Greetings everyone! May is turning out to be the same as April..well, March and February and Jan..you get the picture – BUSY! The long travels are on the backburner for now and pretty much for the next couple of months it will only be short excursions for dog shows etc. Close to half this year, so far, has been in other states so it will be nice to toil at the homestead for a while. Kudos to those full time RVers out there, if we didn’t come back to “space” I think Linda and I would drive each other crazy ha. This also means the hard work begins. Plenty of outdoor work to get done around the house and in the woods plus the annual Haunted Trail event is just around the corner (in haunt units of time), so the haunt lab is now in full production mode. On top of all that, our haunt department has finally pulled the trigger on their haunt themed YouTube channel. In the past we have used the Intrigued Mothership (lifeintrigued.com) to feature our various prop projects, but those have been getting more involved over the years and the word format was causing major finger fatigue. What I didn’t expect was the amount of time required to move to the video format – new tools to learn, more planning, more editing and most of all, being back in front of the camera. Pretty rusty since those days in the corporate grind. Fortunately, all things that go bump in the night are my passion so it is still a lot of fun! I’ll include a link to our first prop tutorial video at the bottom of this post in case you are interested.
Sticking with that theme of hard work, today’s featured feathered friend can make you want to pull your rufous feathers out in the field.
Hit the jump to read more about this rather elusive new check on my birding life list.
Was hoping I didn’t scare you away with that rufous comment ahead of the jump. Didn’t want you to panic and think I was going with round two of that boring “Rufous”-Winged Sparrow – hopefully the image immediately after that set your mind at ease. Ironically, the Green-Tailed Towhee is classified into the New World Sparrow (Passerellidae) family. Yes, that includes the 5 other Towhees resident in the US (Spotted, Eastern, California, Abert’s and Canyon). I can say all of the Towhees are now in the Intrigued portfolio. Brad has the distinction of having the California checked off his list (link here).
The Eastern is a regular around here and I haven’t taken the time to feature it. The Canyon is the other one I haven’t written up yet, but that is coming. The Abert’s (link here) and the Spotted (link here) have had their day in the lights, but today we are going to cover the one I found hardest of the Towhees to get in the tin. Hmmm, by definition that should actually be the California Towhee as that is still unchecked on my list, but I really haven’t had a chance to go after that one yet.
While researching the target list of birds for our Arizona trip, the Green-Tailed Towhee was near the top, sitting below the Elegant Trogon and the Arizona Woodpecker – a fine class of birds to be in for sure. All birders know that putting a name on list is one thing, executing on it can be an entirely different affair. For the record, I failed to get the Trogon and AZ Woodpecker checked off in 2024 – foreshadowing, that failure has been rectified in our recent trip out there. The early projection was the GT Towhee might end up on the missed list as well.
Fortunes turned with a trip to Catalina State Park outside of Tucson. Your recollection is correct, that is the same park that Ron and I found the Rufous-Winged Sparrow in the previous post (link here). Turns out that visit was a Rufouspalooza. I will not lie, I’ve been wanting to use that term for a long time hehehehe. Prediction, the next time you find a feathered specimen sporting a color scheme with rufous in it, you are going to mentally say it (recommend not doing it out loud or people with look and judge ha).
Soon after tinning the RW Sparrow, Ron and I made our way into a more wooded part of their birding trail. That is when we noticed a flash of something greyish and yellowish dart through the underbrush. “Was that, I think it was, where’d it go” – full sentences tend to elude me on the hunt. Luckily there was an extra pair of eyes there as these Greenies tend to not want to be seen and much less photographed. Their super power is the ability to always insure there is ample brush between them and the glass. I also find them to be less vocal than the other Towhees so visual lock-ons are usually the only option. In contrast, the Spotted and Easterns are wannabe theater cast members making a point to find a visible perch and go full opera. The Spotted was once named Spotlighted in recognition of their thirst to be on stage in the big lights.
Just got off the phone with our legal department – sigh, “we regret and formally apologize for that previous untruth regarding the Spotted”. Anyway, for a serious chunk of time, Ron and made our way around various tangles trying to get a clear shot – it occurred to us later that we should have been more mindful of the possibility of Snakes. Eventually something made it into the tin worthy of claiming the check. Like breaking the “seal” at the bar (guys know what I mean), a first encounter of a bird usually results in more frequent sightings after that. As we were getting ready to leave, another one popped right out on the trail in front of us. These shots came from that second look as well as a third encounter while visiting Spring Mountain Ranch State Park in Blue Diamond, NV less than a week later.
