  5. Those photos are great, Cathy; really enjoyed learning about these birds even though I'd never heard of them (not being much of a birder). From what you say about them, you're lucky they call your home their own.

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    1. I am very lucky! (And it's good to see you, Sam!)

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  6. Very enjoyable post, and educational, because living on the East Coast has me well outside the territory for these neighbors of yours. I haven't particularly gotten into birds, but I always enjoy animal stories - and watching them in action is almost always better than TV.

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    1. Before streaming became available, I'd say that watching the birds here on the property was better than 95% of the TV programming on air.

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  7. It's a regular avian soap opera there are Casa Kittling. How fun and interesting. That's one hting living in a big city: no chance to see how birds live and interact with other birds and species. So glad the Towhees bring you so much humor and enjoyment.

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    1. But Kathy... I live in the middle of one of the largest cities in the U.S. and I still get to witness all this. (And, yes, I know how lucky I am. Not everyone has a single family house on a nice piece of land in the middle of a big city.)

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  8. Nope. Try a seven-story building on a block with brownstones and tall buildings as is most of my neighborhood. A few people on the block had gardens in front and sparrows would flit around, occasionally a bluejay. But haven't seen anything but pigeons who try to conoodle on my bedroom window sill and doves who make a racket. Three were on the sill next to the a/c in the summer, making a racket that was unreal. They were ignoring my knocking on the window telling thee teenagers to find another parking lot. They ignored me. I had to laugh.

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