Recent Pictures

Hopefully I'll find time to write up some of my adventure stories soon, but for now, here are a few picture highlights:

Osprey with fish in Cibola, AZ

 Tree Swallows perched over the Colorado River

 Yellow-headed Blackbird with Red-winged Blackbird and European Starling

 House Wren singing in the Chiricahuas

 Long-billed Dowitchers in Cibola, AZ

 Black-tailed Gnatcatcher hanging out near Blythe, CA

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.. from today!

My first look at Wilson's Warbler of the year, in Blythe, CA

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Killdeer performing broken wing display

 

Welcome to Blythe!

Let's start where any radical story-teller starts from, somewhere in the middle.  6AM, I wake up gripped with excitement on the back porch of a house in Blythe, Vermilion Flycatchers announcing the opportunity of the new day, Northern Mockingbirds trying out a host of sounds that almost get me riled up about other birds.  I weave through a maze of fifteen roommates and perform the glorious combination of yogurt and granola.  It's actually a little disappointing, sorry to hyberbolize.  Not to worry, I did follow it up with a cookie.  Anyway, it is time to do some preparation work in the field with my self-appointed mentor.  We happen to flip over some boards, perhaps looking for snakes, when we see what he calls a baby Giant Desert Hairy Scorpion, which is already larger than the adult Centruroides I am used to.  I can only I imagine what it's like to see an adult Giant Desert Hairy Scorpion, but another thing I can do is wait just a couple of minutes until we flip over some more boards and see two of them!  My friend demonstrates how to handle them properly:  "Just don't worry too much about it, they probably can't sting through the gloves."

Sound advice.  I can't wait to see more of them, but consider my day already made!  We hear Lucy's and Yellow Warblers, and discuss plant identities.  I then recall where I was a couple days ago  Northwest of Tucson in Santa Cruz flats, picking up some plant samples while on a quest for Crested Caracaras.  I know most people are wondering, "Well, what plants did you find!!"  So, let me go ahead and tell you, yes, my friend Chris of http://gardeningandthespanishway-rohrerbot.blogspot.com/  (his blog of amazing birds pictures) and I did eventually have luck in the Caracara department.  After turning up not much besides doves, Horned Larks, meadowlarks, blackbirds, and Turkey Vultures, we came across five of our target birds standing in the dirt of a farm.  We estimate there were at least 7 others in the general vicinity.  They looked something a little bit like this!

Did I see a Burrowing Owl too?  Absolutely I did!

Well it would seem that I can't upload any more pictures at the moment.  (Possibly a Blogger issue)  However, stay tuned so you can believe me about the Burrowing Owl.  We haven't even started to hint at the thrasher-side of the adventure.  Did I see Black-tailed Gnatcatchers and where is that Beaks and Bikes guy warbler-wise anyway!?  Find out next time.

To Change Directions

Before I tackle commentary on my year's direction in birding, I must first address my recent bird adventures.  Finishing some data entry work, took me, again, to Tucson where I was excited to check on some local bird hot spots.  Upon Arriving at Reid Park, I was greeted by the presence of two Black-crowned Night Herons which I seldom see so out in the open.

Pictured:  One such heron spelling curses unto the artificial duck pond.

Also present were a Cooper's Hawk, plenty of Verdins, and a Summer Tanager.

At last, I moved on to a favorite location, Sweetwater Wetlands.  Although the water levels were low, there were still plenty of birds to be found.  As I was about to leave, I decided to do one more little walk-around which paid off greatly as I saw a Black and White Warbler foraging with its endearing trunk-clinging behavior.  As a particularly large fan of nuthatches, woodpeckers, and creepers, seeing a warbler displaying this similar behavior was a real treat.  Here's the sharp looking bird:

Now I'm back in Silver City where I completed my collection of bluebird pictures with a Mountain Bluebird.  Though it is the Western Bluebirds, the bird with the rusty breast, that I see more commonly in this pinyon-juniper habitat.

It is also here in Silver City, where I was unexpectedly offered an opportunity to work on breeding bird surveys around the Lower Colorado River.  I've now been spending much of my time quizzing myself on bird vocalizations of that area and just being generally excited about it.  With the addition of this job, most of the rest of the year will be filled with field work, and though I plan to update my bird picture inventory, the biking for birds adventures will have to be revisited another year.  My preparation for this year could certainly be improved upon.  Where I was relearning web-design and figuring out my gear this year, next time I will be able to focus my concentration on route-planning and putting in some miles beforehand.  My first jaunt on the bike, a cold 80-miles on a heavily packed mtn bike, was a bit of a shock.  The biggest obstacle, however, maybe remedied along a well-planned route, was the lack of companionship.  The next time I hop on my bike with my binoculars, I hope to have a friend riding along with me.  Take care all.  :)

Sinaloa Wren goes off to Collage

"I'm not a wizard," I reluctantly admit as I wake up from a dream of two Golden Eagles flying in a windstorm.  Today was Sunday, and if Sunday means one thing, it's that you get up early and bird the ever-living dickens out of the Sierra Vista Sewage Ponds.  There's time to toast a bagel, but if you want to top it appropriately, with two solid cloves of raw garlic, cream cheese, spinach, pepper jack cheese, and avocado, you're out of luck.

I pull up to the scene, the numbing cold complementing the dancing, ever-present notes of sewage.  Ahh yes, the touch and smell of an idyllic day.  There's a whole squadron of us there to go on the bird walk.  Scopes, binoculars, and cameras gripped in anticipation.  Here comes the spiel about what sewage plants do.  Hmm, even more interesting this time.  Schnicity-click-creeeeuuuu!  The gate is open and we flood the path, proceeding in the stop-go fashion of birders.

