A Mere Mortal

Broad bill Hummingbird(male)

Hello everyone!  Well we have been "in training" working on the Tucson Christmas Bird Count.  Kathie and I both have been busy and exhausted from the holidays.  But we're also trying to allow for some birding time as well.  Two weeks ago, we'd go to a local Tucson park and see just how many birds we could pull out of the bushes. 

Hutton's Vireo

It's amazing the levels of birding.  Kathie can ID and document quickly.  I get the photo for ID verification.  Both of our eyes are working all at once. 

Sharp-shinned Hawk

We began our training class with Rich Hoyer.  I then realized that I have a ways more to go:)  Kathie and I don't like to disturb the peace.  We see them as we see them and rarely ever call out to them.  But part of this Christmas Bird Count is getting accurate numbers of bird species found in a specific area.  And that requires me to get out of my comfort zone a little.  We can employ bird calls from devices etc to call the birds out.  And it does work.  We pished and pished and PISSSSHED!  Rich even had an owl call down.  Don't ask me how but he could replicate the sound.  Incredible. 

European Starlings

On this day, we both learned a lot.  Kathie asked lots of questions about the process.  I listened and watched the various interactions of the group training.  The best part of our team is that we each bring something to the table in terms of skill.  And it makes a great combo for power birding.

When I first began my EBIRD and Listing exercises, I had a lot of questions.  Today, they are small ones and so much fun to do.  After our field observations, both of us will go over our counts at lunch or breakfast to make sure we didn't miss a bird on the list.  But watching people incredibly skilled in birding makes it look easy! And it's not:)  Part of the fun is finding the bird yourself, but I have to admit, there are times when it's nice to have someone leading a group pointing things out.  Not often...just sometimes:)  It's what I call "lazy birding".  We were specifically looking for 4 or 5 birds on the list.  I had NO idea that they could be found there and yet....they were present.  And in plain sight!  Hutton's Vireo's, Warblers, and even a Broad bill Hummingbird!!!  Who knew?!  Rich did.

American Pipits

Rich also spoke a lot about native plants that attract birds.  I found his discussion extremely helpful.  Trees that don't attract birds are what I call "junk" trees.  The African Sumac is one of them!  Sure it provides shade but little else.  Placing native plants into your garden is not only water friendly.....but wildlife friendly!  El Presidio is very active today thanks to some research and proper planning.

Our big count begins today.  I hope we can find them all:)  The above pic was taken with my IPHONE.  This is what we call an "arroyo"(ah-roy-oh) or dry creek bed.  Thank you Rich for the fun morning.  Can't wait for today's count and potluck!