Running out of the shots, so need to get you some interesting facts before you go. First off, they do indeed have a green tail! In truth it seems more of a bright olive but no need to split feathers. Their folded feathers show off a brighter yellowish edging that sticks out against their grey chest. Their rufous cap is the cherry on top and probably the feature you are going to notice first along with their white throats. Like the RW Sparrow, they also have a dark mustache stripe more visible in the images above.
The GT Towhee is a western region bird that pushes up from their southern border (and down into Central America) residency to breed in the heart of the west. Interesting that they stay off the west coast and stall their northern migration not far into our most northwestern states. Lastly (Cornell is pretty weak on their cool facts for this bird), they claim that Greenie moms will trick their predators by mimicking a Chipmunk running away using its green tail raised in the air to distract from their nest location. Pretty clever if you ask me.
Hope you enjoyed our first look at this secretive bird. Not sure if I just know what to look for now or if we are ending up in more populated areas, but Linda and I have regularly spotted them while on our recent trip out west. Still fun to see, still hard as hell to tin ha!
Oh, almost forgot. Here is a link to our Haunt Departments first prop creation walk through in case you are interested in a behind the scenes look at what it takes to put together one of our signature props. There will be plenty more coming as we prepare for this year’s event (direct link if it doesn’t play in your browser here).
Wildlife Intrigued 
What a handsome bird – and what a unique color combination! Kudos on finding it amongst all the leaf litter and acorn caps. Beautiful and detailed photos, again, you’ve set the bar really high for the rest of us, you know.
I visited your new Haunt vlog – it requires me to log in in order to Comment and to Like… not sure if that was your intent. If I watch more (and I really enjoy the mechanical wizardry), I’ll be sure to mute the speakers – your sound effects can creep beyond the sleep boundary, whoa!
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Thank you Sam – ended up leaving it out of the post due to length, but that second look didn’t last too long thanks to an off leash dog running right up to me and jumping on me – needless to say scaring away the bird I had been hunting for years prior to that first brief encounter. I consider myself a dog guy, but I have to say that really ticked me off, topped by “oh don’t mind {dog’s name} he’s friendly” – at that point I didn’t care about the dog, just the missed opportunity. Oh well, life is life. I don’t think you have anything to worry about regarding bars, you are putting out some amazing rookery shots (and the content before that) that is pushing me to up my game for sure.
I’m not sure what the options are regarding the comments and having to log in. From all the research I’ve done online and from scouring my setting options I don’t think I can get around that requirement. Google likes to trap their audience as much as possible. Appreciate you taking the time to check out the video. Still just tipping my toe into this new medium and I have to say, the complexity factor is pretty high with all the new tools and the difficulty in hiding mistakes – in WP I just have to hit the delete key ha! I had to laugh at the sound effects comment – we actually have skeleton owl prop that we embedded Barn Owl screeches in – now that thing is haunting hehehe (https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Barn_Owl/sounds).
Take care and thanks for dropping in.
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Hah! Barn Owls have been on my “want to see” list for a long time, but I’ll make sure to find them in the daytime. That call at dusk, or in the dark, would shake me right out of my skin!
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Those shrieks are jarring for sure. Ron and I saw a Barn Owl (my only sighting to date) during the day while we were visiting South Padre Island’s Birding and Nature Center. They apparently introduced several into the area thinking that would control their Rat population, but apparently they didn’t stick around very long – the staff was ecstatic when we told them we found one.
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Beautiful little bird.
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Thanks Anneli – you think a bird that uniquely colored would want to get out from the underbrush more and show it off ha. Thanks for coming by and have a great weekend!
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Showing off in the bird world is dangerous!
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True, but the Vermilion FCs manage to survive so there must be some trick to it ha!
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Obviously, they have it all figured out. I’m glad.
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I love the feather down on the Green-Tailed Towhee. I remember calling one of our not-so-obvious towhees a sorry sparrow. Great Spike the Zombie Walkthrough. You’re a master DIY zombie builder. I love how you use PVC for moving parts. It’s not just for plumbing.
