The desert is a place of quiet cacophony in the spring. I stopped on the Lost Dutchman Trail the other day to listen, and this is what I heard.
First ~ the bird song. The birds (and the bees) are doing what they’re meant to do at this time of year, and they’re being none too quiet about it. The cactus wren perched on the saguaro above has a hideous call for such a sweet bird. It’s a grating electronic trill/buzz, as if the bird had had a laryngectomy and needs to use an electrolarynx. Not pretty. But judging from the dancing in the photo above, it is effective. Other bird songs I heard included a high trill, a pee-weep, a medium trill, a chip-chip, and a whistle. The gila woodpecker thinks it’s all hilarious, and has a call that sounds like a chiding laugh. Every now and then a Gambel’s Quail took flight to the sound of beating wings.
The insect world provided the basso continuo for all the bird chatter. With flowers just beginning to open and the temperature rising, the flies, bees and wasps are out in great numbers. The bee above is hard at work in a desert mallow. He buzzed off with yellow pantaloons shortly after this photo was taken. The bees who aren’t working flowers at the moment make a lot more noise as they commute to their next job, a sort of en-yeow zooming sound, like a teeny race car going by on an oval track. The flies content themselves with a higher-pitched steady whine; they are irritating as they like to land on people, probably only minutes after having landed on some animal’s poop. Bah.
It was very breezy, and that added to the concert. The palo verde and mesquite trees are leafy, and the wind makes a lovely whispering sigh as it passes through them.
The last sounds are the chatter of other hikers. It was spring break week, and there were lots of young people out, probably thinking about the birds and bees, though in a slightly different way than I was. I overheard conversations on the economy (the end of capitalism as we know it!), weight loss (drink lots of water before eating!), and cookery (tomatoes!). We courted a little differently in my day, but, as the cactus wren proves (in the words of the old Stones song), it’s the singer, not the song…
An Ex-Expatriate 
Sherri – maybe a picture or silhouette of a hawk or owl pasted to your window would discourage your unwanted guest. He probably sees his reflection and his protecting ‘his’ territory. Someone should tell him it’s yours!
Pidge – we have mocking birds here, too, it turns out, though none at our house yet. I’ve always loved them, as well as their cousins the friendly catbirds.
Rowena – I can just see Miss M! Does she tilt her head to the side when she listens to strange squeaky sounds? She is such a doll.
How surprisingly beautiful the desert is!
Strange Toehee behavior, Sherry! And crazy-making… our worst offender to date is an early morning mocking bird.
We have a Spring symphony of bird calls in TN now – lovely early morning open window music!
GREAT post! And thank your for introducing me to a new bird info website. As I was playing the sounds Miss Maddie looked up as if to say “what’s that? what’s that new sound?” Cracks me up every time.
I must add another bird to your roster, the toehee. Certainly he’s one of nature’s oddest creatures. For the past two weeks, he has been attacking his own image in our bathroom windows. Every morning, on the dot of 6, Sr. Toehee begins ceaselessly banging on the windows. Hour after hour this bird attacks himself, leaving only when we flap our arms to shoo him away. But he’s right back at it again the moment we turn away.
So far, he’s broken neither his neck/beak nor our windows but I don’t know how long he or the glass can last. Sr. Toehee is the Chinese Water Torture of this part of the desert, at least at our bathroom windows.
We have no idea why he’s chosen this year or this house and local bird experts are likewise puzzled. Whatever his reasons, we sincerely wish him a speedy departure – he cannot leave too quickly for us.