Cleveland Circle and Beyond

A Broad-billed Hummingbird hovers above a feeder in Paton’s backyard near the Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve.

The smaller relative of the goldfinches back home, the Lesser Goldfinch gives the Tucson Mountain Park a dash of yellow.

A House Finch feasts on flowers in the Tucson Mountain Park.

A Ring-necked Duck at the Gene C. Reid Park in Tucson.

A Curve-billed Thrasher contemplates going tubing at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort in Tucson.

The Gila Woodpeckers, like this one photographed at dusk, build their homes inside the Saguaro Cacti.

Tucson Mountain Park is covered with these cacti.

An older Saguaro Cactus has grown three arms.

And, when a Saguaro Cactus dies, it leaves behind its skeleton.

A Marsh wren hunts for insects among the reeds at Bosque del Apache.

The Northern Shovelers are easy to find in Bosque del Apache, but they are difficult to photograph because they keep a good distance from humans.

A Greater Roadrunner at the Bosque del Apache.

The Snow Geese prepare for their morning flight at Bosque del Apache.

Time to graze.

A pair of Western Bluebirds at the Bosque del Apache.

A Pied-billed grebe paddles along at the Bosque del Apache.

A female red-shafted Northern Flicker at the Bosque del Apache.

Northern Pintails feeding at Bosque del Apache.

The Western Meadowlarks at Bosque del Apache proved to be very skittish. The only way to photograph them was to use the car as a blind: one foot on the brake, one knee on the steering wheel, two hands on the camera, and shooting out the passenger-side window.

At the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico, the Sandhill Cranes line up for their morning takeoff.

Liftoff.

At the California Academy of Sciences, the Paradise Tanager spends his time in the upper canopy.

I really enjoyed watching the Anna’s Hummingbirds in the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Here, an adult male perched up in a tree.

These birds spend a lot of time stretching. First, he stretches his body.

And then he stretches his tail feathers. During high-speed dives to impress females, these tail feathers whistle.

When the light catches him just right, he glows red.

At other times, it is just not clear — is his throat black, red, or green?

Time to fuel up.

The Golden-crowned Sparrows wintered over at the Buena Vista Park in San Francisco.

A Scarlet Macaw greets visitors to the rainforest exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences.

A Blue-gray Tanager at the California Academy of Sciences.

A Black Phoebe in Lincoln Park in San Francisco.

A Red-legged Honeycreeper at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

A Common Raven snacks at the very top (the vista part) of Buena Vista Park in San Francisco.

A Blue-and-yellow Macaw at the California Academy of Sciences.

The Townsend’s Warblers are hard to miss at the Buena Vista Park in San Francisco.

A Saffron Finch at the California Academy of Sciences.

A reclusive Hermit Thrush makes himself momentarily visible at the Buena Vista Park in San Francisco.

A Violaceous Euphonia at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

White-crowned Sparrows are spending the winter in the San Francisco Botanical Garden.

A Silver-beaked Tanager at the California Academy of Sciences.