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I am pretty sure the Towhee union is lobbying the ABA hard to get themselves divorced from those lilly-livered Sparrows! Thanks for checking out the Spike video – I’m a bit embarrassed to admit how many hours it took to get that thing taped and edited. I have to get better and faster at it, that’s for sure. Plenty of how-to-haunt content in the queue so should have plenty of opportunity to get more comfortable with it. Some use clay, some metal, some wood, but my skills are definitely in the PVC arena. That has been a staple for all my props due to it’s strength, flexibility and at times cost effective (we buy in bulk). The workers at Menards know me well and chuckle when they see me in their PVC aisle trying to design something that isn’t anywhere close to the real use for those connectors and such. They love to jump in and help figure things out for me – now on the other hand, the real plumbers get really annoyed when I take all the materials they need for real plumbing! Appreciate you coming by – hope you are getting some water out there by now.
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I hate to tell you this, making videos does not get much easier or much faster. Especially if you are a cameraman and DIY host. You can cut down time a little by having a videographer shooting the video while you work on your projects. Even with Laurie shooting the video of me in the wheelchair, it took an hour to make what ended up being five seconds of video I used in the video. Guys at Lowe’s find me entertaining at times when I’m figuring out material for a project.
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That is not what I want to hear Tim. I’ve been trying to coerce Linda into filming for me, but she put all these demands on it how I have to help her then with dog shows etc. and ROI calculations didn’t come out well on my end so sidelined that option for now – although that would mean less of my head would be cut off so… As far as Lowes (or in my case Menards) goes, I do tend to draw eyes when I have a body or some other creature made out of PVC parts laying in their aisle. There are actually parts I use (and take all their stock when I do) that I have absolutely no idea what they are really used for…a smart department head would should see that trend and make sure there are plenty in stock as we get closer to August!
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You need to build yourself a videographer robot. Did you see Rick’s recent video with the tour of his studio? He introduced the six guys who work for him, making his content. I think “How I made this” videos are some of the hardest videos to make. That’s why I don”t make them.
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I saw Rick’s studio review video come through but I haven’t watched it yet (have it added to my watch later list). I recently watched his Billy Strings interview – wow that kid can play. Also watched Adam Duritz’s interview – really enjoyed that one, but I am a huge Counting Crows fan although Linda absolutely hates him.
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What can you say for some people’s tastes.
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Very true!
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Nice pics, Brian. The bird exemplifies earth tones doesn’t it?
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Thank you Jerry! You are absolutely right, this bird is well adapted to it’s environment – unfortunately, it know it and uses it to the fullest whenever I am out in the field trying to find it ha. Appreciate you dropping in and have yourself a great weekend.
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Nice rufous captures. Certainly glad it revealed itself for a few photos. Spike, from your video, must be what it’s like to NOT be able to capture a bird like the rufous?
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Thanks Brad! It took a bit of work, but eventually it gave me just enough time to get enough pictures in for a post before a dog scared it back into the underbrush. You know what, I think that is a great idea for a prop – death by birding – broken neck from looking up, falling off a sidewalk, tripping over a snake….hmmm, wheels are a turning!
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Could be a treatment for the millions that can’t look up from their phones any longer.
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True, I do chuckle when I see the younger crowd walking through the haunted trail with their heads down at their phone…at least they are getting some exercise outdoors.
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Nice pictures of a secretive bird! I remember trying to isolate that bird for our cameras, something we have to do often with birds, it seems.
Also, that’s a really informative YouTube video of how your Spike prop is made! I’m looking forward to more of your Haunt videos.
Ron
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Yep, I left out the whole issue with that unleashed dog coming up to me before we left after finally getting in spot that gave me good looks at that bird. This video endeavor is gonna take some time as I am learning a tremendous amount after each one. Fingers crossed the effort to put these together gets reduced along the way as it is four fold over my initial guesses. Still fun to show off all the work we’ve been doing over all these years with the haunted trail. Good to see you join the conversation Ron!
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So beautiful! Well captured! Beautifully written.
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Thank you Priti, glad you enjoyed the images and write-up. More Sparrows are on the way. Take care and thanks for dropping in.
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I love these towhees! As well as your wonderful word, “Rufouspalooza.”
One of these days, I hope to witness their chipmunk impersonation, that mental image really made me laugh.
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Hahaha, you will know the Chipmunk impersonation when you see it! Getting a lot of feedback on people like the Rufouspalooza name – it might have to get that added to our corporate year end reviews like “craptastic” which you have likely seen several times here – Brad and I get bonuses based on the number of times we can wedge that word into our posts over the year (similar with Monty Python references). As always, appreciate you coming by and can’t wait to read all about your Texas trip.
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I also love neologisms. You definitely get credit for Rufouspalooza and craptastic. And now also for Carhee!
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