Don't get me wrong, I love ducks, I'd even consider marrying them, but like every Sunday, I'm here to spot the Sora.  A couple of us catch a fleeting glimpse of one across the pond, but there was no Sora for sore eyes, as they say.

Pictured:  Last week's Sora

The troop continued.  A Green-winged Teal was caught having the time of his life in raw sewage.  I think we've all been there once or twice, but not in broad daylight like this fella.  I'm going to go ahead and plug in more of the excitement of last week, where, at this point, we watched a Merlin take a Great-tailed Grackle out of mid-air and, well, here's a picture:

Onward we marched, through ducks, sparrows, and blackbirds.  Morale high, but as high as a swallow?  I don't know how you'd measure that.  They're an unusual sight here in the winter.  Nonetheless, at least three grace the sky, Tree Swallows.  I immediately have to upgrade the Tree Swallow cuteness alert level to Code 1 (the highest code).

My first Scaled Quail of the year is soon to follow, looking pretty dapper.

We prepare to part ways when the words "Pacific Wren, Huachuca Canyon" slip out of my mouth.  A fellow birder meets my gaze.  We're going to meet up after lunch.  Huachuca Canyon, 12:35pm.  Enthusiasm bubbles off the two of us as we spot Brown Creepers, kinglets, and nuthatches.  It's time to find the Pacific Wren.  Brad gets a visual on a wren, no strong supercillium, things are looking promising.  We swing around different directions slowly in a team effort, until I haphazardly end up right next to the wren.  I fire off as many pictures as I can, while picking up very House Wren like vibes.  I excitedly bring the camera down, and after we examine the pictures, we decide that we just spent some quality time learning about House Wren behavior.

We then work our way down the creek on opposite sides and end up nearly back where we started.  "Well it was a valiant effort," Brad remarks.  Practically interrupting him, a wren pops up alarming.  It's the Pacific Wren!  I can't speak for Brad, but I think we both almost pooped our pants.  I managed some video of it calling and an ID'able picture.  High fives and fist bumps were given out.  Feeling some real birding team potential.

 Pacific Wren

So, I could go home and celebrate, but, you don't really want to leave parts of the day unbirded.  I headed down to see if I could spot the Sinaloa Wren again.  Sure enough, I could!  Met a cool couple who joined up with me and made an excellent photography team.  We were ecstatic.

Finally, I picked up a kombucha and a chocolate bar, what better way to spend your night than making a Sinaloa Wren Collage?

And then there were Rufous-capped Warblers

Rufous-capped Warbler

Elegant Trogon

Waking, no one said it was easy, but it's a beautiful notion. A day opens up before you, and you get to choose where it takes you. Somewhere along the way, under the influence of routine academic or occupational commitments, we forget the freedom each new day offers us. 7:15 AM, the unutterable language of the digital alarm betrays my well-being. Then I remember, the same birds I was just dreaming about are waiting for me, somewhere. Suddenly, I'm wearing clothes, eating a bagel, and on my way to Tucson to pick up some work-related documents. Documents in hand, I've realized a work trip to Tucson means I'm in the neighborhood of some prime birding spots. I warm up with a stroll around Reid Park, admiring the Neotropic Cormorants, Canvasbacks, a Great Egret, and a Vermilion Flycatcher. Where to next? The Santa Rita Mountains are (kind of) on the way back home. I hop out on the trail armed with binoculars, a holstered camera, and a full Camelbak. I'm here to see Rufous-capped Warblers.

It's not long before I greet a couple of folks with binoculars heading down. They emphasize that the warblers were here earlier. Whatever direction they were trying to send my hopes, they remained up. I told them I hadn't seen a trogon, the bird they were here to see. Off I went, up the beautiful desert canyon. Classic seep willow, oak, and Arizona Sycamore setting the scene with a little cameo by some hackberry. American Robin, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Canyon Wren, Hermit Thrush, Spotted Towhee, Black-chinned Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, the birds kept not being warblers. I work my way farther up the canyon, squeezing through sotol and ducking under branches. Then bird alarms go off in the bushes in front of me, the energy, environment, and group participation remind me of Bushtits, but nay! The tiny greenish body, yellow breast, and rufous cap spoke Rufous-capped Warbler as they danced around, their personalities giving no short service to their breath-taking looks. I managed to finally operate my camera and reveled in their company for some time before they left me for rockier pastures.

My most sought-after bird now photographed, I headed down. Rufous-capped Warblers are extremely rare north of the border. Experiencing them was more of a lifting sensation than even I had imagined. On my way down, a Northern Harrier caught my attention, as did a Bewick's Wren that I couldn't promptly identify. I peered into a yucca after it, hoping for another confirmation glance. It was then I looked up. Right in front of me, Elegant Trogon! I immediately back up so I wouldn't scare it off and started taking pictures. I maneuvered around it on my way out, it then flew and nearly grazed my head as I was leaving. I felt bad, I believe in giving birds space, and gave the trogon as much as the trail would allow. I have had some exhilarating days birding this January, watching falcons hunt, seeing Sora shows, working up close with Grasshopper and Baird's Sparrows, witnessing a Golden Eagle glide over me in a canyon, but I could not have wished out the month on a higher point than today!  Big thank you to my encouraging friends, readers, and, of course, the awe-inspiring birds themselves.  :)